Tags
2016 US Presidential Elections, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson, Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, Presidential Candidate Jill Stein, Presidential candidates on global trade, US Democratic Party, US Green Party, US Libertarian Party, US Republican Party
Photo Credit: Maps of World
Here’s how our top four presidential candidates propose to address global trade.
Donald Trump – Republican Party
Trade reform—
- Appoint trade negotiators whose goal will be to win for America: narrowing our trade deficit, increasing domestic production, and getting a fair deal for our workers.
- Renegotiate NAFTA.
- Withdraw from the TPP.
- Bring trade relief cases to the world trade organization.
- Label China a currency manipulator.
- Apply tariffs and duties to countries that cheat.
- Direct the Commerce Department to use all legal tools to respond to trade violations.
Learn more at https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/economic-vision
Hillary Clinton – Democratic Party
Hillary Clinton will strengthen American trade enforcement so we stand up to foreign countries that aren’t playing by the rules–like China is doing right now with steel—and fight for American workers. She will say no to trade deals, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that do not meet her high standard of raising wages, creating good-paying jobs, and enhancing our national security.
Learn more at https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/manufacturing/
Jill Stein – Green Party
Under the heading of “A Just Economy,” Jill Stein notes: Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.
See http://www.jill2016.com/plan
Learn more about Jill Stein on Free Trade at On The Issues.
Gary Johnson – Libertarian Party
Under his Jobs Plan, Gary Johnson makes no mention of trade agreements.
See https://www.johnsonweld.com/jobs
Learn more about Gary Johnson on Free Trade at On The Issues.
Thanks, Rosaliene. You are performing a service by making the links available to those who might not otherwise find them conveniently accessible.
LikeLike
Dr. Stein, I’m happy that you appreciate what I’m doing. Of course, not everyone will agree with the issues I’m highlighting.
LikeLike
Candidates: “We can say anything, this is an election, not reality. And anything we promise can and will be used against those stupid enough to believe us… again! They truly deserve us.”
LikeLike
So true, Sha’Tara. Candidates can promise all kinds of things they have no intention of fulfilling or may not be able to have approved in congress. It’s up to citizens to hold them accountable. That is another story.
LikeLike
Yes, that’s the story that goes beyond the election. That’s when you get up off the lunch table and go to work, not just sit around waiting for the stomach to digest another orgy. Democracy is government BY the people first of all. I’d like to see that happen some day.
LikeLike
Getting back our democracy means getting Big Money out of our government.
LikeLike
That is THE truism of the time, Rosaliene. Now then, who’s going to bell the cat? Or perhaps a better turn of question would be, how can we do this without bloody revolution?
LikeLike
Without bloody revolution: in the courts and through legislation.
LikeLike
Ah… do you mind if I say, “Good luck!” while toning down my built-in cynicism? I can’t see it, the way “they” buy legislators and judges. Analogy: there’s a house; it’s for sale, I need it but I won’t use money to buy it because money’s corrupt. However the only way I can get the house without killing the inhabitants is to buy them out… with money. It’s a vicious circle.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Guyanese Online.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing my post, Cyril. Have a sunshine week 🙂
LikeLike
Rosaliene,
I find the concept of trade agreements too confusing to be valid. It seems the only things that governments can trade are favors, and this raises the prices for individuals at home, as well as costs for the individuals in the un-favored countries.
I’m curious, considering your background in the import-export business, how you feel personally about them. I can tell you I’m an extremist in that I don’t believe in tariffs or trade agreements at all.
The ink wasn’t dry on the Constitution before the US was negotiating with the British for “favored nation status,” against the French, who some say won the war for us. What kind of payback was that?
LikeLike
Katharine, we humans have been trading for centuries. Since those early days, trade across borders is subject to rules and regulations. Not all nations are part of free trade agreements, but enjoy special tariffs. FTAs can threaten vital local agricultural and other production. I favor fair trade where farmers and other producers receive a fair price for their goods.
To appreciate the complexity of our global trade networks and how geographical regions work to strengthen their economies against predatory trade deals and level the playing field, check out my article on “Regional Trade Blocks, Tariffs and Trade Barriers.” You’ll also find a link to my fair trade article.
http://rosalienebacchus.com/articles/RegionalTradeBlocks.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will do. I wonder why local economies don’t specialize in what they’re good at. For instance, both the US and China raise cotton and chickens. I don’t understand why they are raising both in Georgia for export, some of the major exports. Both take a huge toll on the land and are labor-intensive practices where workers are subject to the worst conditions and the lowest pay. (More so with chickens, because cotton farming is so heavily mechanized.)
The over-production for export results in enormous inefficiency and a race to the bottom to squeeze out maximum profits for middlemen, including government.
The farmers we are protecting are the big guys, not the individual farmer who must charge 143% more for his peanuts sold to a neighbor because of the protective tariff.
LikeLike
I just checked out your above-referenced article. It reinforced my belief that trade partnerships help governments and international corporations more than the individual producers and purchasers.
It leads to the question of how these arrangements affect international corporations (and bankers), which are not really beholden to any particular government.
LikeLike
Katharine, your observations are correct. Our globalized capitalist economy led by multinational and transnational corporations is bad for consumers, local producers, nations, and our planet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the confirmation. I sometimes wonder if I’m way off-base in my analyses. It amazes me that the power-brokers have been able to get away with it for so long . . . and it’s only getting worse. have you read “Open Veins of Latin America”? It was a real eye-opener for me, and explains much of why Dilma Rousseff is being persecuted (and prosecuted) now.
LikeLike
No, I haven’t read Open Veins of Latin America.
LikeLike
accountability? 🙂
LikeLike
Free trade deals are made by and for the great corporations. We the People have to hold our leaders accountable when they approve these deals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the links, Rosaliene! I like your political posts. Such is life – candidates often promise thing that cannot be fulfilled in given situation. However, one of them will be the president, we want it or not, and we’d better focus our energy on living on and taking care of our families, regardless of what is coming. We and our politicians are not the same thing 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Inese. Yes, we do need to take care of our families and to prepare them for whatever lies ahead.
LikeLiked by 1 person