Trade

Joe Biden
Biden opposed the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) but supports normalizing trade relations with China, Vietnam and the Andean nations. Biden opposed free-trade agreements with Oman, Singapore and Chile.

Hillary Clinton
Clinton opposed CAFTA-DR and free trade with the Andean nations. Clinton supports normalizing relations with Chile, Singapore and Vietnam.

Chris Dodd
Dodd voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and supports CAFTA-DR and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Dodd also supports efforts to ease restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba.

John Edwards
Edwards opposed NAFTA. Edwards voted against free trade with Chile and Singapore but voted for free trade with the Andean nations. He supported normalizing trade relations with Vietnam and China.

Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani opposed NAFTA in 1993. However, he has stated recently that he generally agrees with the principles of free trade and that free trade is inevitable.

Mike Gravel
Gravel has stated that outsourcing of jobs, in itself, is not the problem. Gravel sees problems arising from U.S. trade agreements that benefit only companies' management and shareholders.

Mike Huckabee
Huckabee believes in free trade and fair trade. Huckabee signed the Southern Governors' Association resolution that urges the administration to continue to enforce U.S. trade laws and encourages open and competitive sales of timber in Canada.

Duncan Hunter
Hunter says China is cheating on trade with the United States and wants to enforce rules and laws with China. Hunter supports eliminating all manufacturing taxes to increase U.S. hiring. Hunter voted “no” on CAFTA-DR and on free trade with Chile and Singapore. He voted “yes” on the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement and on withdrawing from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Dennis Kucinich
Kucinich opposes U.S. participation in NAFTA and the WTO in order to protect high-tech jobs from outsourcing. Kucinich supports securing the U.S. manufacturing base by focusing on bilateral trade, conditioned on workers' rights, human rights and the environment.

John McCain
McCain is a supporter of NAFTA. McCain also supported CAFTA-DR and free trade with Oman, Singapore, Chile and the Andean nations. He also voted for normalizing trade with Vietnam and China and supports expanding trade to the Third World.

Barack Obama
Obama opposed CAFTA-DR based on labor and environmental concerns. He wants to amend NAFTA to add labor agreements. Obama supported the free-trade pact with Oman. He also supports setting labor and human rights standards for China trade.

Ron Paul
Paul is an advocate of free trade, but has opposed some free-trade agreements, saying they serve only special interests and big businesses. He supports unilateral free trade. Paul voted “no” on CAFTA-DR, the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement and free trade with Chile and Singapore, and voted for U.S. withdrawal from the WTO.

Bill Richardson
Richardson does not believe in a completely free market and wants some regulatory restrictions on trade. Richardson supports free trade for exchanges that exclude slave and child labor. He supports NAFTA and U.S. membership in the WTO. Richardson also calls for enforcing labor and environmental standards.

Mitt Romney
Romney says the United States should act boldly and swiftly to strengthen and propel growth through trade and other commerce with the emerging Asian economies, where he sees the countries moving economically and technologically.

Fred Thompson
Thompson believes that protectionist trade policies are defensive and defeatist. He voted for free-trade pacts with the Andean nations, the normalization of trade relations with Vietnam and China, and expansion of trade with the Third World.