Ernie Els Scoffs at Losers

Fair trade - Alan Keyes

American "free trade" policy in recent years has increasingly involved grants of excessive authority to international organizations of questionable political legitimacy. The GATT/WTO agreement was a big mistake. The World Trade Organization undermines America's sovereign international economic interests.

The American people must repudiate the policy of establishing unelected international bodies that act like the Supreme Court of the United States, striking down our domestic laws. We must repudiate disgraceful, profit-driven alliances with the despots in Beijing. And we must refuse to permit our representatives in Congress to volunteer for constitutional impotence by granting "fast track" authority to the president to strike back room trade deals without the advice and consent of the Senate.

I have always been a staunch defender of free enterprise and an opponent of the domineering bureaucracies, both national and international, which try to suffocate it. But I cannot stand with those so-called conservatives who believe that "free trade" is more important than free government, or the "fiscal conservatives" who seem to believe that money and economic advantage matter more than our right to constitutional, elective self-determination. Trade socialism must be defeated root and branch, even when it is called "free trade."

I think we gave away a portion of our sovereignty that we should never have surrendered when we entered the WTO. It violates the fundamental principle of our way of life: no legislation without representation. I’m not interested in protectionism or withdrawal. But folks ought to be paying a premium price to enter this market, or else giving us something concrete in return that’s of tangible benefit to the American people.

I believe we need to move away from negotiating multinational trade agreements, and ought to focus instead on cutting better deals by bargaining one-on-one with individual countries. I also believe we should impose tariffs on countries that undercut American farmers and manufacturers with cheap products.

Fair Trade - Ron Paul

I’m for free trade. Although I’m not for the type of system that we have today because I don’t believe it’s my concept of free trade. I do not believe that the Congress should ever have the authority to pass this authority to the president. And on things like on fast track and then president devises agreements that serve the interests of the special interests.

So, I positively opposed to this transfer of power just as I am opposed to the Congress transferring power to the president to declare war. So you can be for trade. I follow the admonition of the Founders. They think we’re a lot better off if we trade with countries, rather than fight with them.

We fought with Vietnam through the ’60s. It did go well. We left. Now we trade with them. I think we do better trading. Where our problem gets into are these managed trade agreements under the WTO and under NAFTA and the plan for a North American Union. These are the kind of movements I think are very detrimental to national sovereignty. I don’t think it helps our workers.

And in combination with our monetary policy we are now exporting our jobs due to a flawed trade policy and actually a flawed foreign policy because we have allowed too much power to gravitate to the executive branch, and the Congress won’t live up to their responsibilities. The Congress is supposed to be protecting us, protecting and guarding against our liberties.

At the same time, here we are once again in an undeclared war overseas, that’s going on endlessly trying to enforce U.N. resolutions, which is very disruptive to our economy. It causes huge deficits. That is more disruptive to our trade policies, as well.

Do I not believe we can solve all our trade problems unless we eventually look at monetary policy. Because when we have the privilege of printing the reserve currency of the world, we abuse this, we print the money and no wonder the jobs go overseas because they take our dollars. That is coming to an end because this war and our financial obligations has nearly bankrupt this country. I think we’re in for big trouble.