A Charge To Keep: on Free Trade


A free market promotes dreams and individuality

[After visiting China], I’ll never forget the contrast between what I learned about the free market at Harvard and what I saw in the closed isolation of China. Every bicycle looked the same. People’s clothes were all the same. a free market frees individuals to make distinct choices and independent decisions. The market gives individuals the opportunity to demand and decide, and entrepreneurs the opportunity to provide.
Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p. 61.

Import fees are not the answer to foreign competition

In 1999, when a glut of foreign oil drove prices below $12 a barrel, many of my friends in the oil business wanted the government to rescue them through price supports. . . I understand the frustration of people. but I do not support import fees. . . I believe it makes sense to use the tax code to encourage activities that benefit America. But I do not want to put up fees or tariffs or roadblocks to trade.
Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p. 65-66.

  • The above quotations are from A Charge To Keep: My Journey to the White House, by George W. Bush.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Free Trade.
  • Click here for more quotes by George W. Bush on Free Trade.
Other candidates on Free Trade:
Pat Buchanan
George W. Bush
Al Gore
Ralph Nader
Harry Browne
Dick Cheney
Joe Lieberman

2002 Candidates:
Elizabeth Dole
Janet Reno
Jeb Bush
Robert Reich


Withdrawn Candidates:
Lamar Alexander
Gary Bauer
Bill Bradley
Steve Forbes
Orrin Hatch
John Kasich
Alan Keyes
John McCain
Dan Quayle
Bob Smith
Donald Trump
Paul Wellstone
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