For over twenty years, the United States government has sold out American Manufacturing using “free trade” agreements. These trade deals, such as NAFTA and WTO, have created an uneven playing field for American businesses, and led to the outsourcing of American jobs.
According to government statistics America’s trade deficits have increased due to free trade in other regions. Before the start of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the United States had trade surpluses with most nations involved. Now the United States has trade deficits with most. The same data shows that since the start of free trade agreements with NAFTA in 1992, America’s trade deficit rose from 39.2 billion dollars to 471.5 billion in 2013, or an increase of over 1202 percent.
The Reform Party stands against expanding free trade in any way. The party believes that it stands on the side of the American people. A 2011 opinion poll showed the American public has moved from “broad opposition” to “overwhelming opposition” toward NAFTA-style trade deals. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll from September 2010 revealed that “the impact of trade and outsourcing is one of the only issues on which Americans of different classes, occupations and political persuasions agree” with 86% believing that outsourcing jobs “a top cause of our economic woes,” and 69% indicating that “free trade agreements between the United States and other countries cost the U.S. jobs.” Only 17% of Americans in 2010 felt that “free trade agreements” benefit the U.S., compared to 28% in 2007.
