Bipartisan Exercise

[Belsnickel]

So, I have been holding off on responding to this because my week has been rather busy. Today is probably the calmest of my days so far, and so I have pulled up the GOP platform from this year to find something from their actual stated positions that I can get behind, and it didn't take me long.

Amidst a lot of things I don't agree with, they have a bit that is title "A Winning Trade Policy:"

Quote:International trade is crucial for all sectors of America’s economy. Massive trade deficits are not. We envision a worldwide multilateral agreement among nations committed to the principles of open markets, what has been called a “Reagan Economic Zone,” in which free trade will truly be fair trade for all concerned.

We need better negotiated trade agreements that put America first. When trade agreements have been carefully negotiated with friendly democracies, they have resulted in millions of new jobs here at home supported by our exports. When those agreements do not adequately protect U.S. interests, U.S. sovereignty, or when they are violated with impunity, they must be rejected.

We cannot allow foreign governments to limit American access to their markets while stealing our designs, patents, brands, know-how, and technology. We cannot allow China to continue its currency manipulation, exclusion of U.S. products from government purchases, and subsidization of Chinese companies to thwart American imports. The current Administration’s way of dealing with these violations of world trade standards has been a virtual
surrender.

Republicans understand that you can succeed in a negotiation only if you are willing to walk away from it. A Republican president will insist on parity in trade and stand ready to implement countervailing duties if other countries refuse to cooperate.

At the same time, we look to broaden our trade agreements with countries which share our values and commitment to fairness, along with transparency in our commercial and business practices. In pursuing that objective, the American people demand transparency, full disclosure, protection of our national sovereignty, and tough negotiation on the part of those who are supposed to advance the interests of U.S. workers. Significant trade agreements should not be rushed or undertaken in a Lame Duck Congress.

Now, I'm a bit more in favor of globalism than this section seems to be, but there is no doubt in my mind that we need to be taking a hard look at our trade negotiations. We have been running trade deficits the vast majority of the time since the 1970s, and while we are doing better right now than 8 years ago (has nothing to do with partisanship here, just looking at the trends) we are still well below where we spent the entirety of the 20th century and I would like to see that change.

Just in case anyone is still interested in actually addressing the OP in this thread, here are the links to the various party platforms. I posted the 5 that were on the "I side with" poll.

Republican
Democrat
Libertarian
Green
Constitution