International Trade Policies Of Campaign 2000 Essays - Economy

International Trade Policies Of Campaign 2000 I. Introduction Although international trade policy has not been one of the major points of debate in this year's presidential race, determining the role which the United States will play in the rapidly expanding global market will be a fundamental issue for the next administration. The next president will be forced to deal with a number of important, and in many cases delicate problems, that may change the direction of international trade for the next century. Among these, is the acceptance of China into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The United States has taken a leading role in pushing for the admittance of China into the WTO, but there have been technical problems, preventing the deal from being closed. Of concern also, will be the demands of developing nations, who wish to reach a more equitable trading relationship with the industrialized countries. (Economist) It will be the responsibility of the next president to find working solutions to these dilemmas. The two major party candidates this election cycle are Republican Governor George W. Bush of Texas and Democratic Vice President Al Gore. The two share similar positions within some aspects of foreign trade policy, but differ significantly on others. II. International Trade Policy of Vice President Al Gore Vice President Gore is an advocate of free trade. His support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which created an open market system between Canada, Mexico and the United States, was the key reason it was passed into law on January 1, 1994 (North American Free Trade Agreement). He believes that open markets spur technological innovation on a worldwide scale, and create tremendous growth and job opportunities domestically (Voter). In a speech delivered to the Washington Council on International Trade, Vice President Gore remarked that foreign barriers to trade hurt the people they were intended to protect, at the cost of American jobs. An example of this is the European Union's import ban on hormone-treated beef produced in the United States, which sent the livestock industry reeling for several months (Economist). Gore insists that his administration will focus on opening the European and Japanese markets to genetically-modified farm products, in addition to fighting against other foreign trade barriers. The Vice President does support labor and environmental standards for our trading partners, however. His said the following in a speech delivered to the World Economic Forum: ?As we open the doors for global trade wider than ever before, we want to build a trading system that includes strong safeguards for workers, for health and safety and for a clean environment.? Gore went on to say that trade with developing nations should be linked to established labor and environmental standards and that, if safeguards are not in place and met, the market should not remain open. Vice President Gore plans to use the WTO as his platform for addressing international trade policies and standards. He is in favor of modernizing the organization and making it more open and accessible to developing nations. At the next round of WTO meetings, Gore proposes detailed discussions regarding labor and environmental safeguards and ways to deal with nations, potentially involving sanctions, which fail to meet the standards (Voter). Gore was in favor of granting China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) and has been a key player in pushing for their accession to the WTO. He believes that accepting China as a strategic trading partner enables the United States to politically and economically reform China, while reaping the rewards trading with China has to offer (Groombridge, Voter). III. International Trade Policy of Gov. George W. Bush Gov. Bush supports unilateral free trade. He believes that the entirety of the Western Hemisphere, from Alaska to Cape Horn, should exist with no trade barriers, in essence, incorporating Central and South American nations under NAFTA. Such an arrangement, Gov. Bush believes, will add to the approximately 12 million export related jobs that currently exist in the United States (Bush). The governor adheres to the belief that there should be no link between trade policies and labor and environmental standards. He advocates the United States' involvement in working with our trading partners to improve their policies rather than imposing sanctions against them. He does however, support the International Labor