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More headlines: Donald Trump on Free Trade

(Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)


Trade pacts are no good for us and no good for our workers

Carrier (US air conditioning company) is moving to Mexico. I would go to Carrier and say, "You're going to lay off 1,400 people. You're going to make air conditioners in Mexico, and you're trying to get them across our border with no tax." I'm going to tell them that we're going to tax you when those air conditioners come. So stay where you are or build in the United States because we are killing ourselves with trade pacts that are no good for us and no good for our workers.
Source: 2016 CBS Republican primary debate in South Carolina Feb 13, 2016

Disastrous deals because we don't have smart negotiators

Q: So, you would tear up NAFTA?

A: I think NAFTA has been a disaster. I think our current deals are a disaster. I'm a free trader. The problem with free trade is, you need smart people representing you. We have the greatest negotiators in the world, but we don't use them. We use political hacks and diplomats. We use the wrong people. Mexico is smart; they have out-negotiated us to a fare-thee-well. They're going to be the capital of automobiles pretty soon, the way they're going.

Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls Jun 28, 2015

Fair trade instead of embarrassing deal with South Korea

I'm for free and fair trade. After all, I do business all over the world. But look at the deal Obama cut with South Korea. It was so bad, so embarrassing, that you can hardly believe anyone would sign such a thing. In theory, the agreement Obama signed will do next to nothing to even out the trade imbalance, will further erode American manufacturing and kill more American jobs, and will wipe away the tariffs South Korea presently pays us to sell their stuff in our country. Why would Obama agree to these terms, especially when we hold all the cards?

Why is our president signing the trade bill that the South Koreans want him to sign instead of the one that gives us maximum advantage?

Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p. 5 Dec 5, 2011

Fact-Check: Union support for USMCA was mixed

President Trump said, "The USMCA will create nearly 100,000 new high-paying American auto jobs, and massively boost exports for our farmers, ranchers, and factory workers. This is the first major trade deal in many years to earn the strong backing of America's labor unions."

Fact -Check: Support for USMCA among labor unions was mixed. While the AFL-CIO backed the agreement, others did not. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the United Auto Workers all expressed disappointment over the deal.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2020 State of the Union address Feb 4, 2020

Tariffs force EU, Mexico, & Canada to re-negotiate

Earlier this year, the Trump administration levied a 25-percent tariff on steel imported from the European Union, as well as a 10-percent tariff on aluminum. Brussels responded with tariffs on a number of U.S. goods. In July, Trump announced that the EU had agreed to increase soybean and natural gas imports from the U.S., while European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker promised that further steel and aluminum tariffs would be put on hold and existing tariffs reassessed.

President Trump has shown no sign of stopping the use of tariffs as an economic weapon. Trump has been attempting to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. On Friday, Trump tweeted that a trade deal with Mexico was "coming along nicely," but threatened Canada with auto tariffs if Washington and Ottawa can't forge an agreement.

Source: Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain on 2018 Trump Administration Aug 15, 2018

FactCheck: yes, Ford plant in Mexico, but no U.S. job cuts

Trump said, "Ford is leaving; their small-car division leaving. Thousands of jobs leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio." Trump's statement about Ford is partly true and partly false.

Ford is moving production of the Ford Focus and Ford C-Max from its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to Mexico in 2018. Ford said in April it plans to invest $1.6 billion to build a new plant in Mexico and create 2,800 jobs to build small cars there. However, Ford also plans to replace the products it makes in Wayne with two new vehicles and has repeatedly said no jobs will be lost. Ford's CEO said that "zero" jobs will be lost in the US and said "it is really unfortunate when politics get in the way of the facts."

Trumps' comments also prompted tweets from both Ford and the UAW countering Trump's claims. The automaker also made a commitment in November to invest $9 billion in U.S. plants and creates or retains more than 8,500 jobs as part of a new four-year contract with the UAW.

Source: Chicago Tribune Fact-check on First 2016 Presidential Debate Sep 27, 2016

FactCheck: NAFTA reduced U.S. jobs by 1%, not 30% or 50%

Trump said, "You go to New England, Ohio, Pennsylvania, you go anywhere you want, Secretary Clinton, and you will see devastation where manufacturing is down 30, 40, sometimes 50 percent. NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere but certainly ever signed in this country."

Bloomberg Fact check: NAFTA had a modest effect on manufacturing jobs. An Economic Policy Institute analysis says manufacturing jobs dropped in the 1990s from 17.9 million to 17.6 million.

Trump said of Hillary, "She's been doing this for 30 years. And why hasn't she made the agreements better? The NAFTA agreement is defective," [implying that Hillary and Bill Clinton held primary responsibility for NAFTA]. Chicago Tribune fact-checkers noted that while NAFTA was signed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, it was largely negotiated under the administration of George H.W. Bush.

Source: Bloomberg News Fact-check on First 2016 Presidential Debate Sep 27, 2016

Renegotiate NAFTA; they charge us 16%; we charge nothing

We don't know what we're doing when it comes to devaluations and all of these countries all over the world, especially China. They're the best, the best ever at it.

We have to renegotiate our trade deals. They're taking our jobs, they're giving incentives, they're doing things that, frankly, we don't do. Let me give you the example of Mexico. They have a VAT tax. We're on a different system. When we sell into Mexico, there's a tax. When they sell in--automatic, 16 percent, approximately. When they sell into us, there's no tax. It's a defective agreement. It's been defective for a long time, many years, but the politicians haven't done anything about it. But in all fairness to Secretary Clinton, when she started talking about this, it was really very recently. She's been doing this for 30 years. And why hasn't she made the agreements better? The NAFTA agreement is defective. We owe $20 trillion. We cannot do it any longer.

Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University Sep 26, 2016

NAFTA has cleaned out manufacturing in many states

Under my administration, we will never enter America into any agreement that reduces our ability to control our own affairs. NAFTA, as an example, has been a total disaster for the United States and has emptied our states--literally emptied our states of our manufacturing and our jobs. And I've just gotten to see it. I've toured Pennsylvania. I've toured New York. I've toured so many of the states. They have been cleaned out. Their manufacturing is gone.

Never again, only the reverse--and I have to say this strongly--never again; only the reverse will happen. We will keep our jobs and bring in new ones. There will be consequences for the companies that leave the United States only to exploit it later. They fire the people. They take advantage of the United States. There will be consequences for those companies. Never again.

Source: Foreign policy speech at Center for the National Interest Apr 27, 2016

Tariffs on Chinese goods forced them to negotiate

When they charge 40 percent tariffs on our cars going into China, and we charge them nothing coming into our country; when they raise their tariff from 10 percent to 25 percent and then to 40 percent--and they said to me, "We expected that somebody would call and say you can't do that." "Nobody called, so we just left it." And I don't blame them. We should've been doing the same thing to them. But we didn't. But now things are different. Now we're negotiating with China. They wouldn't negotiate with previous administrations. But I found some very old laws. The old tariff laws.
Source: White House press release, "Remarks at CPAC 2019" Mar 2, 2019

FactCheck: China has 25% car tariff, but only 10% on parts

Is Donald Trump right that China slaps a 25 percent tariff on American cars? President Trump took to Twitter to bemoan what he considers unfair practices in the US' automobile trade with China:

"When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2-1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%," Trump tweeted April 9. "Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE-- going on for years!"

Trump's 25% figure matches up with international trade data: we rate this Mostly True. But economists raised some important details that Trump omitted: Some experts suggested Trump had cherry-picked the facts by singling out "cars" instead of a broader category of automobiles or car parts. The U.S. tariff on light trucks from China is 25%. And Chinese tariffs on American auto parts sent to China are well below 25%. For example, China places a 10% tariff on automobile engines.

Source: PolitiFact fact-check on 2018 Trump Administration Apr 9, 2018

End TPP; make American pipelines with American steel

We have cleared the way for the construction of [new oil] pipelines--thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs--and I've issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel. We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership. We have formed a Council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams.
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress Feb 28, 2017

I take advantage of devalued Chinese currency; but stop them

Q [To Gov. Kasich]: Critics say these trade deals have cost the US 1 million jobs.

KASICH: Trade has to be balanced & we have to make sure that when we see a violation, like some country dumping their products into this country, I will shut down those imports.

Q [to Trump]: Your campaign platform is inconsistent with how you run your businesses: your companies manufacture clothing in China and Mexico.

TRUMP: Because of the monetary devaluations that other countries are constantly doing and brilliantly doing against us, it's very, very hard for our companies in this country, in our country, to compete. So I will take advantage of it; they're the laws. But I'm the one that knows how to change it. Nobody else on this dais knows how to change it like I do, believe me.

KASICH: They can't manipulate their currency. That will not be anything that I would allow them to get away with. And if I saw them doing it, I would take immediate action and make sure that the American worker is protected.

Source: 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami Mar 10, 2016

TPP is a horrible deal; no one has read its 5,600 pages

Q: You've criticized the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 Asian countries?

TRUMP: The TPP is horrible deal. It is a deal that is going to lead to nothing but trouble. It's a deal that was designed for China to come in, as they always do, through the back door and totally take advantage of everyone. It's 5,600 pages long, so complex that nobody's read it. This is one of the worst trade deals. And I would, yes, rather not have it. We're losing now over $500 billion in terms of imbalance with China, $75 billion a year imbalance with Japan.

Q: Which are there particular parts of the deal that you think were badly negotiated?

TRUMP: Well, the currency manipulation they don't discuss in the agreement, which is a disaster. If you look at the way China in particular takes advantage of the US--it's through currency manipulation. It's not even discussed in the almost 6,000-page agreement.

Sen. Rand PAUL: Hey, you know, we might want to point out China is not part of this deal.

Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate Nov 10, 2015

We don't beat China or Japan or Mexico in trade

Our country is in serious trouble. We don't win anymore. We don't beat China in trade. We don't beat Japan, with their millions and millions of cars coming into this country, in trade. We can't beat Mexico, at the border or in trade.

We can't do anything right. Our military has to be strengthened. Our vets have to be taken care of. We have to end ObamaCare, and we have to make our country great again, and I will do that.

Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript Aug 6, 2015

Review WTO exceptions to federal contract purchases

President Trump is set to sign an executive order on April 18, strengthening rules against using foreign companies in government projects.

The president will also order a review of existing federal procurement policies. These are statutes and rules instituted over the decades that may bar foreign contractors from bidding for jobs, exclude certain raw materials from abroad, or mandate that international firms deliver projects at reduced prices relative to American firms in order to win contracts.

The administration will also review exceptions to these policies granted under free-trade agreements and the World Trade Organization. While these agreements are designed to give U.S. firms access to foreign governments' contracts in exchange for allowing firms from abroad to bid on federal projects, a senior administration official argued that U.S. bids are treated unfairly overseas.

Source: Washington Post on Trump Administration promises Apr 17, 2017

OpEd: 35% tariff-like penalties would instigate a trade war

If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.

Let me explain why I say that. First on the economy. If Donald Trump's plans were ever implemented, the country would sink into prolonged recession. A few examples. His proposed 35 percent tariff-like penalties would instigate a trade war and that would raise prices for consumers, kill our export jobs and lead entrepreneurs and businesses of all stripes to flee America.

Now, not every policy that Donald Trump has floated is bad, of course. He wants to repeal and replace ObamaCare. He wants to bring jobs home from China and Japan. But his prescriptions to do those things are flimsy at best. Successfully bringing jobs home requires serious policy and reforms that make America the place businesses want to come, want to plant and want to grow. You can't punish business into doing what you want.

Source: Transcript of Mitt Romney Speech on Donald Trump Nomination Mar 3, 2016

Other candidates on Free Trade: Donald Trump on other issues:
2020 Presidential Candidates:
Pres.Donald Trump (R-NY)
V.P.Mike Pence (R-IN)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
CEO Don Blankenship (Constitution-WV)
CEO Rocky De La Fuente (R-CA)
Howie Hawkins (Green-NY)
Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian-IL)
Gloria La Riva (Socialist-CA)
Kanye West (Birthday-CA)

2020 GOP and Independent primary candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (Libertarian-MI)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (Libertarian-RI)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Zoltan Istvan (Libertarian-CA)
Gov.John Kasich (R-OH)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Ian Schlackman (Green-MD)
CEO Howard Schultz (Independent-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (Green-MN)
V.C.Arvin Vohra (Libertarian-MD)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld (Libertarian-NY,R-MA)

2020 Democratic Veepstakes Candidates:
State Rep.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D-GA)
Rep.Val Demings (D-FL)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Gov.Michelle Lujan-Grisham (D-NM)
Sen.Catherine Masto (D-NV)
Gov.Gina Raimondo (D-RI)
Amb.Susan Rice (D-ME)
Sen.Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Gov.Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI)
A.G.Sally Yates (D-GA)
Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty

External Links about Donald Trump:
Wikipedia
Ballotpedia

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)





Page last updated: Jan 03, 2022