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Mitt Romney on Trade and Economics
This candidate has withdrawn from the election
Romney is pro free-trade and against protectionism.
He believes that "the American business and American worker can compete with anyone in the world," according to James Bognet, a deputy policy director for the Romney campaign.
Trading Free National Review, August 9, 2007
"We have to keep our markets open or we go the way of Russia and the Soviet Union, which is a collapse. And I recognize there are some people who will argue for protectionism because the short-term benefits sound pretty good, but long term you kill your economy, you kill the future."
CNBC Kudlow & Company (March 22, 2007)
"And we're going to have to go work as well, to make sure that there's a level playing field around the world as we compete, to make sure that American goods are pushing into other markets; that goods coming overseas aren't getting an advantage as they do now with embedded taxes. I want to make sure that the American worker gets a fair shake."
"Any economy that's tried to put barriers up to keep itself from having to compete with innovation around the world is an economy which ultimately ends up collapsing and becoming second tier,"
"We'd like to see more agreements, not fewer, to improve the economic well-being of our neighborhood," he said in a July 2007 speech. "Trade lifts all nations that participate."
In October 2007, Romney named a trade policy advisory group for his campaign, which includes Columbia Business School Dean R. Glenn Hubbard and Manufacturers Alliance CEO Thomas Duesterberg, among others. "Expanding trade is pro-growth, pro-industry, pro-agriculture, and pro-American leadership in the world," Romney said at the time.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney vetoed a bill that would raise the state minimum wage to $8 by 2008
Boston Globe, 6/22/06
Romney rejected the state legislature's plan to raise Massachusetts' minimum wage because of the concern that the minimum wage would have on the state's economy. The plan would have raised the minimum wage from $6.75 to $7 an hour on Jan. 1 and have the executive branch study and possibly recommend further increases every two years.
Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, favors the wage being tied to changes in the inflation index, commonly known as the consumer price index, and to data on employment and jobless rates.
Governor Romney supports "'The Rights of Workers to Decide Whether to Join a Union or Not.' Democrats want to deny workers the right to make the decision on whether to unionize by secret ballot and mandate that unionization be allowed by a 'card check' system. We oppose taking away workers' rights to a secret ballot."
"I believe in domestic supports for our agriculture industry. I don't want to see our food supply be in the same kind of a jeopardy situation that our energy supply is in. And clearly there's a responsibility of government to make sure that our farmers are treated on the same basis as farmers in Europe and other markets that we compete with."
Q: I am curious which candidates that label themselves 'fiscally responsible' will endorse the elimination of farm subsidies if they are elected president in 2008? ROMNEY: "We don't want to find ourselves with regards to our food supply in the same kind of position we with regards to our energy supply, so it's important for us to make sure our farmers stay on the farm and raise the crops we need to have a secure source of food."
"At the same time we have to make sure that the rules of free trade are fair. It's time to make sure China's markets, for instance, are open to our goods."
"I will reach out to them and make them a partner to stability in the world. Make sure we are open and communicating."