Governor Huntsman is a strong supporter of free trade initiatives. He considers free trade to be the cornerstone of a good economy and good international relationships. Mr Huntsman served as the Deputy US Trade Representative from 2001-2004. During that time, he promoted free trade policies and stated that he had witnessed first-hand that economic freedoms reinforce political freedoms and that they promoting open markets promotes democratic values in those markets and enhances opportunities for American farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and families. He called for a new round of WTO trade agreements.
In 2002, Huntsman espoused the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and stated that that it had been a success beyond anyone's expectations and brought lower prices to American families.
Governor Huntsman has continued the promotion of free trade in his 2012 presidential campaign. In a 2011 article, he stated that the US should aggressively pursue free trade agreements, and that. ninety-five percent of the world's customers live outside the U.S. He stated that the US won't remain the most productive economy in the world if we embrace the mistaken belief that we can prosper by selling and buying only among ourselves, while other countries seize the extraordinary opportunities for economic growth that the global economy offers.
In a second article on numerous campaign topics, Governor Huntsman stated that the US needed to get back into the game and pursue free trade agreements. In a campaign video, Governor Huntsman stated that trade was the currency of peace in that countries that trade together rarely go to war. He spoke of free trade as a reward to be given to countries that promote the US democratic belief.
Deputy US Trade Representative
Jon Huntsman served as Deputy US Trade Representative for President George W Bush from 2001-2004. When his appointment was approved, he made the following statement concerning his views on trade and free trade agreements.
I have witnessed first-hand that economic freedoms reinforce political freedoms. Promoting open markets promotes democratic values in those markets and enhances opportunities for American farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and families. I intend to do everything possible to help maintain America's preeminence in global economics. Yet with the United States party to only two of the 130 free trade agreements worldwide, it is crucial to get off the sidelines by launching a new WTO trade round and establishing a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Trade Promotion Authority, the President's top trade goal, is important for both.
Support for NAFTA
In 2002, as the US Trade Representative, Jon Huntsman made the following statement regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
(NAFTA has been) a success beyond anyone's expectations… It has allowed the average family to save in terms of what they pay for goods, products that would otherwise carry a higher cost.
Politico Interview
In February of 2009, Governor Huntsman was interviewed and discussed possible "buy American" laws in the stimulus and discussion of fair trade laws.
Q: What do you make of the rhetoric coming out of the Democratic Party or the Obama administration on fair trade and “Buy American” laws?
A: That’s shades of Smoot-Hawley, 1931…When America closes its doors, so does everybody else. We are the primary engine of growth in the world and we are the only beacon of free trade left, and open markets.
A Time to Choose
In May of 2011, Governor Huntsman wrote an op-ed discussing numerous choices that the US had to make concerning entitlements, trade, and other issues. In that op-ed, he discusses the need for free trade.
Our Current Time for Choosing
This year marks the centennial anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth—and America finds itself at a crossroads that brings to mind the title of that great man's famous speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy: "A Time for Choosing." We should not underestimate the seriousness of the responsibility. This is the moment when we will choose whether we are to become a declining power in the world, or a nation that again surpasses thegreat achievements of our history.
We are over $14 trillion in debt, $4 trillion more than we owed just two years ago. In 2008, the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product was 40%. Today it's 68%, and we are fast approaching the critical 90% threshold economists warn is unsustainable, causing dramatic spikes in inflation and interest rates, and corresponding declines in GDP and jobs.
Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. We'll sink even deeper in debt to pay for everything else, from national security to disaster relief. American families will fall behind the economic security enjoyed by previous generations. Our country will fall behind the productivity of other countries. Our currency will be debased. Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will be more precarious.
Some argue for half-measures, or for delaying the inevitable because the politics are too hard. But delay is a decision to let America decline. The longer we wait, the harder our choices become.
The debt ceiling must be raised this summer to cover the government's massive borrowing, and we must make reductions in government spending a condition for increasing the debt ceiling. This will provide responsible leaders the opportunity to reduce, reform, and in some cases end government programs—including some popular but unaffordable subsidies for agriculture and energy—in order to save the trillions, not billions, necessary to make possible a future as bright as our past. It also means reforming entitlement programs that won't deliver promised benefits to retirees without changes that take account of the inescapable reality that we have too few workers supporting too many retirees.
I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare. Those who disagree with his approach incur a moral responsibility to propose reforms that would ensure Medicare's ability to meet its responsibilities to retirees without imposing an unaffordable tax burden on future generations of Americans.
These aren't easy choices, and we must make them at a time of anemic economic growth and very high unemployment. That's why we must also make sweeping reforms of our tax code, regulatory policies and other government policies to improve our productivity, competitiveness and job creation.
The United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world. We are losing out to countries that make it more attractive for businesses to invest there. Our tax code should encourage American businesses to invest and add new jobs here. We need a tax code that substitutes flatter and lower rates for the bewildering and often counterproductive array of deductions and loopholes, and that provides incentives to encourage savings, investment and growth.
We also need to pursue, as aggressively as other countries do, free trade agreements. Ninety-five percent of the world's customers live outside the U.S. We won't remain the most productive economy in the world if we embrace the mistaken belief that we can prosper by selling and buying only among ourselves, while other countries seize the extraordinary opportunities for economic growth that the global economy offers. Finally, we must reform public education, so that it prepares our children for the economic opportunities of this century, not the last one.
When I was the governor of Utah, we cut and flattened tax rates. We balanced budgets and grew our rainy-day fund. And when the economic crisis struck, we didn't raise taxes or rely on accounting gimmicks to hide obligations. We cut spending and made government more efficient. We increased revenues by facilitating a business environment in which innovators and job creators could expand our economic base. Utah maintained its AAA bond rating, and in 2008 it was named the best-managed state in the nation by the Pew Center on the States. We proved that government doesn't have to choose between fiscal responsibility and economic growth.
We should not accept that election-cycle politics make it too hard to make the decisions that are necessary to preserve the most productive and competitive economy in the world. This is not just a time for choosing new leaders. This is the hour when we choose our future.
Wall Street Journal Interview
In June of 2011 Governor Huntsman was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and discusses trade policy and China. He is quoted in there as discussing the need to get back into negotiating free trade agreements to keep pace with China.
"We need to get back in the game," he says, citing the lapse of free-trade momentum as a primary failing of the Obama years. "If we don't do it, China will move ahead with free-trade agreements as they are in Latin America, built around procurement practices that benefit Chinese companies."
Campaign Videos
2012 Campaign Website Statements
TIME TO COMPETE An American Jobs Plan
Trade
Free trade supports nearly 18 million American jobs, and establishing new lines of trade with international partners represents an enormous well of untapped economic and political goodwill.
95 percent of the world's customers live outside our borders, and with the United States party to only 17 of the more than 300 trade agreements worldwide, opening markets and expanding a customer base for American businesses is a commonsense tool to spark growth.
America's strength lies in our creative class, our entrepreneurial spirit, and in governance wise enough to allow our great companies to compete in the international marketplace. The countries that lead in defining the new trading system will be the countries that benefit the most. If we don't assume the mantle of leadership, our economy will be relegated to competing in a marketplace defined by our competitors.
We won't remain the most productive economy in the world if we embrace the mistaken belief that we can prosper by selling and buying only among ourselves, while other countries seize the extraordinary opportunities for economic growth that the global economy offers.
A PROVEN RECORD
Gov. Huntsman has decades of experience, witnessing firsthand the benefits of trade to American businesses and consumers.
Gov. Huntsman served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for President George W. Bush, and helped negotiate free trade agreements in Asia and Africa.
As Ambassador to Singapore and Ambassador to China, Gov. Huntsman helped expand markets for American exports.
In Utah, Gov. Huntsman aggressively pursued trade, led trade missions overseas, and helped double Utah's exports.
TRADE PROPOSALS
Pursue New Trade Opportunities, Particularly Across the Pacific It is in the strategic interest of the United States to reach trade agreements with the world's largest economies that share our values.
Thus, the United States should take the lead in initiating free trade agreements with Japan, India and Taiwan, among others. We must begin to send a message to the world that we will once again lead on trade liberalization.
Support the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization Negotiations Although discussions have stalled, the United States should urge completion of the multi-lateral negotiations aimed at promoting free trade between nations of varying prosperity, which will benefit both developed and developing nations.
Lead in Reaching a Successful Conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Gov. Huntsman's Administration will make completion of the TPP a priority. This framework would open the markets of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam to U.S. goods.
