[CTC] Bloomberg: Free Trade Opposition Unites Political Parties in Bloomberg Poll

[Peter Sikora]

Free-Trade Opposition Unites Political Parties in Bloomberg Poll

[image: John McCormick]
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/authors/APs6qpfAqio/john-mccormick>
John McCormick
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/authors/APs6qpfAqio/john-mccormick>
 McCormickJohn <http://twitter.com/McCormickJohn>

[image: Terrence Dopp]
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/authors/AOZX2zbSb1g/terrence-dopp>
Terrence Dopp
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/authors/AOZX2zbSb1g/terrence-dopp> tdopp
<http://twitter.com/tdopp>
March 24, 2016 — 6:00 AM EDT


   - Majority of Americans pick fewer jobs over non-U.S. ownership
   - Trump, Sanders have leveraged U.S. opposition to free trade

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Opposition to free trade is a unifying concept even in a deeply divided
electorate, with almost two-thirds of Americans favoring more restrictions
on imported goods instead of fewer.

The latest Bloomberg Politics national poll shows the issue unites the
country like few others, across lines of politics, race, gender, education,
and income.

A stunning rejection of what was a postwar cornerstone of American economic
and foreign policies reverberates again and again in the answers to the
poll’s questions.

Large majorities or pluralities favor policies protecting domestic jobs
over lower prices, describe the North American Free Trade Agreement as
being bad for the U.S., and even prefer a U.S. company building a nearby
factory to employ 1,000 workers over a foreign -- in this instance Chinese
-- owner that would hire twice as many.

“Virtually every question of policy has a Republican-Democrat split,” said
pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. “On trade, there is unity.”

Read the questions and methodology here.
<http://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rXX28ED96saU/v0>

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders, from opposite ends of
the political spectrum, have especially sought to leverage the
protectionist sentiment to boost their presidential campaigns.

Trump has tapped into growing anger among voters who say free-trade
policies, including some that have helped add to his own personal wealth,
have hurt communities and meant the loss of manufacturing jobs to China,
Mexico, and other nations.

Sanders has repeatedly targeted what he calls “disastrous” trade deals such
as NAFTA that he argues benefit corporate America at a cost of lost jobs
and a shrinking middle class.

In an appearance
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/trackers/2016-03-22/former-boeing-ceo-trump-trade-talk-is-very-dangerous>
Tuesday
at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference in Washington, former Boeing CEO
Jim McNerney called Trump’s trade discussion “very dangerous” and added
that the “the political debate is a little scary right now.”

In an era of increased U.S. worry about China’s growing economic and
military strength, the poll found that more than two-thirds of Americans
pick fewer jobs over Chinese ownership, when asked to select between a
theoretical offer for their community of a U.S.-owned factory with 1,000
jobs or a Chinese-owned plant with 2,000 workers.

“The Japanese and Chinese companies are just here to make their money and
get out,” said poll participant Robert Mangels, 73, a retired environmental
compliance supervisor for a Japanese-owned company who lives in
Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Mangels, a Republican, said he worries foreign-owned companies won’t adhere
to U.S. regulations. “The heads of American companies may not like the
regulations, but they realize they have to follow them,” he said.

Brian Thibodeau, 39, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, also picked the
American-based company and 1,000 jobs instead of the Chinese-based company
and 2,000 jobs. His rationale is that the American company is more likely
to expand locally.

“It may be a thousand jobs today, but maybe more in 10 years with the
reinvestment,” said Thibodeau, a Republican and information technology
worker temporarily on disability leave. “The opportunity for growth in the
long term stands to be greater.”

The poll also shows the vast majority of Americans -- 82 percent -- say
they would be willing to pay “a little bit more” for merchandise that’s
made in the U.S. Among those with household incomes of less than $50,000,
the number dropped slightly, to 75 percent.

“When it comes to made in America -- as a consumer -- I will spend a few
extra bucks,” said Tara Hofbauer, 23, a management consultant who lives in
Philadelphia.

Hofbauer, a Democrat, was in the minority in those supporting a Chinese
factory over an American-owned one, if it meant more local jobs. “In terms
of sheer utility, remove the emotion and 2,000 jobs is still 2,000 jobs,”
she said.

A plurality of Americans -- 44 percent -- say NAFTA has been bad for the
U.S. economy, while 29 percent say it has been a positive development. The
accord, which took effect in 1994, was unfamiliar enough to 27 percent that
they had no opinion.

Democrats divided almost evenly, with 38 percent saying it has been good
and 36 percent saying it has been bad. A majority of Republicans -- 53
percent -- selected bad, while 46 percent of independents went that way.

The night before the March 15 Ohio primary, Trump appeared near Youngstown,
where he blasted Ohio Governor John Kasich for supporting NAFTA when he was
a member of Congress. Trump easily won the county where he’d spoken.

Annette Galloway, 55, the owner of a small business that does embroidery on
T-shirts, hats, and other items near her home in San Antonio, Texas, is
opposed to NAFTA. The trade agreement has meant jobs shipped across border
to Mexico, she said.

“Those are jobs that have left the U.S.,” said Galloway, a Republican. “I
don’t think there’s any way to stop the trend because there are all these
cheap goods and people have gotten used to that.”

Even though trade policy has been a prevalent topic in this year’s
presidential campaign, it ranks relatively low in the set of issues tested
in the poll. Just 2 percent picked it as the “most important” issue facing
the nation right now, well below unemployment and jobs at 19 percent and a
decline in real income for Americans workers at 16 percent.

The national poll of 1,000 adults was conducted March 19-22 by Selzer & Co.
of West Des Moines, Iowa. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1
percentage points.
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