Issue Position: Trade and Tariffs

Issue Position

Trade and Tariffs

With all other things being equal, the best policy for international relationships is free and open trade. It encourages cultural exchanges, enhances quality of life for everyone involved, and reduces the fear and conflicts that typically precede wars.

What I do not support are international treaties that promote one corporation or type of trade above another, or that usurp the sovereignty of any nation; especially our own. Free and open trade gives everyone an equal opportunity to do business without crony capitalism were government chooses the winners, and without creating unnecessary barriers to entry that only benefits the rich and established businesses.

More of Seth's comments related to this matter are below:

The original form of taxation used by the United States was related to trade. Not long ago it was a barrier or dam that kept our jobs and investments from going overseas. While trade with other countries certainly has potential for economic benefit worldwide, I also think it's important to have a country or even individual states that can be self-sustaining. For example, we have been buying hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of oil from countries that aren't always very friendly to us. We are funding their ability to oppose and threaten us - at the same time forcing our ideals and mandates on them - when we have the ability to provide a substantially larger portion of our own oil then we do today; and can likely produce it with more efficiency and more environmental friendliness then many other countries currently require.

If all things are equal Free and open trade is the best policy as it's good for economic and cultural reasons, but there are a lot of disparities between nations today. I believe tariffs should the used as the method of financing the costs of securing our borders and encouraging domestic job creation to offset the economic and criminal threats from other contries that we have today. While the states have the primary responsibility for enforcement within our borders, the U.S. military needs to be more focused on protecting us from dangerous substances and people coming into the country.

If other nations want to partner with the U.S.A. in free, open, and cooperative ways, a better idea might be to invite them to join the U.S.A. as a territory and eventually states.

The best policy we can have with any nation is open dialogue and trade. China should be allowed to pursue its own economic policies, while we provide an economic model that is so superior that all nations, including China, will eventually want to follow us. Tariffs, or import and export taxes are the only real means of affecting another countries economy that the U.S. Constitution authorizes. If we feel the Chinese workers are unfairly exploited, the only means of fighting this that we should pursue is through diplomatic persuasion and tariffs that insure our domestically produced goods can compete on equal ground. These same policies should be applied universally and equally, so that all nations are clear on what they can expect when doing business with the United States of America and the companies within it.

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