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John Kasich on Free Trade
Republican Governor; previously Representative (OH-12); 2000 & 2016 candidate for President
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Review trade violations without heavy-handed tariffs
It is up to Americans to constantly innovate in order to remain competitive. Our international trading partners have to realize, however, that if they do not do more to eliminate government subsidies, dumping, and other anticompetitive behavior, support
for free and fair trade will collapse even further in the United States. The result will be that everyone will suffer. That said, we should not have to resort to heavy-handed tariffs and quotas in order to get our partners to start taking our concerns
seriously. To reduce jobs losses from trade, we need an expedited process, free of bureaucratic delays, to review trade violations and stop them when they occur. But we must also undertake new efforts that help people obtain the skills they need
for the jobs of the future. It was a mistake for the Trump administration to turn its back on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have eliminated 18,000 foreign tariffs currently imposed on products that Americans make & seek to sell overseas.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
, Jun 6, 2018
Combat Chinese dumping and currency manipulation
There are limits to how much can be achieved through cooperation [with China]. We should acknowledge our rivalry with China more frankly and prepare our country to compete more vigorously. This does not necessarily mean embarking on a path of
outright confrontation. Rather, it means putting hopes of a peaceful political evolution in China on the back burner and incentivizing Beijing to play a constructive role in the international system. It also means being prepared to decisively counter
Chinese moves that threaten the United States and its allies.The State Department should better protect our economic interests by combating
Chinese dumping and currency manipulation, streamlining the World Trade Organization's dispute-resolution process, and insisting on full reciprocity in market access.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
, Jun 6, 2018
Trade was not responsible for job losses; technology was
In the US as a whole, one in five jobs--40 million of them--depend on trade, and these jobs tend to be higher paying. But there are also some people who have suffered as a result. Jobs have been lost.It is up to Americans to constantly innovate in
order to remain competitive. Our international trading partners have to realize, however, that if they do not do more to eliminate government subsidies, dumping, and other anticompetitive behavior, support for free and fair trade will collapse even
further in the US. The result will be that everyone will suffer. That said, we should not have to resort to heavy-handed tariffs and quotas in order to get our partners to start taking our concerns seriously.
But we must also undertake new efforts
that help people obtain the skills they need for the jobs of the future. Trade was not responsible for the majority of American job losses in the last generation; technology was. That trend will only accelerate.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
, Jun 6, 2018
Support TPP to eliminate 18,000 foreign tariffs on US goods
Without greater confidence about their future place in the global economy, Americans will have little reason to support international cooperation and engagement. If the US continues to go it alone, however, that will only open up further opportunities
for nations that do not have our best interests at heart, such as China and Russia, to shape our future for us. That's why it was such a mistake for the Trump administration to turn its back on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have eliminated
18,000 foreign tariffs currently imposed on products that Americans make and seek to sell overseas. Those tariffs hold back job creation, and eliminating them could unleash new growth across the US. We shouldn't have threatened to jettison NAFTA either.
Instead, we should work with our neighbors and partners to modernize these agreements. On trade, as on many other issues, the goal should be to find win-win solutions, not to make threats and try to divide and conquer.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
, Jun 6, 2018
Tariffs lead to acrimony among friends & going it alone
Q: These tariffs are popular with many Ohio's steelworkers and even with your home Senator Sherrod Brown, yes, a Democrat, but he supports the president's efforts here. Why do you think some of these working-class Ohioans are wrong?KASICH: Well,
because there's also unanimity among Republicans, Democrats, all the people that study these things, you get into trade wars--when you take nationalism as an approach to your economy--it can lead to war. And we know what happened when we imposed all
these barriers on people in the past. The economy slowed down, people paid higher prices. And then, beyond that, it increases acrimony among our friends. I mean, we're punishing our friends. If they were cheating, that's one thing. But they slapped this
on under a phony excuse. We're going alone on that. We didn't get in the Pacific trade agreement. We're going it alone. It's not America first. It's America alone. And I think it's just not good policy. In fact, it borders on dangerous, in my opinion.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
, Jun 3, 2018
Tariffs slow down the economy and hurt 40 million jobs
Q: For those steelworkers in Youngstown, Ohio, how do you explain how to protect their jobs, since you oppose steel tariffs? Is this just an industry that can't be saved at this point?KASICH: The first thing is that the industry is modernizing. They
are more competitive. We have 40 million Americans that work in trade-related jobs. Most of the exports activities in this country are done by small and medium-sized businesses. What this is going to do is cost consumers, slow down the economy.
It's not prudent. It's not smart. And those very steelworkers will find out that things will cost more and what they will buy will not be good. So, I hope the administration will back away from this policy.
Q: Have you calculated what the cost to Ohio
would be if Canada, Mexico, and the EU go ahead with these tariffs?
KASICH: It's not just my state that's involved here. It's our nation. It has significant consequences for us here at home, not only just economically, but geopolitically.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
, Jun 3, 2018
Supports Trans-Pacific Partnership but not trade ideology
Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he feels it's his "responsibility and duty as a leader"--no matter the political cost--to help President Barack Obama shepherd the Trans-Pacific Partnership through Congress. "I have never been an ideological supporter of
free trade. The ideologues use to come to me and be frustrated with me," he said. "But when you look at these agreements in a real sense--this one is much different than even NAFTA," Kasich added. "This is China. This is Russia.
These are fledgling countries in Asia and we want to pivot to Asia? We have to do this."He said he doesn't mind the political backlash he could face. "I welcome the fact that people will criticize me for putting my country ahead of my party,"
Kasich said. Kasich and Obama could be facing an uphill battle: Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton oppose the 12-nation Pacific Rim deal, which Obama has pitched as a way to counterbalance China's rise in the region.
Source: CNN's E.Bradner & E.Scott on 2020 presidential hopefuls
, Sep 16, 2016
TPP takes advantage of economic opportunities in Pacific Rim
Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton oppose the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Obama has pitched as a way to counterbalance China's rise in the region. "This is an opportunity for the Congress to carry out its responsibility,"
Kasich said. "You gotta get this done."Kasich waded into the presidential debate a bit, but mainly focused his efforts on rallying Republicans away from Trump's protectionist stance and toward the party's pro-trade orthodoxy. "I think
I need to spend my time making the case that we don't want to hurt US national security issue, we don't want to turn our back over there, and frankly, we don't want to put ourselves in a position where we're not taking advantage of economic
opportunities," he said.
Kasich also defended the prospect of Obama pushing the TPP toward passage in a "lame duck" session of Congress, after the November 8 election but before a new president and Congress are sworn in.
Source: CNN's E.Bradner & E.Scott on 2020 presidential hopefuls
, Sep 16, 2016
Shut down trade when countries dump in America
Q: You've been a strong advocate for these trade deals over the years. Critics say these deals are great for corporate America's bottom line, but have cost the U.S. at least 1 million jobs.KASICH: I grew up in a blue collar family. And the simple fact
of the matter is that of course we're sensitive about trade. One out of five Americans works in a job connected to trade; 38 million Americans are connected to it. But my position has always been we want to have free trade, but fair trade. And I've been
arguing all along that it is absolutely critical that when other countries break those agreements, we don't turn the process over to some international bureaucrat. Trade, though, has to be balanced and we have to make sure that when we see a violation,
like some country dumping their products into this country, believe me as president, I will stand up and I will shut down those imports because they're a violation of the agreement we have and the American worker expects us to stand up.
Source: 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami
, Mar 10, 2016
I support fair trade against dumping, to protect steel
I'm a free trader. I support NAFTA. [But] what happens is somebody dumps their product in our country and takes our jobs, and then we go to an international court and it takes them a year or two to
figure out whether they were cheating us. And the worker's out of a job. How do I know this? Many people in my family worked in steel mills. And the fact is those jobs are critical. Let's demand open trade but fair trade.
Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
TPP is a strategic alliance against China
Q: What about the Trans-Pacific Partnership?KASICH: TPP, it's critical to us, not only for economic reasons and for jobs, because there are so many people who are connected to getting jobs because of trade, but it allows us
to create not only economy alliances, but also potentially strategic alliances against the Chinese. They are not our enemy, but they are certainly not our friend.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015
Open trade is good for us, but don't be saps
Kasich said he believes in free trade, but not at all costs. Kasich admits to being a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement even though it cost jobs in his state. "The interesting thing is, there are now some car companies talking about
moving things to Mexico and they're citing NAFTA, and I'm going to dig into that, Kasich said. But, he added, "By and large, open trade is good for us."Still, he added, "I think that we have in some ways been saps.
I have a friend that ran a steel company. I said, 'do you think, Koreans, for example, are dumping material and destroying our jobs?' He said, 'yes, but it takes two years to get a remedy.' That is baloney."
While he is for free trade, Kasich said, "I am for clamping down when the United States worker gets shafted because somebody is cheating on a trade agreement."
Source: Newsmax.com on 2016 Presidential hopefuls
, Jul 26, 2015
Trade, but not at all costs: clamp down on cheaters
John Kasich said he believes in free trade, but not at all costs. Kasich admits to being a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement even though it cost jobs in his state. "The interesting thing is, there are now some car companies talking
about moving things to Mexico and they're citing NAFTA, and I'm going to dig into that," Kasich said. But, he added, "By and large, open trade is good for us."Still, he added, "I think that we have in some ways been saps. I have a friend that ran
a steel company. I said, `do you think Koreans are dumping material and destroying our jobs?' He said, `Yes; why don't we do something about it? It takes two years to get a remedy.' That is baloney."
While he is for free trade, Kasich said, "I am for
clamping down when the US worker gets shafted because somebody is cheating on a trade agreement." Kasich said the country's problems can't be fixed with "hot rhetoric" or just one party, & his problem-solving abilities are what make him the best choice.
Source: Newsmax.com's Greg Richter on 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jul 25, 2015
Supports NAFTA and GATT
Q: Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support broadening NAFTA to include other countries?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support lifting the trade embargo imposed against Cuba?
A: No.
Q: Do you support imposing tariffs on products imported from nations that maintain restrictive trade barriers on American products?
A: Yes.
Source: Congressional 1996 National Political Awareness Test
, Nov 1, 1996
Voted NO on withdrawing from the WTO.
Vote on withdrawing Congressional approval from the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization [WTO].
Reference: Resolution sponsored by Paul, R-TX;
Bill H J Res 90
; vote number 2000-310
on Jun 21, 2000
Voted YES on 'Fast Track' authority for trade agreements.
Vote to establish negotiating objectives for trade agreements between the United States and foreign countries and renew 'fast track' authority for the President.
Reference: Bill introduced by Archer, R-TX.;
Bill HR 2621
; vote number 1998-466
on Sep 25, 1998
Page last updated: Mar 15, 2019