Romney Says U.S. Has Basis To Cut Off Open Trade With China (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- There has been no shortage of China-bashing in the brief course of the Republican presidential primary, highlighted by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann riling up a debt-fearing conservative crowd with the memorable double entendre: "Hu's your daddy!"

On Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appeared to ratchet up the rhetoric beyond even that one-liner, suggesting that there was a basis for ending U.S. trade relations with China altogether.

"I'm not sure, whether the intellectual property you have is regularly being stolen by competition around the world, but in the case of China, for instance, we've sat idly by as they have stolen -- year after year -- intellectual property: Designs, patents and so forth," Romney told a crowd member at a Mosiac Technology Business Roundtable in Salem, N.H. "And I don't see how you can have a trade relationship, on an open basis, with another nation if they're stealing a large part of what it is you sell."

"You go to China," he added, "and software, for instance, is regularly being pirated, entertainment is being pirated, and -- not necessarily by the government -- but by enterprises that are managed and regulated by the government and -- and that's just something we can't continue to allow."

The comments, spotlighted by a HuffPost reader, exemplify the type of heated China-bashing and creeping free trade skepticism that has become a more prominent feature of, really, both parties. Even Republican presidential candidate Jon Hunstman, who served as ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, has begun adopting far tougher rhetoric about the need for the country to revalue the yuan.

But it certainly is a different tune for Romney, who after a self-financed trip to China and other East Asian countries in 2006, declared that America needed to “reach out to China and to chart out a course that is consistent with a free economy and a free society." In his second run for the Republican nomination, he has been far more disapproving of U.S. relations with China, criticizing both lax trade standards and currency manipulation by the latter.

Suggesting that there is a basis for cutting off trade with China, however, is far more aggressive than demanding that their currency be strengthened or trade relations be revamped. The United States imported more than $364 billion in Chinese goods in 2010, while exporting some $92 billion; turning off that spigot would force a massive, potentially disruptive, economic adjustment.

Reached for comment, Romney's top spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom didn't back off the comment. But he didn't exactly reiterate it either.

"Part of the economic challenge we face as a nation is competing globally with the rapidly developing countries of Asia," he said. "We should welcome the competition with China, but it has to be on fair terms."

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Comments

[tbbikerdad]

10:03 AM on 06/29/2011

WWHHYY does AMERICA have to be globally competitive . CLINTON SIGNED THE N A F T A AGREEMENT , CONGRESS KNOWING WE WOULD BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY . THERE IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO AMERICAN ECONOMY.......MY UNDERWEAR IS MADE IN VET NAM ...... WHY DO WE COMPLAIN ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT . REAGAN SAID JOBS ARE PEOPLE . THERE ARE 3 WAREHOUSES IN MY ZIP CODE , WITH FOR RENT SIGNS ON THE TOP OF THE BUILDING . I CAN NOT PAY THE RENT ....IF I COULD I WOULD RE OPEN A CLOTHING FACTORY , . THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR , I WOULD OPEN AN ELECTRONICS LAB , AND MAKE COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS . THE BUILDING NEXT TO IT , I WOULD OPEN A REFRIGERATION COMPANY TO PACKAGE FOOD . Then , I would look for space to create the vehicle which would get at least 7 5 miles to the gallon , useing the technology AMERICA has already had for decades . IT IS NOT HYBRID ......THERE IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO AMERICAN ECONOMY ..........WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT THAT . ....WWHHYY MUST AMERICA BE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE .....WWHHYY CAN 'T AMERICA GROW OUR OWN ......My name is T i m ....

[cyclone70]

08:05 AM on 06/29/2011

here is the link to fletcher's article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-fletcher/the-coming-upheaval-in-re_b_883608.html

[kelregan103]

08:03 AM on 06/29/2011

The same way he flip flopped in Massachusetts,is what he is doing now. Granted, seeing the light is good, but I want a president that will see it before all the damage is done. He never completed his health care bill in mass, and left it to go on to a higher platform. Now he wants the presidency and expects us to believe he's the right man for the job. I don't think so. The health care in Mass is worse now than it was before, so his idea's are so disfunctional I won't vote for him.

[cyclone70]

08:03 AM on 06/29/2011

Once again, the GOPers sieze on an issue while the dems snooze

I have been saying all along if the liberal economic populists don't lead on the issue of failed trade policy, the right wing economic nationalists will

And its sounds like its picking up steam.

Ian Fletcher had a recent column here on this very issue

Personally I don't care who finally wakes up and gets tougher on china as long as someone does it right or left, all though I would have much preferred the left getting the upper hand on this

[dwmulenex]

07:56 AM on 06/29/2011

The problem with RomneyTrade is that U.S.companies are flocking to what will become the world's largest marketplace and putting their new factories, jobs, and working capital into China despite the problems Romney notes. And the short term profits made from bartering away the longterm, hard won, and taxpayer financed technology innovations, well, they are staying abroad. No one should blame China or the Chinese for their aspirations. We should blame the leaders of U.S. industry who are exporting not only U.S. jobs, but U.S. competitive advantage. And we shoiuld blame political toyboys like Romneyfor failing to say that bad as China is, the country has a set of Western co-conspirators who will say, do, and betray anyone and everyone for a fistful of dollars. If we made more here, we would have more exports and less incentive to but cheap Chinese goods cleverly labelled "assembled in America".

[StevieRay HoneyBadger]

07:13 AM on 06/29/2011

Anyone see the new bridge they are building in San Fran with the words "MADE IN CHINA" on the steel that is being used to build it?

[kelregan103]

08:19 AM on 06/29/2011

No, I did'nt know that and wow, what an eye opener. I would be reluctant to drive over that bridge. Their products sre so inferior that I get fed up with having to buy them. The market is so flooded with products from china that we here in the usa have very little choice. Our goverment is to blame for this. They are not keeping if fair and taxing our companies to death is the reason that the usa companies are having their products made in China. They would'nt have to go to china and elsewhere if our goverment would get back to the free interprise policy's that make this country great. Thanks for the information on the steel being used in the bridge.

[Anaxagoras]

03:17 AM on 06/29/2011

Huck abee said we're getting "shanghaied by China," and he's right.

US Trade Deficits with China (Billion USD)
http://www.bea.gov/international/bp_web/simple.cfm?anon=71&table_id=10&area_id=35

Year Deficit

1999 67.4
2000 82.0
2001 81.3
2002 101.4
2003 122.3
2004 160.8
2005 200.3
2006 232.9
2007 255.9
2008 262.3
2009 219.4
2010 262.7

"China-Bashing" or not, we do have a servere and serious trade problem with China due to their unfair trade practices, and that problem must be fixed. If we do not, then we'll not continue to bleed our manufacturing base, and our future generations will be shackled and choked by an enormous and un-payable debt (we currently owe about 1.8 trillion to China and Hong Kong combined) to the unelected communist party rulers of China. That's a future I shudder to imagine.

[dawgspiel]

05:13 AM on 06/29/2011

I agree that China doesn't play fair. No question about it.

But don't you think it's more than a little hypocritical for Romney to be beating this particular drum when he and his party have consistently backed so called "free trade" for decade?

http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Republican_Party_Free_Trade.htm

It's actually enshrined as part of the republican party platform.

[cyclone70]

08:09 AM on 06/29/2011

Yes , but there is a sea change going on in the republican party of economic nationalism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-fletcher/the-coming-upheaval-in-re_b_883608.html

Romney being the chameleon he is isn't missing an opportunity to get out in front of an issue that resinates with the public, particularly here in the midwest. Any candidtate regardless of party who committs to doing something about our failed trade policy will win. Obama 180'ed on this after promising to fix or get out of our failed trade agreements, now he is out pushing for new ones

the democrats have snoozed on this issue,

[JamesJerico]

07:45 AM on 06/29/2011

Regardless of who says it or how its said this needs to be said and there needs to be a real debate on the merits of trade with China. If the trade deficit doesn't start to self correct soon it will take active policy like tariffs/quotas. It is well past unsustainable now.

[joyforjump1984]

11:38 PM on 06/28/2011

China has become increasingly aggresive toward the U.S. and it's neighbors the past two years. What's going on in the South China Sea and Pakistan are but two examples. They engage in unfair trade practices while stealing U.S. technology. We have become the fuel for their economic engine and their increasing military budget. They have sent out operatives world wide to find and secure natural resoures to feed their expansion. They are on the rise and are flexing their muscle. Their military has become increasingly belligerent and have engaed in numerous standoffs with the U.S. and its neighbors. To say this is not dangerous is naive. Their leaders are ruthless and brutal and their populace are merely slaves to be commanded. Add to this is the lose of jobs, the reduced living standards of Americans, and the resulting economic decline, and we have a recipe for disaster. It is not in the U.S. best interest to be doing business with this nation.

[Anaxagoras]

03:02 AM on 06/29/2011

Sen. Jim Webb warns President Obama to watch China’s military
Sunday, June 26, 2011
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/sen-jim-webb-warns-president-obama-to-watch-chinas-military/

"Our situation in East Asia with respect to China and China’s expansionist military activities has deteriorated,” Mr. Webb said. “We are approaching a Munich moment with China and it’s not being discussed."

[Patriot86]

11:31 PM on 06/28/2011

Romney is such a tool ...he knows that trade is a big issue in the Mid West...and now after opining that the autos should fail thus de_stroying what is left in the Mid West...he wants to play the trade card...go to Detroit...Romeny and see what kind of a reception you get in your 'home' state.

[bobehonest]

11:14 AM on 06/29/2011

Your facts are completely wrong about Romney and the auto bailouts. His position was that the auto companies needed to be reorganized under court-administered bankruptcy protection -- which is exactly what they ended up doing. His point was that it would be a complete waste of taxpayers money to pour $billions into the then-failing companies as a "bail out" before they went through the reorganization. But that is exactly what the Obama administration did -- wasting $17B of taxpayer funds to prop them up for a few months before reorganization.

But it was even worse than that. What Obama accomplished by wasting $17B of taxpayer money was to secure a position at the bargaining table for the administration in the reorganization process, which it used to accomplish partisan political objectives. The administration insisted that the companies' creditors (i.e. ultimately mostly retiree pension funds), who under the law were required to be paid off before anything is given to equity holders, be wiped out in favor of giving more equity to the UAW -- big donors to the Obama campaign. A clever but unbelievably corrupt and wasteful use of the public treasury to pay off political supporters.

[Patriot86]

11:23 AM on 06/29/2011

He says that now...but the addititional time provided by those funds gave the Administration time to put together a really good court supervised bankruptcy where as had they been tossed into the mix with no plan...we would have lost the autos...chapter 7...Romney knows how to des_troy jobs and companies...not how to build this country...he betrayed the Mid West and we want no part of this person. ...and he is a free trader so it angers me when he out and out l_ies ...does he think we are stu_pd?

[rustysc]

11:27 PM on 06/28/2011

Mittens is an A **

[White Horse Seer]

07:25 AM on 06/29/2011

O, bummer

[rustysc]

09:08 AM on 06/29/2011

Better get your eyes checked Seer. Your intuition is waaaaaaaay off also. You are voting for the Loser Party.

[schatsie]

10:52 PM on 06/28/2011

This is a joke, isn't it? i mean really these are the same people who increased the H1-B visas so that US citizens cannot even get a raise.....Think about it, we can do away with public education here in the US of A because it is really so much cheaper to educate the Indians and Chinese....No wonder the Germans are appalled by our lack of education...

[Patriot86]

11:32 PM on 06/28/2011

They know trade is a big issue in swing states..the Dems better start keeping their promises in this area.

[cyclone70]

08:19 AM on 06/29/2011

Huge issue in manufacturing states like OH, PA, MI, IN, IL. WI, MO, NJ where people see the almost daily occurance of plants closed up and shipped off to mexico, china, india and other offhore locales

just talk to anyine involved in Manufacturing. It also shares common ground with labor and management.

Obama can't get reelected without addressing this issue. He already lost IN, and is in trouble in Ohio and Michigan, even IL. No one wins the white house without OH

He promised to fix or get out of our failed trade agreeements, now he is pushing new ones. Sound like cynical campaign rhetoric to win labor and midwestern votes

[deCruz]

01:54 AM on 06/29/2011

The US naturalizes and absorbs about 800K to 1 million new citizens every year (about 7% each of those come from China and India, and about 12-15% from Mexico; Mexico doesn't have the 7% cap that applies to all other countries, and that cap kicks in usually only for China and India since these are the only two countries whose share of global population exceeds 7%.) That's without counting the 20 million or so undocumented (illegal) workers, mostly from Mexico.

The H1B and other work visas (they issue about 85K H1Bs every year, 20K of them for people with an MS or higher from a US university) provide a stream through which skilled (and tested) immigration takes place, as some work visa holders go on to get their green cards and citizenship.

The impact of skilled immigration is net brain gain for the US, and a net brain drain for countries that lose those skilled individuals. If we're going to have a certain number of legal naturalizations every year (about 800K in 2009), it is important to ensure that a good portion of them are skilled workers, as keeping the ratio of skilled to unskilled to semi-skilled balanced is necessary to ensure that the net economic impact benefits the country. Overall, skilled and highly educated immigrants (from not just China and India, but also other countries like Mexico) generally prime the economic engine and end up creating more jobs (through research, innovation, entrepreneurship, etc) than they consume.

[cyclone70]

08:21 AM on 06/29/2011

here's a better idea, lets put all the un and underemployed US technicians, engineers, and other skilled and semi skilled workers, and recent college grads back to work first before we open the door to increased immigration

[Patriot86]

01:29 PM on 06/29/2011

No, we need to educate our own people and not rely on foreign educated people because we are to cheap to invest in our own country...no H1Bvisas or immigration until Americans are back to work.

[White Horse Seer]

10:43 PM on 06/28/2011

Did Obama say that the United States will become like China?

[dawgspiel]

05:16 AM on 06/29/2011

Doesn't come up in Google. I doubt it.

[papau]

10:19 PM on 06/28/2011

Wish that Obama was as interested in fair trade - rather than free trade that simply moves US jobs overseas - and whatever jobs we get back are low level sales jobs at minimum wage at WalMart.

[alexacosta]

10:02 PM on 06/28/2011

Aren't we in debt to China.

[LeftLeanWing]

10:47 PM on 06/28/2011

and Japan and Great Britain etc.....

China only owns around 8% of our debt...   mostly through treasury bonds....

The Majority owner of American Debt is the American People/Businesses.

[Anaxagoras]

03:23 AM on 06/29/2011

US debt owed to foreign holders: $4489.1 Bn

China: $1152.5 Bn
Hong Kong: $122.4 Bn
Sum: $1274.9 (28.4% of total)

Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt

[lvdragonlady]

09:54 PM on 06/28/2011

WHAT ????
These people need to keep their flippin mouths shut. Just because they are running of an office does NOT give them the right to undermine us at every turn.