Jun 18 2008
obama backing off on anti-free trade sentiments
In a recent post entitled “Barack Obama v. John McCain on Foreign Trade”, a number of comments suggested that the pre-election rhetoric was always more populist and protectionist than every president’s actual post-election policy. Well, it seems like we may see this pre-election rhetoric lightening up already, though a tad earlier than most of us thought it would.
CNN Money ran an article entitled “Obama: NAFTA not so bad after all”:
The general campaign is on, independent voters up for grabs, and Barack Obama is toning down his populist rhetoric – at least when it comes to free trade.
In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine’s upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee suggests he doesn’t want to unilaterally blow up NAFTA after all.
“Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,” he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA “devastating” and “a big mistake,” despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.
Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? “Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don’t exempt myself,” he answered.
That tone stands in marked contrast to his primary campaign’s anti-NAFTA fusillades. The pact creating a North American free-trade zone was President Bill Clinton’s signature accomplishment; but NAFTA is also the bugaboo of union leaders, grassroots activists and Midwesterners who blame free trade for the factory closings they see in their hometowns.
The Democratic candidates fought hard to win over those factions of their party, with Obama generally following Hillary Clinton’s lead in setting a protectionist tone.
Of course, John McCain has not changed his tune at all:
Republican nominee John McCain, for his part, is emphasizing his consistent position as a free-trader. In a press conference in Boston this week, he attacked Obama as protectionist: “Senator Obama said that he would unilaterally – unilaterally! – renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, where 33 percent of our trade exists. And you know what message that sends? That no agreement is sacred if someone declares that as president of the United States they would unilaterally renegotiate it. I stand for free trade, and with all the difficulties and economic troubles we’re in today, there’s a real bright spot and that’s our exports. Protectionism does not work.”
Anyways, I just wanted to post this because it follows up on my previous post. In light of this article and the precedent of history, Chinese businesses have nothing to fear if either candidate gets to the White House.
