Joe Biden on Energy & Oil : Jul 31, 2019
Either we run world trade or China will

BIDEN: I'd renegotiate. We make up 25% of the world's economy. Either China is going to write the rules of the road on trade or we are. We have to join with the 40% of the world we had with us, and this time make sure environmentalists and labor are there. I would not rejoin the TPP as it was initially put forward.

Kirsten Gillibrand on Environment : Jul 31, 2019
Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?

Tulsi Gabbard on Free Trade : Jul 31, 2019
TPP gave away our sovereignty to international panel

GABBARD: By pushing for fair trade, not trade deals that give away the sovereignty of the American people and our country, that give away American jobs, and that threaten our environment. These are the three main issues with that massive trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I think the central one was the fact that it gave away our sovereignty to a panel of international corporations whose rulings would supersede any domestic law that we would pass, either a federal law or a state or a local law. This is extremely dangerous and goes against the very values that we have as a country. And it would have a negative impact on domestic jobs and that it lacked clear protections for our environment.

Tulsi Gabbard on Free Trade : Jul 31, 2019
Don't keep Trump tariffs on China

GABBARD: I would not, because the approach that President Trump has taken has been extremely volatile without any clear strategic plan, and it has a ravaging and devastating effect on our domestic manufacturers, on our farmers, who are already struggling and now failing to see the light of day because of the plan that Trump has taken.

Tim Ryan on Free Trade : Jul 30, 2019
China steals intellectual property; out compete 'em

RYAN: I think President Trump was onto something when he talked about China. China has been abusing the economic system for a long time. They steal intellectual property. They subsidize goods coming into this country. They've displaced steel workers, auto workers, across the board, eroded our manufacturing. And we basically transferred our wealth of our middle class either up to the top 1% or to China for them to build their military. So I think we need some targeted response against China. But you know how you beat China? You out-compete 'em. And that's why I'd put a chief manufacturing officer in place to make sure that we rebuild the manufacturing base.

Kirsten Gillibrand on Free Trade : Jul 17, 2019
Don't use tariffs to pressure countries

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Kamala Harris; Beto O`Rourke.

The majority of Democrats have broadly slammed Trump's use of tariffs. Candidates such as Sens. Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand have criticized the president's move to impose tariffs on China and U.S. allies, arguing they hurt American consumers, workers and companies.

Steve Bullock on Free Trade : Jul 17, 2019
Don't use tariffs to pressure countries

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joe Biden; Peter Buttigieg; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; Beto O`Rourke.

The majority of Democrats have broadly slammed Trump's use of tariffs. Harris and Gillibrand say tariffs on China and U.S. allies hurt American consumers, workers and companies. Joe Biden and other candidates have argued that farmers and manufacturers are feeling the brunt of Trump's trade wars.

Pete Buttigieg on Free Trade : Jul 17, 2019
Don't use tariffs to pressure countries

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joe Biden; Steve Bullock; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; Beto O`Rourke.

The majority of Democrats have broadly slammed Trump's use of tariffs. Harris and Gillibrand say tariffs on China and U.S. allies hurt American consumers, workers and companies. Joe Biden and other candidates have argued that farmers and manufacturers are feeling the brunt of Trump's trade wars.

Kamala Harris on Free Trade : Jul 17, 2019
Don't use tariffs to pressure countries

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Kirsten Gillibrand; Beto O`Rourke.

The majority of Democrats have broadly slammed Trump's use of tariffs. Candidates such as Sens. Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand have criticized the president's move to impose tariffs on China and U.S. allies, arguing they hurt American consumers, workers and companies.

Beto O`Rourke on Free Trade : Jul 17, 2019
Don't use tariffs to pressure countries

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joe Biden; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris.

The majority of Democrats have broadly slammed Trump's use of tariffs. Harris and Gillibrand say tariffs on China and U.S. allies hurt American consumers, workers and companies. Joe Biden and other candidates have argued that farmers and manufacturers are feeling the brunt of Trump's trade wars.

Amy Klobuchar on Free Trade : Jun 30, 2019
China trade problems are real; use allies, not broad tariffs

Michael Bennet on Foreign Policy : Jun 27, 2019
Russian election interference is biggest geopolitical threat

Andrew Yang on Foreign Policy : Jun 27, 2019
Russia has been hacking our democracy for years

Sen. Michel BENNET (D-CO): The biggest threat to our national security right now is Russia, not China. When I see these kids [being separated from their families] at the border, I see my mom, because she was separated from her parents during the Holocaust in Poland. For Donald Trump to be doing what he's doing to children and families at the border, the president has turned the border of the United States into a symbol of nativist hostility when we should be represented by the Statue of Liberty. We need to make a change.

Andrew YANG: I just want to agree that I think Russia is our greatest geopolitical threat, because they have been hacking our democracy successfully and they've been laughing their asses off about it for the last couple of years. We should focus on that before we start worrying about other threats.

Andrew Yang on Free Trade : Jun 27, 2019
We need to crack down, but tariffs & trade wars are wrong

The beneficiaries have not been American workers or people in China. It's been Southeast Asia and other producers that have then stepped into the void. We need to crack down on Chinese malfeasance in the trade relationship, but the tariffs and the trade war are the wrong way to go.

Pete Buttigieg on Free Trade : Jun 27, 2019
Tariffs are taxes; we pay $800 a year for Trump's tariffs

Amy Klobuchar on War & Peace : Jun 26, 2019
Require that Trump consult Congress before war with Iran

I would make sure that if there is any possibility of a conflict--and we're having this debate in Congress right now--that he comes to Congress for an authorization of military force. I would do that.

Mike Pence on Energy & Oil : Jun 23, 2019
Fighting climate change should not increase utility rates

Pence: We will always follow the science on that in this administration. What we won't do -- and the Clean Power Plan was all about that -- was hamstring energy in this country, raising the cost of utility rates for working families across this country while other nations like China and India absolutely do nothing or make illusory promises decades down the road to deal with it.

Joe Sestak on Foreign Policy : Jun 23, 2019
Reverse America's retreat from the global community

Priorities:
• Reverse America's retreat from the global community with a strategy of engagement, and restore our standing in the world.
• Repair our fractured relationships with our closest allies.
• Stand up to belligerent actors on the world stage, from Russia to China to North Korea.
• Establish closer economic ties with countries around the world, because countries that trade and do business with each other are much less likely to fight wars..

Joe Sestak on Free Trade : Jun 23, 2019
Stop using tariffs as weapon in disputes with China

It is imperative that we be in a position to compete with China, our only major economic rival, for their business. China is rapidly pursuing economic expansion around the globe, but without the same standards for the environment, labor rights, and intellectual property enforcement that our societal norms and values rightly demand.

Joe Sestak on Technology : Jun 23, 2019
Reprioritized defense funding toward cyberspace

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Jun 16, 2019
Would take info on opponents from foreigners, might call FBI

Trump: I think maybe you do both. I think you might want to listen. There's nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country, Norway, "We have information on your opponent." Oh, I think I'd want to hear it. It's not an interference. They have information. I think I'd take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I'd go maybe to the FBI. The FBI doesn't have enough agents to take care of it, but you go and talk honestly to congressmen. They all do it; they always have.

Justin Amash on Principles & Values : May 20, 2019
Nobody wins in a trade war

Tulsi Gabbard on Foreign Policy : May 19, 2019
We need to engage in diplomacy & deescalate tensions

Steve Bullock on Free Trade : May 19, 2019
Work with other nations to deal with China's practices

Howie Hawkins on War & Peace : May 19, 2019
Endless war follows from capitalist competition

Steve Bullock on Free Trade : May 15, 2019
End reckless trade war with China

Kamala Harris on Foreign Policy : May 12, 2019
US stronger when working with allies

A: Part of the failure is that this president and administration have failed to understand that we are stronger when we work with our allies on every issue, China included.

Q: China is an ally?

A: No, meaning working with our allies to address China, in terms of the threat that it presents. This president has a preference for conducting policy by tweet. It is a display of a president who thinks that unilateral action is better than working with friends. It puts us in a weaker position.

Michael Bennet on Free Trade : May 12, 2019
Chinese trade practices unfair, but tariffs not the answer

Donald Trump on Free Trade : May 12, 2019
Says China is paying BIG TARIFFS, but U.S. consumers pay

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow acknowledged that the Chinese do not directly pay tariffs on goods coming into the US, but instead American importers pay and oftentimes pass it on to US consumers, contradicting Pres. Trump's claims. Kudlow said that "both sides will suffer on this," but argued that China will suffer significant GDP losses as export markets are hit. The blow to US GDP won't be substantial since the economy is "in terrific shape," he said.

Tim Ryan on Jobs : Apr 7, 2019
Public/private partnership to rebuild manufacturing base

Seth Moulton on Homeland Security : Mar 31, 2019
Focus on cybersecurity to deal with real threats to US

Elizabeth Warren on Foreign Policy : Mar 15, 2019
Alliances make us stronger & better able to face China

Elizabeth Warren on Free Trade : Mar 15, 2019
We need to do trading deals differently & help workers

Warren: I think that was a trading deal that was not good for the American people and not good for the American worker. It was a trading deal that was written in order to help giant corporations. Over and over the United States has been negotiating one deal after another that helps giant multi-national corporations but does not help American workers, does not help Americans small businesses, does not help American farmers. We need to do our trading deals very differently.

John Hickenlooper on Free Trade : Mar 4, 2019
No tariffs on goods from China and Europe

• Economy: Free trader, opposes Trump administration's tariffs.
• Hickenlooper supports pro-business policies and free trade. He opposes President Donald Trump's trade policy and tariffs on goods from China and the European Union.
• As a business owner he helped revitalize downtown Denver and as mayor backed a multibillion dollar public transportation initiative, including 119 miles of commuter train track that connects the metro area and suburbs.
• As governor, Hickenlooper oversaw a booming Colorado economy that was one of the strongest in the country when he left office in 2018.

Donald Trump on Corporations : Mar 2, 2019
Companies will pay dearly for moving jobs out of US

Last year, we lost 800--this for many years--almost $800 billion on trade. It's not sustainable. You can't do that. And now we're making great trade deals. I say, India is a very high-tariff nation. They charge us a lot. When we send a motorcycle to India, it's 100 percent tariff. They charge 100 percent. When India sends a motorcycle to us, we brilliantly charge them nothing. I want a reciprocal tax, or at least I want to charge a tax. It's called a mirror tax, but it's a reciprocal tax.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Mar 2, 2019
Tariffs on Chinese goods forced them to negotiate

Bill Weld on Immigration : Feb 15, 2019
Guest worker program rather than path to citizenship

Howard Schultz on Foreign Policy : Feb 12, 2019
China is not an ally, but we need to work with them

Howard Schultz on Free Trade : Feb 12, 2019
Trump's tariff war is a strategic mistake

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Feb 5, 2019
Real problem with trade is jobs shipped overseas

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Feb 5, 2019
Tariffs on $250B of Chinese goods: Treasury gains billions

We are now making it clear to China that after years of targeting our industries, and stealing our intellectual property, the theft of American jobs and wealth has come to an end.

Therefore, we recently imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods--and now our Treasury is receiving billions of dollars a month from a country that never gave us a dime. But I don't blame China for taking advantage of us--I blame our leaders and representatives for allowing this travesty to happen. I have great respect for President Xi, and we are now working on a new trade deal with China. But it must include real, structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit, and protect American jobs.

John Delaney on Free Trade : Feb 4, 2019
Supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership

• Delaney has criticized China for intellectual property theft and supports building a global alliance to pressure China to open its markets.
• He commended the president for taking China seriously as a global threat, but opposes the administration's tariffs, which Delaney argues hurt American farmers and curtail job growth.
• While in Congress, Delaney was one of a few Democrats who supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and he is interested in revisiting the trade deal.

Beto O`Rourke on Free Trade : Oct 9, 2018
Tariffs on China will devastate our economy

Ted Cruz (R): No. Also opposed federal aid given to TX farmers hurt by trade retaliation.

Beto O'Rourke (D): No. They "will devastate our state, businesses, & economy."

Donald Trump on Technology : Sep 17, 2018
Let US companies work in China with proprietary technology

"For months, we have urged China to change these unfair practices, and give fair and reciprocal treatment to American companies," Trump said in a statement. "We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly. But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices."

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Jul 15, 2018
European Union is a foe in trade, & in lack of NATO payments

TRUMP: Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now, you wouldn't think of the European Union, but they're a foe. Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly. They're a foe. But that doesn't mean they're bad. It means that they're competitors. They want to do well, and we want to do well. And we're starting to do well.

Q: A lot of people might be surprised to hear you list the E.U. as a foe before China and Russia.

TRUMP: No, I look at them all. Look, E.U. is very difficult, I want to tell you. Don't forget, both of my parents were born in E.U. sectors, OK? I mean, my mother was Scotland. My father, Germany. And, you know, I love those countries. I respect the leaders of those countries. But, in a trade sense, they have really taken advantage of us, & many of those countries are in NATO. And they weren't paying their bills.

John Kasich on Foreign Policy : Jun 6, 2018
China is converting economic power into regional influence

Beijing is already seeking to convert its economic power into regional influence through such projects as the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure venture, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a rival to Western-led development banks.

Confounding our hopes and expectations, China's regime has managed to deliver economic growth without being forced to democratize. But China is not 12 feet tall: its economy has serious structural flaws, including exceedingly high levels of debt, a cohort of retirees whose living expenses will be difficult to fund, and wages that are increasingly uncompetitive with those paid by China's neighbors. Nor is China a monolith: like the U.S., the country is riven by rival factions, leading to infighting that diverts productive resources.

John Kasich on Foreign Policy : Jun 6, 2018
Opportunity to cooperate with China instead of containment

Another difference between the rivalry with China today and that with the Soviet Union during the Cold War is that China and the United States are so economically intertwined. This means not only that the two countries will remain co-dependent for the foreseeable future but also that relations between them need not be a zero-sum game. There are ample opportunities to pursue strategies with China that can adapt the world system to reflect Beijing's growing international role while benefiting both sides. Those opportunities include reining in North Korea, addressing climate change, and promoting international investment and economic growth.

John Kasich on Free Trade : Jun 6, 2018
Combat Chinese dumping and currency manipulation

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.

John Kasich on Free Trade : Jun 6, 2018
Support TPP to eliminate 18,000 foreign tariffs on US goods

John Kasich on War & Peace : Jun 6, 2018
Balance cooperation and confrontation with China

Looking to fill the political void created by the current vacuum in US international leadership, Chinese leaders are making ridiculous assertions that their country will define the meaning of freedom and liberty.

The principal strategic challenge for the US is to integrate China into the international system in a manner that allows us to protect our interests in Asia and safeguard international institutions against China's assaults on democratic values. China's ultimate goal is to end what it considers to be American dominance and to replace it with a new order in which Beijing gets an equal voice in setting the rules. It wants to push the US out of the western Pacific, undermine our alliances in the region, and re-create a Sinocentric sphere of influence in Asia free from challenges to its authoritarian rule.

John Kasich on War & Peace : Jun 6, 2018
Forward-deploy US forces in the Pacific to challenge China

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Apr 9, 2018
FactCheck: China has 25% car tariff, but only 10% on parts

"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.

Donald Trump on Drugs : Mar 11, 2018
Death penalty for drug dealers

(VIDEO CLIP): TRUMP: When I was in China and other places, I said, "Mr. President, do you have a drug problem?" "No, no, no, we do not." I said, "huh, big country, 1.4 billion people, right? Not much a drug problem." I said, "What do you attribute that to?" "Well, the death penalty." So, honestly, I don't know that the United States, frankly, is ready for it. They should be ready for it.

(END VIDEO) Q: Now, the death penalty for drug dealers, is that something that you agree with? And should we be following China's lead when it comes to criminal justice?

Sen. Ron JOHNSON (R-WI): I would say we probably should not be following China's lead when it comes to criminal justice. I'm a supporter of the death penalty, but only where we absolutely are 100% certain that the person is 100% guilty. I'm not sure it would be applicable to drug offenses.

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Jan 30, 2018
Unmatched power is key to defense, including more nukes

For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.

As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression. Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet.

Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil : Jan 9, 2018
Supports carbon tax

Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil : Sep 21, 2017
Climate change is issue for entire international community

John Kasich on Foreign Policy : Apr 25, 2017
FactCheck: Yes, U.S. economy bigger than next two combined

Quick answer: Yes.

We checked on the existing GDP numbers (Gross Domestic Product, the usual international measure of the size of an economy). The figures for 2018 (in trillions) are:
• US $20.4T
• China $14T
• Japan $5.1T
• China and Japan combined $19.1T

We wondered if that would still be true by the time of the next presidential election, which is the context of Kasich's remark. The estimated figures for 2019-2020, from "Focus Economics", are
• US $21.5T/$22.3T
• China $14.2T/$15.6T
• Japan $5.2/$5.4T
• China and Japan combined $19.4T/$21.0T

Elizabeth Warren on Technology : Apr 18, 2017
China spends 8.6% of GDP on infrastructure; we spend 2.5%

America ramped up its infrastructure long before many other parts of the world, but our refusal to maintain & upgrade it is catching up with us. The overall quality of infrastructure in the US is now rated just slightly ahead of Taiwan's and far behind the quality of that in Germany & Japan.

This failure to invest in our future is incredibly shortsighted. This plan isn't pro-business. This plan is pro-stupid. More investment in basic infrastructure would transform our daily living, along with our long-term prospects.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Apr 13, 2017
NATO: apply new solutions to face new circumstances

The Russia reversal and the NATO turnabout were inherently linked, of course. As Russia appears more ominous, NATO seems more necessary. But the shift in attitude also offered one of the starkest examples yet of Trump's evolving views: "We must not be trapped by the tired thinking that so many have, but apply new solutions to face new circumstances throughout the world," Trump said at his news conference with the NATO secretary general.

Trump's campaign criticism of NATO stunned many at home and abroad, especially when he suggested conditioning America's commitment to defend its treaty allies on whether they had met their financial obligations.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Apr 12, 2017
China is no longer a currency manipulator

A U.S. Treasury spokesman confirmed that the Treasury Department's semi-annual report on currency practices of major trading partners, due out later this week, will not name China a currency manipulator. "They're not currency manipulators," Trump said about China. The statement is an about-face from Trump's election campaign promises to slap that label on Beijing on the first day of his administration as part of his plan to reduce Chinese imports into the United States.

The Wall Street Journal paraphrased Trump as saying that the reason he changed his mind on the currency issue was because China has not been manipulating its yuan for months and because taking the step now could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat from North Korea.

Cory Booker on Free Trade : Apr 1, 2017
Deal with China despite their cheating

ANALYSIS: Comparing the two contrasting statements, Booker is in effect saying "China cheats--but let's deal with them anyway." Booker's campaign statements support "fair trade" - rewriting the rules--whereas his actions support "free trade"--making SOME sort of deal despite whatever problems come up.

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Feb 28, 2017
Restart engine after worst financial recovery in 65 years

We've lost more than 1/4 of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved, and we've lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year was nearly $800 billion dollars.

To accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American economy--making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much harder for companies to leave.

Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone.

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Nov 15, 2016
Establish worker-owned cooperatives to counter corporations

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Oct 19, 2016
We're dying at 1% GDP growth; we don't make things anymore

Last week, they came out with an anemic jobs report. Look, our country is stagnant. We've lost our jobs. We've lost our businesses. We're not making things anymore, relatively speaking. Our product is pouring in from China, pouring in from Vietnam, pouring in from all over the world.

GDP is at 1% now, and if [Hillary] got in, it will be less than zero. But we're bringing it from 1% up to 4%. And I actually think [with my economic plan] we can go higher than 4%. I think you can go to 5% or 6%. And if we do, you don't have to bother asking [about jobs], because we have a tremendous machine. We will have created a tremendous economic machine once again. To do that, we're taking back jobs. We're not going to let our companies be raided by other countries where we lose all our jobs, we don't make our product anymore. I

Hillary Clinton on Free Trade : Oct 19, 2016
I fought illegal dumping of Chinese steel and aluminum

CLINTON: When I saw the final agreement for TPP, it didn't meet my test: Does it create jobs, raise incomes, and further our national security? I'm against it now. There's only one of us on this stage who's actually shipped jobs to Mexico: that's Donald. He's shipped jobs to 12 countries. But he mentioned China: one of the biggest problems we have with China is the illegal dumping of steel and aluminum into our markets. I have fought against that as a senator. I've stood up against it as secretary of state. Donald has bought Chinese steel and aluminum. In fact, the Trump Hotel right here in Las Vegas was made with Chinese steel. So he goes around with crocodile tears about how terrible it is, but he has given jobs to Chinese steelworkers, not American steelworkers.

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Oct 9, 2016
U.S. 1% growth is almost no growth, and due to high taxes

Hillary Clinton on Free Trade : Oct 9, 2016
Trade prosecutor to deal with China illegally dumping steel

TRUMP: Energy is under siege by the Obama administration. The EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, is killing these energy companies. And you take a look at what's happening to steel and the cost of steel and China dumping vast amounts of steel all over the United States, which essentially is killing our steelworkers and our steel companies. It's an absolute disgrace.

CLINTON: First of all, China is illegally dumping steel in the United States and Donald Trump is buying it to build his buildings, putting steelworkers and American steel plants out of business. That's something that I fought against as a senator and that I would have a trade prosecutor to make sure that we don't get taken advantage of by China on steel or anything else.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Oct 9, 2016
China is dumping steel all over & killing steel companies

TRUMP: Energy is under siege by the Obama administration. The EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, is killing these energy companies. And you take a look at what's happening to steel and the cost of steel and China dumping vast amounts of steel all over the United States, which essentially is killing our steelworkers and our steel companies. It's an absolute disgrace.

CLINTON: First of all, China is illegally dumping steel in the United States and Donald Trump is buying it to build his buildings, putting steelworkers and American steel plants out of business. That's something that I fought against as a senator and that I would have a trade prosecutor to make sure that we don't get taken advantage of by China on steel or anything else.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Oct 9, 2016
FactCheck: Yes, has opposed trade deals since Reagan

Yes, for as far back as we have records: in his 2015 book, in his 2011 book, and in his 2000 book. Some sample excerpts:

• "There are people who wish I wouldn't refer to China as our enemy. But they have destroyed entire industries and cost us tens of thousands of jobs."--Crippled America, p. 43-5, Nov. 2015
• "We need to bring manufacturing jobs back home--the jobs China is stealing."--Time to Get Tough, p. 37-9, Dec. 2011
• "You only have to look at our trade deficit to see that we are being taken to the cleaners by our trading partners. We need tougher negotiations [to] cut better deals with our world trading partners."--The America We Deserve, p.145, July 2000

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 28, 2016
FactCheck: No, Iran is not a trading partner of North Korea

The MIT Atlas indicates that Trump is incorrect: "The top export destinations of North Korea are China ($2.67B), India ($71M), Pakistan ($40M), Nigeria ($20M) and Brazil ($19M). The top import origins are China ($3.49B), Thailand ($107M), Russia ($82M), India ($75M) and Singapore ($48M)." Iran is not in the top five trading partners of North Korea, whether counting exports or imports.

Maybe Trump meant that North Korea is on the top list of Iran's trading partners? The MIT Atlas indicates that Trump is also incorrect if that's what he meant "The top export destinations of Iran are China ($25B), India ($10B), Japan ($6B), South Korea ($4B) and Turkey ($1B). The top import origins are China ($24B), India ($4B), South Korea ($4B), Turkey ($4B) & Germany ($3B)."

We note that South Korea is on Iran's list of top trading partners--not North Korea!

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Sep 26, 2016
Our jobs are fleeing to Mexico; China uses us as piggy bank

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 26, 2016
Iran has power over North Korea, as their trading partner

And by the way, another one powerful is the worst deal I think I've ever seen negotiated that you started is the Iran deal. Iran is one of their biggest trading partners. Iran has power over North Korea.

And when they made that horrible deal with Iran, they should have included the fact that they do something with respect to North Korea. And they should have done something with respect to Yemen and all these other places.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Sep 26, 2016
Renegotiate NAFTA; they charge us 16%; we charge nothing

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.

Donald Trump on Technology : Sep 26, 2016
We invented Internet but ISIS is beating us at our own game

A: We should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we're not. I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She's saying "Russia, Russia, Russia," but I don't. Maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? We came up with the Internet, and Clinton and myself would agree very much, when you look at what ISIS is doing with the Internet, they're beating us at our own game. So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is a huge problem. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it's hardly doable. But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing. But that's true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better and certainly cyber is one of them.

John Kasich on Free Trade : Sep 16, 2016
TPP takes advantage of economic opportunities in Pacific Rim

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.

John Kasich on Free Trade : Sep 16, 2016
Supports Trans-Pacific Partnership but not trade ideology

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.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 7, 2016
Russia wants to defeat ISIS as badly as we do; work together

A: I've built a great company. I've been all over the world. I've dealt with foreign countries. I've done tremendously well dealing with China and with many of the countries that are just ripping this country. I think the main thing is I have great judgment.

Q: What steps would you take to bring Putin back to negotiating table?

A: I would have a good relationship with Putin. Take a look at what happened with their fighter jets circling one of our aircraft in a very dangerous manner. Somebody said less than 10 feet away. This is hostility. Russia wants to defeat ISIS as badly as we do. If we had a relationship with Russia, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could knock the hell out of ISIS?

Q: Putin called you a brilliant leader.

A: When he calls me brilliant, I'll take the compliment. The fact is, look, it's not going to get him anywhere. I'm a negotiator. We're going to take back our country.

Mike Pence on Free Trade : Jul 14, 2016
Supports TPP and trade agreements with Pacific Rim and China

• Pence backed trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea, Panama, Peru, Oman, Chile and Singapore during his House tenure from 2001 through 2012.
• He voted to keep the US in the World Trade Organization and to maintain permanent normal trade relations with China, the country Trump repeatedly criticizes for unfair trade practices.
• Pence also has publicly supported the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement of Pacific Rim nations, which Trump opposes and has likened to rape.

Bill Weld on Homeland Security : Jun 22, 2016
Nuclear proliferation is #1 threat to world security

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Mar 10, 2016
I take advantage of devalued Chinese currency; but stop them

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.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Mar 10, 2016
It's not free trade with China; it's stupid trade

TRUMP: The 45% tariff is a threat. It's not a tax, it was a threat. It will be a tax if they don't behave. Take China as an example. I have many friends, great manufacturers, they want to go into China. They can't. China won't let them. We talk about free trade. It's not tree free trade; it's stupid trade. China dumps everything that they have over here. No tax, no anything. We can't get into China. The best manufacturers, when they get in, they have to pay a tremendous tax. The 45% is a threat that if they don't behave, we will tax you. It doesn't have to be 45, it could be less. But it has to be something because our country & our trade & our deals and most importantly our jobs are going to hell.??

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Mar 3, 2016
I've been moving clothing-making from China to U.S.

Q: Will you promise that you will move your clothing collection to the US, the clothes that are made in China and Mexico?

TRUMP: I will do that. And by the way, I have been doing it more and more. But they devalue their currencies, in particular China. Mexico is doing a big number now, also. Japan is unbelievable what they're doing. They devalue their currencies, and they make it impossible for clothing-makers in this country to do clothing in this country. The Trans-Pacific Partnership--which Marco is in favor of---they don't take into concurrence the devaluation. They're devaluing their currency.

RUBIO: The answer is, he's not going to do it. And you know why? The reason why he makes it in China or Mexico is because he can make more money on it.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Feb 25, 2016
With a $58 billion trade deficit, Mexico will pay for wall

TRUMP: We have a trade deficit with Mexico of $58 billion a year. We're going to make them pay for that wall. The wall is $10 billion to $12 billion. I don't mind trade wars when we're losing $58 billion a year. Mexico is taking our businesses. They de-value their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them, our workers lose their jobs. You wouldn't know anything about it because you're a lousy businessman.

Donald Trump on Jobs : Feb 13, 2016
Bring jobs back from China, Mexico, Japan, and Vietnam

Bernie Sanders on Crime : Feb 11, 2016
By 2020, I pledge to have fewer people in jail than China

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Feb 10, 2016
China should make Kim Jong Un disappear

"I mean, this guy's a bad dude, and don't underestimate him," Trump said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "Any young guy who can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably want the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated."

Trump maintained that China has control over North Korea and the US has control over China--thus "China should do that," he said. "China has control--absolute control--over North Korea. They don't say it, but they do," Trump explained. "And they should make that problem disappear. China is sucking us dry. They're taking our money. They're taking our jobs. We have rebuilt China with what they've taken out."

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy : Feb 4, 2016
Obama trusted my judgment; I'll be ready on Day One

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 4, 2016
North Korea is run by nuclear-armed paranoid dictator

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 4, 2016
I worry about Putin in Crimea but worry more about N. Korea

SANDERS: No I don't. I worry about Putin and his military adventurism in the Crimea, but I worry more about an isolated country. Russia lives in the world. China lives in the world. North Korea is a strange country because it is so isolated, and I do feel that a nation with nuclear weapons, they have got to be dealt with.

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Feb 4, 2016
I will take on corporations that take their jobs to China

Barack Obama on Free Trade : Jan 20, 2016
TPP facilitates US control over Asian market

Bernie Sanders on Drugs : Jan 17, 2016
Why police records for marijuana but not white collar crime?

SANDERS: Let me respond to what the secretary said. We have a criminal justice system which is broken. Who in America is satisfied that we have more people in jail than any other country on Earth, including China? Disproportionately African American, and Latino. Who is satisfied that 51% of African American young people are either unemployed, or underemployed? Who is satisfied that millions of people have police records for possessing marijuana when the CEO's of Wall Street companies who destroyed our economy have no police records. We need to take a very hard look at our criminal justice system, investing in jobs and education, not in jails and incarceration.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Jan 14, 2016
China totally controls North Korea; they're just taunting us

Barack Obama on Homeland Security : Jan 13, 2016
We spend more on military than next 8 nations combined

1. $581B United States
2. $129B China
3. $81B Saudi Arabia
4. $70B Russia
5. $62B United Kingdom
6. $53B France
7. $48B Japan
8. $45B India
9. $44B Germany

The "next eight nations combined" add up to $532 billion annual military expenditures. Compare that to the U.S.'s annual total of $581 billion, and Pres. Obama is accurate. (Sen. Rand Paul said in 2015 the same statement about "the next ten countries combined," and we rated his statement "loosely accurate", but Obama could have gone up to "the next nine nations combined" adding in South Korea's $34B). Obama's point was the same as Paul's: the U.S. has by far the strongest military on earth, and we need not increase military spending to maintain our military dominance.

Barack Obama on Free Trade : Jan 12, 2016
TPP cuts 18,000 taxes on products made in America

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Jan 7, 2016
Lean on China to deal with North Korea

SANDERS: First of all, we're going to have to lean on China. China is North Korea's closest ally. They're gonna have to push North Korea to start adhering to international agreements.

Q: How do we lean on China?

SANDERS: We have a relationship with China. China is equally concerned about what North Korea is doing. North Korea is a paranoid, isolated nation. When you have a hydrogen bomb, if that's true, you're a threat to China as well.

Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values : Dec 19, 2015
Turn to Bill for special missions, not White House china

Donald Trump on Technology : Dec 15, 2015
Close our Internet up, to fight ISIS terrorist recruitment

TRUMP: ISIS is recruiting through the Internet. ISIS is using the Internet better than we are using the Internet, and it was our idea. I want to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they're doing. You talk freedom of speech. I don't want them using our Internet to take our young, impressionable youth. We should be using our most brilliant minds to figure a way that ISIS cannot use the Internet. And then we should be able to penetrate the Internet and find out exactly where ISIS is and everything about ISIS. And we can do that if we use our good people.

Q: So, are you open to closing parts of the Internet?

TRUMP: I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war with somebody. I don't want to let people that want to kill us \use our Internet.

John Kasich on Technology : Nov 17, 2015
Broadcast Judeo-Christian values abroad, to help defeat ISIS

"We need to beam messages around the world" about the freedoms Americans enjoy, Kasich said. "It means freedom, it means opportunity, it means respect for women, it means freedom to gather, it means so many things."

The US already has a government-funded broadcast system in Voice of America, which broadcasts American news and programming abroad. The radio, television and digital audience reaches up to 188 million people per week.

John Kasich on Foreign Policy : Nov 10, 2015
China doesn't own the South China Sea; show US Navy there

KASICH: China doesn't own the South China Sea, and I give the president some credit for being able to move a naval force in there to let the Chinese know that we're not going to put up with it any more.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Nov 10, 2015
TPP is a horrible deal; no one has read its 5,600 pages

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.

John Kasich on Free Trade : Nov 10, 2015
TPP is a strategic alliance against China

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.

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Nov 8, 2015
Keep mortgage interest deduction; knock out carried interest

TRUMP: I'm going to be bringing back jobs from China, from Japan, from India, from Brazil. This is going on at a level that you have never seen before. We now have corporate inversions, where companies are moving out of the United States. And they will be moving out in big numbers if we don't do something quickly. And my plan stops all of that.

Q: So, you want to close the loopholes for tax havens?

TRUMP: And I want to bring back trillions of dollars that is stuck in other countries that we won't let back in because we don't have intelligent people running our country.

Q: What about other loopholes on the personal side? Mortgage interest stays in there? Charitable giving?

TRUMP: That's right. Mortgage interest deduction would stay, absolutely. Carried interest, though, would not stay. One of the ways that the hedge fund guys who make a lot of money pay very little tax, the carried interest deduction. I'm knocking that out.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Nov 3, 2015
Chinese are savvy businesspeople: our enemy who need us

I know from my own experience that this is a difficult problem. The Chinese are very savvy businesspeople, and they have great advantages over our manufacturers. I've had several Trump-brand products made there.

Remember: The Chinese need us as much as we need them. Maybe even more.

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Oct 28, 2015
Make economy dynamic; bring back jobs from China & Mexico

Donald Trump on Immigration : Oct 28, 2015
I can get Mexico to pay for border wall; politicians can't

TRUMP: Right. We're going to build the wall; we're going to create a border. We're going to let people in, but they're going to come in legally. They are going to come in legally. And it's something that can be done. They built The Great Wall of China. That's 13,000 miles. Here, we actually need 1,000, because we have natural barriers. We can do a wall. We're going to have a big, fat beautiful door right in the middle of the wall. We are going to have people come in, but they are coming in legally. And Mexico is going to pay for the wall, because Mexico--I love the Mexican people, I respect the Mexican leaders, but the leaders are much sharper, smarter and more cunning than our leaders. And people say, "Oh, how are you going to get Mexico to pay?" A politician cannot get them to pay. I can.

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Oct 18, 2015
Restrict free trade to keep jobs in US

TRUMP: I am all for free trade, but it's got to be fair. When Ford moves their massive plants to Mexico, we get nothing. I want them to stay in Michigan.

Q: But the American Enterprise Institute says, your Trump Collection clothing line, some of it is made in Mexico and China.

TRUMP: That's true. I want it to be made here.

Q: The point is you're doing just what Ford is--you're taking advantage of a global trading market.

TRUMP: I never dispute that. I just ordered 4,000 television sets from South Korea. I don't want to order them from South Korea. I don't think anybody makes television sets in the United States anymore. I talk about it all the time.ÿWe don't make anything anymore. Now you look at Boeing.ÿBoeing's going over to China.ÿThey're going to build a massive plant because China's demanding it in order to order airplanes from Boeing.

Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil : Oct 13, 2015
Obama & I crashed China meeting and got climate change deal

CLINTON: I have been on the forefront of dealing with climate change, starting in 2009, when President Obama and I crashed a meeting with the Chinese and got them to sign up to the first international agreement to combat climate change that they'd ever joined.

Q: Are you referring to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen?

CLINTON: When we met in Copenhagen in 2009 and, literally, President Obama and I were hunting for the Chinese, going throughout this huge convention center, because we knew we had to get them to agree to something. Because there will be no effective efforts against climate change unless China and India join with the rest of the world. They told us they'd left for the airport; we found out they were having a secret meeting. We marched up, we broke in, we said, "Let's sit down and talk about what we need to do." And we did come up with the first international agreement that China has signed.

Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil : Oct 13, 2015
Chinese participation is essential to climate change

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Oct 11, 2015
Does not support ANY free trade agreements

SANDERS: I voted against NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China. I think they have been a disaster for the American worker. A lot of corporations that shut down here move abroad. Working people understand that after NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China we have lost millions of decent paying jobs. Since 2001, 60,000 factories in America have been shut down. We're in a race to the bottom, where our wages are going down. Is all of that attributable to trade? No. Is a lot of it? Yes. TPP was written by corporate America and the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street. That's what this trade agreement is about. I do not want American workers to competing against people in Vietnam who make 56 cents an hour for a minimum wage.

Q: So basically, there's never been a single trade agreement this country's negotiated that you've been comfortable with?

SANDERS: That's correct.

Donald Trump on Budget & Economy : Oct 4, 2015
Grow the economy at 6% annually by ending inversions

Q: But we just had 4% the last quarter.

TRUMP: But if you look at the overall average, we're doing less than 2% for the year. If China can do 7% -

Q: Right, but an emerging economy is always going to do 6%, 7%. Our sweet spot is 3% to 5%.

TRUMP: Right. If we do 6% or 7% under my plan, everybody benefits in jobs.

Q: We've never had a year of 6% or 7%. How is that gonna look?

TRUMP: Well, number one, corporate inversion is a big deal. There are many companies right now that are talking about very seriously leaving this country. And you're talking about thousands of jobs.

Q: What you're saying is, you make it all up with growth.

TRUMP: Not all up with growth. We also start cutting.

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Sep 5, 2015
Promote democracy in China, but not at expense of US workers

A: I want to see the people in China live in a democratic society with a higher standard of living. I want to see that, but I don't think that has to take place at the expense of the American worker. I don't think decent-paying jobs in this country have got to be lost as companies shut down here and move to China. I want to see the Chinese people do well, but I do not want to see the collapse of the American middle class take place, and I will fight against that.

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Sep 5, 2015
China trade has led to loss of 3M American jobs so far

A: Time and time again, Bernie has voted against free trade deals with China. In 1999, Bernie voted in the House against granting China "Most Favored Nation" status. In 2000, Bernie voted against Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China which aimed to create jobs, but instead lead to the loss of more than 3 million jobs for Americans.

Q: Maybe these trade agreements aren't all great for Americans, but don't they provide millions of jobs for Chinese workers?

A: Bernie firmly rejects the idea that America's standard of living must drop in order to see a raise in the standard of living in China.

Q: So what does Bernie propose we do?

A: Instead of passing such trade deals again and again, Bernie argues we must "develop trade policies which demand that American corporations create jobs here, and not abroad."

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Aug 6, 2015
We don't beat China or Japan or Mexico 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.

Donald Trump on Civil Rights : Aug 2, 2015
Obama's presidency has done nothing for African Americans

TRUMP: Well, I think he's been a very poor president. We have $18 trillion right now in debt and going up rapidly. We don't have victories anymore. China is killing us on trade. Mexico's killing us at the border and also killing us on trade.

Q: I understand your critique, but why we won't see another black president for generations?

TRUMP: Because I think that he has set a very poor standard and it's a shame for the African American people. He really has done nothing for African Americans. You look at what's gone on with their income levels, and with their youth. They have problems now in terms of unemployment numbers. We have a black president who's done very poorly for the African Americans of this country.

Donald Trump on Jobs : Aug 2, 2015
Take jobs back from foreign countries to lower unemployment

We have to take back jobs from Japan, and Vietnam, and Mexico, and virtually everybody that's taking our jobs and ruining our manufacturing base. And we have to put people to work. Because the real unemployment number is probably 21%. People give up looking for jobs. And they no longer become a statistic. And it's very unfair. So we have to put our country back to work. We have to get great jobs for people and good paying jobs for people. And we're going to be just fine.

Donald Trump on Energy & Oil : Jun 28, 2015
Maybe some climate change is manmade, but not all

A: Well, there could be some manmade, too. I mean, I'm not saying there's zero, but not nearly to the extent [others say]. When Obama gets up and said it's the number one problem of our country--and, if it is, why is it that we have to clean up our factories now, and China doesn't have to do it for another 30 or 35 years in their wonderful agreement, you know, our wonderful negotiators?

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Jun 16, 2015
China and Japan are beating us; I can beat China

When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn't exist, folks. They beat us all the time.

When do we beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they're killing us economically. The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems.

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Jun 14, 2015
Base trade policy on working families, not multinationals

SANDERS: I have been hearing that argument for the last 25 years. I heard it about NAFTA. I heard it about CAFTA. I heard it about permanent normal trade relations with China. Here is the fact. Since 2001, we have lost almost 60,000 factories and millions of good-paying jobs. I'm not saying trade is the only reason, but it is a significant reason why Americans are working longer hours for low wages and why we are seeing our jobs go to China and other low-wage countries. And, finally, what you're seeing in Congress are Democrats and some Republicans beginning to stand up and say, maybe we should have a trade policy which represents the working families of this country, that rebuilds our manufacturing base, not than just representing the CEOs of large multinational corporations.

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Apr 19, 2015
Wrong, wrong, wrong that trade deals create jobs here

SANDERS: In the House and Senate, I voted against all of these terrible trade agreements, NAFTA, CAFTA, permanent normal trades relations with China. Republicans and Democrats, they say, "oh, we'll create all these jobs by having a trade agreement with China." Well, the answer is, they were wrong, wrong, wrong. Over the years, we have lost millions of decent paying jobs. These trade agreements have forced wages down in America so the average worker in America today is working longer hours for lower wages.

Q: So, is that a litmus test for you, to see whether or not Clinton is going to come out against the TPP?

SANDERS: I hope very much the secretary comes out against it. I think we do not need to send more jobs to low wage countries. I think corporate America has to start investing in this country and create decent paying jobs here.

Bernie Sanders on Corporations : Mar 21, 2015
Worker-owned cooperatives instead of corporate tax breaks

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Mar 21, 2015
End disastrous NAFTA, CAFTA, and PNTR with China

Barack Obama on Energy & Oil : Jan 20, 2015
China has agreed with US; rest of world will now follow

Barack Obama on Free Trade : Jan 20, 2015
21st century businesses need to sell more overseas

Look, I'm the first one to admit that past trade deals haven't always lived up to the hype. But 95% of the world's customers live outside our borders, and we can't close ourselves off from those opportunities. More than half of manufacturing executives have said they're actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let's give them one more reason to get it done.

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Jan 15, 2015
Stop TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership

[We should also] sign the petition to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership--another trade deal disaster.

Kirsten Gillibrand on Foreign Policy : Sep 9, 2014
1995: Inspired by women's rights as human rights

Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil : Jun 10, 2014
$100B per year by 2020 for climate change mitigation

By offering a concrete commitment, I hoped to breathe new life into the talks, put pressure on China and the other "emerging emitters" to respond, and win support from developing countries.

In the end, the leaders fashioned a deal that, while far from perfect, put us on the road to future progress. For the first time all major economies, developed and developing alike, agreed to make national commitments to curb carbon emissions through 2020 and report transparently on their mitigation efforts. The world began moving away from the division between developed and developing countries that had defined the Kyoto agreement. This was a foundation to build on.

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy : Jun 10, 2014
China never fits neatly into category like friend or rival

[In my 1998 China trip as First Lady], I came home from the trip convinced that if China over time embraces reform and modernization, it could become a constructive world power and an important partner for the US.

I returned to China as Secretary in February 2009 with the goal of building a relationship durable enough to weather the inevitable disputes and crises that would arise. I also wanted to embed the China relationship in our broader Asia strategy, engaging Beijing in the region's multilateral institutions [based on] agreed-upon rules. [But] we would not sacrifice our values or our traditional allies in order to win better terms with China.

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy : Jun 10, 2014
Get China involved with North Korea diplomacy

In my public remarks [in Feb. 2009] in Seoul I extended an invitation to the North Koreans. If they would completely and verifiably eliminate their nuclear weapons program, we would be willing to normalize relations, and assist in meeting the economic and humanitarian needs of the North Korean people. If not, the regime's isolation would continue. It was an opening gambit that was not one I thought likely to succeed. But we started off with the offer of engagement knowing it would be easier to get other nations to pressure North Korea if and when the offer was rejected. It was particularly important for China, a longtime patron and protector of the regime in Pyongyang, to be part of a united international front. [The opening failed, as have numerous others since then].

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy : Jun 10, 2014
Embed China within broader Asia strategy

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy : Jun 10, 2014
Balance American interests between China & Korea

We talked about how to balance America's interests in Asia, which sometimes seemed in competition. For example, how hard could we push the Chinese on human rights or climate change and still gain their support on security issues like Iran and North Korea Q [to Gov. O'Malley]: How many Syrian refugees should the US take in?

O'MALLEY: I was the first person on this stage to say that we should accept the 65,000 Syrian refugees that were fleeing the sort of murder of ISIL, and I believe that that needs to be done with proper screening.

Q: Secretary Clinton, how do you propose we screen those coming in to keep citizens safe?

CLINTON: I think that is the number one requirement. I also said that we should take increased numbers of refugees.

Hillary Clinton on Free Trade : Jun 10, 2014
China benefits from WTO and should play by WTO rules

Mike Pence on Free Trade : Jan 15, 2014
Favors free trade, but not tariff dodging from China

Mike Pence on Free Trade : Jan 15, 2014
Favors free trade, but not tariff dodging from China

Cory Booker on Free Trade : Nov 3, 2013
China cheats via currency manipulation & IP theft

American workers can compete and win on a level playing field, which is why China's cheating--through artificially depressing its currency and other unfair trade practices--is so damaging. While currency appreciation has occurred, keeping it artificially low hurts our economic competitiveness and undermines the trust that is essential to a strong relationship. That doesn't mean we should start a trade war--that would hurt our economy just as much as it would hurt China's. Instead, our goal should be a level playing field that treats everyone fairly, and that includes cracking down on unfair practices, such as unreasonable market barriers and Intellectual Property theft, that often break China's commitments to us and the rest of the world.

Cory Booker on Free Trade : Aug 5, 2013
China is engaging in unfair trade practices

Joe Biden on Energy & Oil : May 9, 2013
Switch China from coal to gas, instead of carbon tax

A: The truth is, right now, no, because we know it will go nowhere. Look, one of the things we are doing, and the president is asking me to kind of get ahead of here, is that we have a real chance, both in this hemisphere and with China, to enter into joint ventures on renewable energy and on cleaner-burning natural gas. Let me give you an example: The Chinese are building something like one new coal-fired plant a week. The Chinese have figured out that they have a giant environmental problem. Folks in Beijing, some days, literally can't breathe. So we have a great opportunity here to figure out how we can not only begin to wean ourselves off of carbon-based fuels but wean the world off of them too. It's just a gigantic opportunity, and it produces a boatload of jobs. There are going to be 600,000 new jobs out there in the gas industry over the next 10 to 12 years.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Feb 12, 2013
China's growth & stability depends on US Pacific presence

If we do our job correctly and we interface directly with the leadership, there will be intense competition, there will be occasional misunderstandings, but our children will not be looking at China as a sworn enemy. I do not believe that's in the cards. I believe there is healthy competition from a growing, emerging China, which I would argue is in the interest of all of us. One of the reasons China has been able to have this period of sustained growth and stability is because of a US presence in the Pacific, not in spite of.

Barack Obama on Jobs : Feb 12, 2013
Make America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing

There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. There's no reason this can't happen in other towns. So tonight, I'm announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of fifteen of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Feb 10, 2013
Open dialogue means no military conflict with China

A: I am confident that it's in the interests of China and the emerging Chinese leadership that it not result in conflict. The last thing that they need at this moment is to engage in anything remotely approaching military competition with the US. I do not believe that is their intention. It clearly is not our intention. The most important thing to assure that this not occur is to have a frank, straightforward, private dialogue with the emerging leadership in China, letting them know what our interests are, letting them know what we believe our role is, and let them make judgments about whether or not that in any way conflicts with their growth patterns or their ability to maintain their own national security interest.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Feb 6, 2013
Rise of peaceful, responsible China in the interests of all

And we all have a role to play in encouraging Beijing to define its interests more in terms of common global concerns than merely introspective concerns. The United States is a Pacific power. The bottom line is that the USA has an important and specific interest in an Asia-Pacific region that is peaceful and growing--as do our Russian friends and our Japanese friends. So we ought to intensify our cooperation in advance of those interests, moving forward together.

Hillary Clinton on War & Peace : Jan 29, 2013
Policy of prevention, not containment, on Iranian nukes

A: Our policy is prevention, not containment. And we have, through hard work with the international community, imposed the toughest set of sanctions on any country. We know it's having an effect. We have to continue to keep them isolated, and keep Russia and China on board. [But] we've said from the very beginning, we're open to diplomacy. We are doing so in the so-called P5-plus-1 format.

Q: What about military action against them?

A: Well, we've always said all options are on the table. The president has been very clear about that. [With regards to the] terrorism aspect of Iran's behavior, when I came into office, there were too many countries that were turning a blind eye to it. We have worked very hard to get the international community to say these guys need to be stopped on the terrorism front. They cannot be permitted to go forward.

Tulsi Gabbard on Immigration : Nov 6, 2012
Relax onerous visa requirements for Indian & Chinese tourism

Barack Obama on Corporations : Oct 22, 2012
If we had let GM go bankrupt, we'd be buying Chinese cars

OBAMA: Well, Governor Romney's right. You are familiar with jobs being shipped overseas, because you invested in companies that were shipping jobs overseas. And, you know, that's your right. I mean, that's how our free market works. But I've made a different bet on American workers. You know, if we had taken your advice, Governor Romney, about our auto industry, we'd be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China. If we take your advice with respect to how we change our tax codes so that companies that are in profits overseas don't pay U.S. taxes compared to companies here that are paying taxes, now, that's estimated to create 800,000 jobs. The problem is they won't be here; they'll be in places like China. Now, with respect to what we've done with China already, US exports have doubled, since I came into office, to China.

Barack Obama on Foreign Policy : Oct 22, 2012
Pivot to East Asia; America is a Pacific power

OBAMA: When it comes to our military and Chinese security, part of the reason that we were able to pivot to the Asia-Pacific region after having ended the war in Iraq and transitioning out of Afghanistan, is precisely because this is going to be a massive growth area in the future. And we believe China can be a partner, but we're also sending a very clear signal that America is a Pacific power, that we are going to have a presence there.

Barack Obama on Free Trade : Oct 22, 2012
China is an adversary but also a potential partner

OBAMA: I think it will continue to be terrorist networks. We have to remain vigilant. But with respect to China, China's both an adversary but also a potential partner in the international community if it's following the rules. So my attitude coming into office was that we are going to insist that China plays by the same rules as everybody else. And I know Americans had seen jobs being shipped overseas, businesses and workers not getting a level playing field when it came to trade. And that's the reason why I set up a trade task force to go after cheaters when it came to international trade. We have brought more cases against China for violating trade rules than the previous administration had done in two terms. And we've won just about every case that we've filed. Just recently, steelworkers in Ohio & Pennsylvania, are in a position now to sell steel to China because we won that case.

Barack Obama on Tax Reform : Oct 22, 2012
Tax cuts won't help us compete with China; invest instead

Barack Obama on Energy & Oil : Oct 16, 2012
Invest in clean energy because China & Germany will

OBAMA: We can't just produce traditional source of energy. We've also got to look to the future. That's why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you're going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas. That's why we doubled clean energy production like wind and solar and biofuels. Now, Governor Romney will say he's got an all-of-the-above plan, but he's got the oil and gas part, but he doesn't have the clean energy part. And if we are only thinking about tomorrow or the next day and not thinking about 10 years from now, we're not going to control our own economic future. Because China, Germany, they're making these investments. And I'm not going to cede those jobs of the future to those countries. That's going to make sure that you're not paying as much for gas.

Barack Obama on Foreign Policy : Oct 16, 2012
We pushed China hard to raise currency exchange by 11%

OBAMA: As far as currency manipulation, [China's] currency has actually gone up 11 percent since I've been president because we have pushed them hard. And we've put unprecedented trade pressure on China. That's why exports have significantly increased under my presidency. That's going to help to create jobs here.

Q: Apple iPhones are all manufactured in China. How do you convince Apple to bring that manufacturing back here?

ROMNEY: The answer is very straightforward. We can compete with anyone in the world as long as the playing field is level. China's been cheating over the years. One by holding down the value of their currency. Number two, by stealing our intellectual property; our designs, our patents, our technology. There's even an Apple store in China that's a counterfeit Apple store, selling counterfeit goods. They hack into our computers. We will have to have people play on a fair basis.

Barack Obama on Jobs : Oct 16, 2012
We were losing 800,000 jobs each month when I started

Barack Obama on Jobs : Oct 16, 2012
Change offshore tax rules to bring back outsourced jobs

ROMNEY: The place where we've seen manufacturing go has been China. On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow me as president to be able to put in place tariffs.

OBAMA: I want to close loopholes that allow companies to deduct expenses when they move to China; that allow them to profit offshore. Now, Gov. Romney actually wants to expand those tax breaks. One of his big ideas when it comes to corporate tax reform would be to say, if you invest overseas, you make profits overseas, you don't have to pay US taxes. It's estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs. The problem is they'll be in China. Or India. Or Germany. That's not the way we're going to create jobs here. The way we're going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to double our exports. That's why we've kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that American workers are getting a good deal.

Barack Obama on Technology : Oct 16, 2012
We need to train for the next generation of Apples

OBAMA: There are some jobs that are not going to come back. Because they are low wage, low skill jobs. I want high wage, high skill jobs. That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That's why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing. That's why we've got to make sure that we've got the best science and research in the world. And if we're cutting investments in research and science that will create the next Apple, create the next new innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose that race. If we're not training engineers to make sure that they are equipped here in this country, then companies won't come here. Those investments are what's going to help to make sure that we continue to lead this world economy, not just next year, but 50 years from now.

Barack Obama on Free Trade : Sep 4, 2012
Develop alternatives to importing rare earths from China

A: Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are used by American manufacturers to make high-tech products like the advanced batteries that power everything from hybrid cars to cell phones. My support for the development alternatives to rare earth materials is helping to ensure we have the materials necessary to propel our high-technology economy forward. Being able to manufacture competitive products in America is too important for us to stand by and do nothing. We've got to take control of our energy future, and we can't let the energy industry take root in other countries because they are allowed to break the rules. That's why we have joined with Japan and some of our European allies to bring a trade case against China for imposing restrictions on their exports of rare earth materials