Candidates' Positions on Trade Agreements

Candidates' Positions on Trade Agreements

To help voters understand where candidates stand on trade agreements, the Iowa Fair Trade Campaign (IFTC) extracted statements from responses to its set of principles (PDF) by major Democratic* candidates on the following topics:

• Replacing the Fast Track Trade Negotiating Process
• Labor Standards
• Environmental Standards
• Foreign Investor Rules That Promote Offshoring, Undermine Domestic Public Interest Laws
• Imported Food and Product Safety Standards
• Access to and Regulation of Essential Services
• Government Procurement Policy Limits Set in Trade Pacts
• Reviewing and, as Necessary, Renegotiating NAFTA and other Existing Trade Agreements
• Changing Course on the Current Doha Round WTO Expansion
• Combating the U.S. Trade Deficit (currency manipulation, trade law enforcement, etc.)

Although several Republican candidates had emphasized in their campaigns criticism of status quo trade policies, the IFTC never received their responses. Following are the responses they did receive:

• Sen. Joe Biden (PDF)
• Sen. Hillary Clinton (PDF)
• Sen. Chris Dodd (PDF)
• Former Sen. John Edwards (PDF)
• Sen. Barack Obama (PDF)
• Gov. Bill Richardson (PDF)

*Prior to the Iowa primary, the IFTC presented all the candidates – Democrat and Republican – with a set of principles (PDF) outlining an acceptable trade policy set forth by Iowa's major labor, farm, religious, and environmental organizations. Candidates were asked to respond to the document's premises. From it, IFTC extracted the statements linked to above.