Trade came up a bit in last night's Vice-Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. Here's what they said:
Harris: ... The vice-president earlier referred to it as part of what he thinks is an accomplishment. The president’s trade war with China. You lost that trade war. You lost it. What ended up happening is because of a so-called trade war with China, America lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs. Farmers have experienced bankruptcy because of it. We are in a manufacturing recession because of it. And when we look at where this administration has been, there are estimates that by the end of the term of this administration, they will have lost more jobs than almost any other presidential administration and the American people know what I’m talking about.
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Pence: Well, I’d love to respond. Look, lost the trade war with China? Joe Biden never fought it. Joe Biden has been a cheerleader for communist China over the last several decades. And again, Senator Harris, you’re entitled to your opinion. You’re not entitled to your own facts. When Joe Biden was vice-president, we lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs. And president Obama said they were never coming back. He said, we needed a magic wand to bring them back. In our first three years after we cut taxes, roll back regulation, unleashed American energy. This administration saw 500,000 manufacturing, jobs created, and that’s exactly the kind of growth we’re going to continue to see as we bring our nation through this pandemic.
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Pence: ... Everybody knows that NAFTA costs literally thousands of American factories to close. We saw automotive jobs go South of the border. President Trump fought to renegotiate NAFTA. In the United States, Mexico and Canada the agreement is now the law of the land. American people deserve to know Senator Kamala Harris was one of only 10 members of the Senate to vote against the USMCA. It was a huge win for American auto workers. It was a huge win for American farmers, especially dairy in the upper Midwest. But Senator you said it didn’t go far enough on climate change, you put your radical environmental agenda ahead of American auto workers and a head of American jobs. ...
Of course, back in 2001, Pence said this about NAFTA: "Indiana benefited directly under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Under NAFTA Mexico eliminated import licensing and is phasing out tariffs on wheat altogether.”
