Presidential candidate Joe Biden has responded to questions from the United Steelworkers here. There were some interesting questions and answers on trade. The whole exchange is below, but here are a few highlights:
-- It seems pretty clear that ISDS will not be in future Biden trade agreements.
-- He finessed the answer about what he would do with the Section 232 tariffs.
-- Climate change is definitely going to be part of any Biden trade agreements.
-- There's good stuff about building coalitions with allies in relation to China.
-- He is talking tough on Buy America for government procurement, but I wonder if he will stick with that if he sees U.S. companies excluded from foreign procurement in response.
Overall, based on the explanations he offers below, I'm sticking with my prediction that he wouldn't do much on trade negotiations at the outset of his administration, but he would eventually take on a couple big initiatives. In other words, a bit of a repeat of the Obama administration. In terms of domestic trade actions, the Section 232 "review" is going to be a big thing to watch.
Question:
1. Global Economy and International Trade
The American labor movement and United Steelworkers remain committed to improving trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries. All too often workers are the first to suffer from the flaws in trade agreements. Will you support or oppose (circle one) reducing monopoly rights for pharmaceutical firms in trade agreements, strengthening climate pollution enforcement and swift and strong labor enforcement mechanisms?
a. Will you vote against trade agreements that do not have labor enforcement language. Answer: YES
b. Will you join letters with your colleagues to highlight weaknesses in trade policies? Answer: N/A
c. What other actions will you, as an elected official take to stem outsourcing incentives and reduce inequality? Answer: See explanation below.
There were a couple short answers above. The long answer follows:
I believe American business should compete and win when it comes to world trade. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live beyond our borders. We need to be able to build the very best here at home and sell it around the world. American workers and businesses can out-compete anyone, hands-down. But their government needs to fight like hell for them. I am going to fight for every American job - especially against unfair foreign practices.
Trade is tough competition for jobs and markets. The President needs to stand with American workers and communities, not with wealthy corporations or the foreign governments that are subsidizing and protecting their businesses.
That’s the problem with Trump. When push comes to shove, Trump sides with corporate interests against workers, their unions, and their communities. And he rewards corporations and their executives for abandoning American workers and moving jobs overseas -- rather than holding them accountable to create, maintain, and bring back jobs to the U.S.
We saw it in the Trump tax bill. It delivered huge tax cuts to large corporations, but did not force those corporations to bring jobs back to the U.S. and to rebuild the communities they devastated when they left. Outsourcing has continued, but when has Trump really held these corporations accountable --- not a tweet, not a rant on Fox News, but real tough presidential action that forces these corporations to do what’s right. We even saw it in USMCA. Trump wanted a massive giveaway to pharmaceutical companies and no real enforcement of labor protections. The deal that Trump negotiated was a bad deal, but Speaker Pelosi, the Democrats in Congress, and the labor movement --- most prominently the USW --- won important changes in that deal, and made it a lot better.
We saw it in the so-called “phase one” China trade deal. Trump got nothing from the Chinese on their illegal subsidies and the abuses of their state-owned enterprises. And he spent negotiating chips on helping American banks do business in China. How does that help American workers? The United States does need to take on China, but Trump has gone about it in a profoundly wrong way — leaving workers by the wayside.
There are a bunch more trade deals coming --- Japan and India, for example, and we just can’t trust that Trump will be on the right side of those agreements either. He will sell out American workers once again. That’s his pattern. I know whose side I am on --- I stand with American workers, their unions, and their communities — not corporate interests. Here’s what that means:
1. I won’t enter into any new trade agreements until we’ve made major investments here at home, in our workers and our communities – equipping them to compete and win in the global economy. That includes investing in education, infrastructure, and manufacturing here at home.
2. The first goal of every decision about trade must be to build the American middle class, create jobs, raise wages, and strengthen communities.
3. I will consistently and aggressively enforce American trade laws any time foreign cheating poses a threat to American jobs. I will use tariffs when they are needed, but the difference between me and Trump is that I will have a strategy --- a plan --- to use those tariffs to win, not just to fake toughness. I will conduct an immediate review of the Trump Administration’s trade policy to determine what steps need to be taken to achieve the goal of growing our middle class. Trump’s approach to tariffs is shortsighted and destructive. See my comments on rules of origin below.
4. And, I will do something Trump hasn’t done and can’t do: I will rally the world to support the U.S. in its fights with China and other countries that violate trade rules. The President can’t build a coalition against our adversaries when he insults and embarrasses our friends. But, where needed, a Biden Administration will fight for fair trade on our own.
5. It is not right for American corporations that benefit from the infrastructure, from the labor, from the stability of the United States of America, to outsource jobs just to get a tax break. As President, I will reverse the excesses of Trump tax cuts for corporations and eliminate incentives that encourage firms to send jobs and profits offshore. I will end corporate profit shifting and fight outsourcing, including by imposing sanctions on countries that facilitate illegal tax avoidance and by doubling the corporate Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) tax rate. Put simply, as President, I’ll put an end to tax breaks for companies that move jobs abroad. I won’t get fooled by fake, stupid, and wasteful tax giveaways like the Foxconn deal that Trump promoted in Wisconsin. Any company that gets help from any government in the United States --- local, state, or federal --- must give an ironclad guarantee that it will build the middle-class and strengthen communities over the long term, not just until the corporation changes its mind or decides to blackmail a governor or a mayor.
6. I will appoint trade experts from organized labor and the environmental movement to work in trade negotiating and trade enforcement positions in my administration. And a prerequisite for working for me on trade will be an understanding that the first goal of every decision about trade must be to build the American middle class, to create jobs, to raise wages, and to strengthen communities. Beyond that, I will make sure that labor and environmental advocates are at the table from day one in future trade deals.
7. During the Obama-Biden Administration, we issued an executive order strengthening the federal government’s zero-tolerance policy on federal contractors doing business with the U.S. government while using forced labor and identifying companies that violate those policies. Trump has ignored that executive order, and the corporations are getting away with anything they want. I will demand tough enforcement of that executive order. Your tax dollars will not support horrible exploitation designed to steal jobs from American workers.
8. In my administration, we are going to support strong and independent trade unions here in the United States and in every one of our trading partners. Unions are essential to democracy, unions are essential to economic stability, unions are essential for building markets for American products, and unions are the right thing to do --- everywhere in the world. I will aggressively push for strong and enforceable labor provisions in every trade deal my administration negotiates -- and not sign a deal unless it has those provisions.
9. I don't believe that corporations should get special tribunals that are not available to other organizations. I oppose the ability of private corporations to attack labor, health, and environmental policies through the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process and I oppose the inclusion of such provisions in future trade agreements.
10. Finally, Trump’s deals include no protections against climate change. Equally important, there is nothing in the agreements that makes sure U.S. manufacturers and their employees will benefit as we respond to climate change. We must invest in green jobs being created in the U.S., not overseas. In my administration, that’s going to be a central strategy for rebuilding the American middle class.
Question:
How a product is made and assembled matters greatly in trade agreements. Weak “Rule of Origin” provisions mean non-participating countries can benefit from a trade agreement by doing minor assembly or production in a trade agreement zone, undermining both job and production benefits for trade agreement partners. Do you support or oppose (circle one) strong “Rule of Origin” provisions in trade agreements; examples include requiring “melting and pouring” of steel products and/or domestic content thresholds in automobiles over 60%?
Answer:
Under a Biden Administration, the first goal of every decision about trade must be to build the American middle class, create jobs, raise wages, and strengthen communities. Equally important, I will promote U.S. production and exports while I regulate imports.
To that end, any trade agreement negotiated under a Biden Administration will include strong rules of origin to promote our production by the trade agreement signatories and to limit the benefits for free riders. Rules of origin need to be carefully written to ensure that when a product is labelled “Made in the USA”, it really means that. Steel and other products like aluminum must be melted and poured in the United States so that countries can’t exploit loopholes.These standards will also drive my application of domestic procurement laws like Buy America.
Question:
Will you support or oppose (circle one) efforts to maintain and strengthen domestic trade laws?
Answer:
Domestic trade laws are critical tools to protect American workers, their families, and their communities and to safeguard the American economy. The U.S. trade laws need to be maintained and aggressively enforced and, where needed, strengthened. During the Obama-Biden Administration, we worked to improve the arsenal of trade tools through adopting provisions such as those included in Senator Brown’s Level the Playing Field Act, which gave industry and workers new provisions to fight unfair trade. Working with the Steelworkers, we worked to limit a surge of passenger and light truck tires from China under Section 421. We fought together on other trade enforcement actions as well.
As President, I will develop a comprehensive strategy to aggressively enforce our laws in an effective way whenever it is needed. Critically, I will also look at what new approaches and tools are needed to combat unfair trade practices jeopardizing production and jobs here and to gain access for our products in other markets. We must address the continuous efforts to evade and circumvent our trade laws and undermine the effectiveness of our trade cases. The issues of global overcapacity, state-owned enterprises, and other problems undermine our interests and can’t continue. Workers deserve to know that their government will stand by their side and stand up for their rights so they don’t have to fight unfair trade on their own or see their jobs offshored and production outsourced. Foreign cheating will not be allowed in my administration.
Question:
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlights that there is still over 500 million tons of excess steel capacity globally. This overcapacity is often foreign state owned and subsidized and dumped into the U.S. market. In the interest of National Security, the United States put in place tariffs that have raised privately-controlled U.S. companies’ operating capacity by 10% and increased steel production by over five million tons compared to the year previous. Will you support or oppose (circle one) the 232 tariff relief on steel and aluminum until a global solution is found to address excess capacity?
Answer:
From aerospace to the electric grid, to countless other uses, steel and aluminum create the backbone for our national security and critical infrastructure. Steel dumping, especially from China, is designed to drive down the price of U.S. steel and hurt our steel market. It is a serious risk to our economy and needs to be addressed. The Obama-Biden Administration increased reviews of steel shipments into the United States and boosted trade enforcement funding. As President, I will work to address global overcapacity and ensure that our producers and workers, who produce these products more efficiently and in environmentally conscious ways than countries like China, are successful.
The Trump Administration’s actions on steel and aluminum have brought some short-term relief, but done nothing to address the long-term challenges facing these sectors. Trump’s trade negotiations with China have done nothing to reign in their subsidies, the predatory actions of their state-owned entities and their unfair trade practices. His administration disbanded multilateral talks to address steel overcapacity. I intend to protect our national security and to ensure that there is fair trade in steel, aluminum, and other products. I will review the existing 232 tariffs and any other tariffs that have been put in place to ensure our trade policies achieve the goal of supporting workers and growing our middle class, both now and in the long-term. We first need to carefully evaluate all of the steps taken by this Administration, including the private deals and assurances that may have been made.
And while a Biden Administration will take whatever action is needed to ensure fair trade, protect critical infrastructure and our national security, a core part of our strategy will be to enlist our international allies to collectively tackle unfair practices by China in order to ensure American steelworkers have good, plentiful union jobs. Trump has humiliated and infuriated our allies. I will rally them to our cause and lead.
Question:
Steel, tires, aluminum and others are seeing significant overcapacity thresholds as countries such as China, India, Vietnam and others build additional manufacturing facilities, whether the international market can sustain the additional capacity or not. Will you support or oppose (circle one) unilateral and global efforts to address commodity overcapacity by other countries ensuring U.S. manufacturing employment is not adversely impacted?
Answer:
See previous answer.
Question:
Will you support or oppose (circle one) efforts to curb currency manipulation by countries which under-value their currency to artificially boost exports?
Answer:
When it comes to currency manipulation, I oppose any and all attempts by foreign countries to artificially manipulate currency values to gain an unfair advantage in trade. In the past, certain countries -- such as China -- have illegally depressed the value of their currency relative to the dollar as part of a larger economic strategy, aimed at making their exports relatively cheaper on world markets. This action has cost American manufacturers and exporters jobs; jobs they would have kept had our trading partners played by the rules. Under my watch, every one of our partners will adhere to sound economic and trade principles, and I will strongly oppose illegal efforts to manipulate currency as a way of gaining an advantage over American workers. And, existing law should be strengthened in any new trade agreements with enhanced transparency and consultation provisions and, where needed, disciplines and enforcement to address the negative effects of manipulation.
Question:
Will you support or oppose (circle one) the inclusion of “Buy America” provisions in federal legislation to ensure that goods manufactured in the United States are used when rebuilding our roads and bridges and other infrastructure and increasing transportation access?
Answer:
Yes, I strongly support Buy America and will require federally funded infrastructure projects to source materials in the U.S. Using high-quality American steel, iron, and other manufactured goods will help create good, middle class jobs and boost our manufacturing sector. It will help ensure these investments are broadly shared.
Question:
Will you support or oppose (circle one) domestic content requirements in infrastructure funded through public-private partnerships or foreign investment?
Answer:
I support having domestic content requirements for infrastructure projects that are publicly paid for. Attaching these requirements to major infrastructure projects helps U.S. companies, creates good-paying jobs, and helps our economy.
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