• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Agriculture / Economist: politicians who bash trade deals should be ‘un-elected’

Economist: politicians who bash trade deals should be ‘un-elected’

April 15, 2016 By O. Kay Henderson

Ernie Goss

Ernie Goss

A Creighton University economist says most economists “disagree emphatically” with politicians promoting anti-trade policies. Ernie Goss singles out what presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are saying about the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“I hear this: ‘Look what NAFTA did to us.’ No, look what NAFTA did for us. It really boosted the U.S. economy,” Goss says. “It’s perfectly nonsense to listen to them.”

Goss says criticism of the Trans Pacific Partnership is confounding as well.

“It should be passed,” Goss says, “not just for Iowa, not just for Nebraska and Kansas and South Dakota, but for the nation. It’s a heck of a good thing and everybody’s bashing it and that seems to get you votes.”

Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have called NAFTA “a disaster” and both vow to drastically change U.S. trade policy if they become president. Goss says politicians who bash expanded trade should be “un-elected.”

Labor groups oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership, warning more U.S. countries will outsource manufacturing and service industry jobs to countries like Vietnam — where the minimum wage is 28 cents an hour. Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson says trade deals do have an impact on labor. He calls them “trade offs.”

“How many jobs, good jobs have we been able to maintain in the United States?” Swenson asks. “Because some of the jobs that were repetitive, didn’t pay that well or weren’t going to pay that well in a competitive market, we did move some of that labor out of the United States, but some of the higher valued assembly labor, some of the higher valued more technical labor we were able to maintain.”

Swenson points to the U.S. auto industry as an example. Swenson and Goss made their comments today during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight on Iowa Public Television.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, News, Politics / Govt

Featured Stories

Abortion opponents call for ‘life at conception’ law to ban all abortions

Bill would limit placement of solar arrays on farm ground

Marquette casino moving to land, leaving only 2 casino boats in Iowa

Reynolds signs her ‘school choice’ bill into law

Governor Reynolds touts 2024 Iowa Caucuses in Inaugural Address

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

No. 11 Iowa State visits West Virginia

Fast start boosts Drake at Murray State

No coaching changes coming for Iowa football

Iowa State names new receivers coach

No. 2 Iowa visits No. 1 Penn State in wrestling dual Friday night

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC