You only have to look at our trade deficit to see that we are being taken to the cleaners by our trading partners. We need tougher negotiations, not protectionist walls around America.
We need to ensure that foreign markets are as open to our products as our country is to theirs. Our long-term interests require that we cut better deals with our world trading partners.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.145
Jul 2, 2000
President should be nation’s trade representative
Denouncing United States trade policy, Trump promised to appoint himself as the nation’s trade representative, saying he would have no trouble serving both in that post and as president.
He then attacked the current holder of the job, Charlene Barshefky. “Who is she?” demanded Trump. “I never heard of her!”
Source: nytimes.com/library/politics
Dec 10, 1999
World views US trade officials as ‘saps’
Trump said that US trade officials are viewed as “saps” around the world and have allowed the country to be ripped off in trade agreements. He called NAFTA a disaster and said leaders of other countries “can’t believe how easy it is to deal with the US.”
He continued, “We are known as a bunch of saps. We need our best people to negotiate against the Japanese and many other countries.” As president, he would get the nation’s top business leaders - not diplomats - to negotiate for the country.
Source: Pat Eaton-Robb, Associated Press
Dec 2, 1999
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