Not all Republican presidential candidates share George Bush's passion for free trade with countries like Colombia; some have strong reservations about Chinese trade.

After consummating a free trade pact with Peru, George Bush has put a proposed trade deal with Colombia at the top of his priority list for 2008.

Below is a short summary that reveals how high-profile Republican politicians have voted on region-specific free trade proposals and related trade issues.

The first three candidates below (Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo) have generally opposed components of free trade.

Duncan Hunter

From the fruit-and-vegetable kingdom of California, Republican Duncan Hunter voted against free trade agreements with China and Singapore. Hunter has supported resolutions blocking normal trade relations with the People’s Republic. Citing inadequate benefits and excessive costs for America, the Californian has formally rejected both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Ron Paul

Texan Ron Paul is a vociferous critic of the World Trade Organization, which he labels as ineffective in enforcing free trade or mediating trade wars. Paul cites CAFTA as a managed free trade scheme that principally benefits special interest groups. The Texan politician also dismisses NAFTA as part of a plan to erase the borders between Mexico and Texas.

Tom Tancredo

Republican Tom Tancredo complains that CAFTA is more about letting more immigrants into the U.S. than it is a free trade accord. The representative from Colorado voted against free trade agreements with Chile, Oman and Singapore. Tancredo voted for the U.S. to withdraw from the WTO both in 2000 and 2005. More recently, Tancredo supported America’s free trade agreement with Peru.

The following five Republican candidates (Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romnee, Rudi Giuiliani) generally vote for regional free trade agreements.

Fred Thompson

A member of the Senate subcommittee on international trade, Fred Thompson has championed many free trade accords tracing back to the African Free Trade Bill in 2000. Thompson also voted to bestow the presidency with trade promotion authority. That Thompson’s trade policies mirror many of George Bush’s ideals is not surprising, given that Thompson’s economic policy adviser is Bush’s former chief economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey.

John McCain

Arizona Senator John McCain is a leading voice for using free trade as a motivational tool, enticing Middle Eastern nations to enjoy democracy and free trade via the global economy. In addition to supporting both NAFTA and CAFTA, McCain has voted for free trade with Australia, Chile, Oman and Singapore.

Mike Huckabee

Governor Huckabee is generally positive on free trade, but insists that any free trade agreement protect against the unfair loss of American jobs. Arkansas’ governor has supported free trade with Mexico and engineered a special trade pact between South Korea and his home state.

Mitt Romney

Maryland’s governor supports free trade with many countries including China. To Romney, free trade is a way for America to continue its leadership in global economic growth. Governor Romney recently proposed a so-called Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom, a group of countries committed to open markets.

Rudolph Giuliani

The former mayor of New York City aggressively supports free trade as long as countries like China play fair and American jobs are ensured. Giuliani blessed America’s recent free trade pact with Peru, and has embraced pending agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Giuliani wants America to leverage free trade benefits by improving U.S. companies’ competitiveness through reduced taxes and reformed Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Giuliani believes in the World Trade Organization, and insists that the U.S. focus on resurrecting the WTO’s multinational trade negotiations in Doha.

References

This article presents independent insights based on the analysis The Candidates on Trade (December 4, 2007) as described on the site Council on Foreign Relations - A Nonpartisan Resource for Information and Analysis.