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Ted Cruz on Free Trade
Republican Texas Senator
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Supports tariffs; opposes bailouts to those hurt by them
Q: Support Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel & other products?Ted Cruz (R): No.
Also opposed federal aid given to TX farmers hurt by trade retaliation.
Beto O'Rourke (D): No. They "will devastate our state, businesses, & economy."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race
, Oct 9, 2018
I always opposed TPP, but I supported TPA
Q: You were a supporter of the Pacific trade deal, but you changed your position.CRUZ: Actually that's incorrect. There are two different agreements. There's TPA and TPP. I opposed TPP and have always opposed TPP, which is what you asked about.
Free trade, when we open up foreign markets, helps Americans. But we're getting killed in international trade right now.We're driving jobs overseas.
FACTCHECK: No one explained the acronyms, so we looked them up. According to Mother Jones magazine:
TPP = Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade treaty between the US and a bunch of other countries around the Pacific Rim. It's been under negotiation for years.
TPA = Trade Promotion Authority, aka "fast track." This comes before the TPP vote, and
guarantees that the treaty text will be submitted to Congress for an up-or-down vote with no amendments allowed. Without it, the treaty is dead, since other countries won't allow the US to unilaterally makes changes.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami
, Mar 11, 2016
Import taxes are paid by consumers, not by China
CRUZ: Donald is right about the problems of international trade. But his solutions don't work: he proposed a 45% tariff on foreign goods. The effect of a 45% tariff would be when you go to Walmart, the prices you pay go up 45%. A tariff is a tax on you.
Donald TRUMP: The 45% tariff is a threat. It will be a tax if they don't behave. China dumps everything that they have over here. We can't get into China. The 45% is a threat that if they don't behave, we will tax you.
CRUZ: It's not China that pays
the tax. It's you, the working men and women. So ask yourself at home: How is this helping you? If your wages have been stagnant for 20 years; if you can't pay the bills, how does it help you to have a president come and say, "I'm going to put a 45% tax
on diapers, on automobiles, on clothing." That hurts you. It's why we've got to get beyond rhetoric of "China bad," and actually get to "how do you solve the problem?" Because this solution would hurt jobs and hurt hard-working taxpayers in America.
Source: 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami
, Mar 10, 2016
End the Export-Import Bank
Cruz continued his war with Republican leaders, whom he has dubbed "liars" for not allowing votes to end the Export-Import Bank or Planned Parenthood's funding. "The truth is not rhetoric,"
Cruz said. "Here's the truth. [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid are working arm in arm."
Source: Washington Post on 2015 GOP candidate RedState Gathering
, Aug 8, 2015
The Export-Import bank is corporate welfare
In his speeches and writings, Cruz rails against what he calls "corporate welfare" from the government. As a specific example, he frequently points to the Export-Import bank.
The bank is a federal program which helps foreign entities buy U.S. goods by insuring the purchase. Cruz sees it as a boon to large corporations which he believes do not need federal assistance.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
, Mar 23, 2015
Defended Chinese company on intellectual property theft
Cruz's record came under scrutiny when moderators from Houston public radio's KUHF asked him about his legal work for a Chinese tire company in its appeal against a $26 million judgment that it had stolen intellectual property from an
American tire company. Cruz said he was one of several attorneys on the case and that he had represented American companies against Chinese firms as well.
Source: Associated Press on ABC News on 2012 Texas Senate debate
, May 3, 2012
Dewhurst lying about defending Chinese intellectual property
The greatest tension in the debate was between Dewhurst and Cruz, who exchanged veiled and some not-so-veiled attacks on each other. Dewhurst accused Cruz of distorting his nine-year record as lieutenant governor, while
Cruz called Dewhurst a flat-out liar over his campaign commercial's attacking Cruz's work for a Chinese tire company.
Moderators asked Cruz about his legal work for a Chinese tire company in its appeal against a $26 million judgment that it had stolen intellectual property from an American tire company.
Cruz said he was one of several attorneys on the case and that he had represented American companies against Chinese firms as well.
Source: Associated Press/ABC News on 2012 Senate AdWatch
, May 3, 2012
Voted YES to kill reauthorization of Ex-Im Bank.
Cruz voted YEA Export-Import Bank Reform and Reauthorization Act
Heritage Action summary of vote# S206: The Senate voted to table (kill) an amendment by Sen. Kirk to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Sen. Kirk recommends voting NO. Heritage Foundation recommends voting YES because the "Ex-Im Bank is little more than a $140 billion slush fund for corporate welfare."
OnTheIssues explanation: Voting NO would allow a vote on reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. Voting YES would kill the bill for reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank.
Congressional Summary from previous Ex-Im bill S.824; the Ex-Im Bank shall:- Provide technical assistance to small businesses on how to apply for financial assistance;
- Establish programs under which private financial institutions may share risk in loans & guarantees.
- The Bank may enter into up to $25 billion worth of contracts of reinsurance or co-finance.
Sierra Club reason for conditionally voting NO (from previous bill S.819):Sen. Shaheen's bill S.824
reauthorizes the Ex-Im Bank without undermining Obama's Climate Action Plan. The Sierra Club supports the bill because it makes both financial and environmental sense for the US and all of its taxpayer-backed financial institutions--including Ex-Im--to stop investing in dirty and dangerous fossil fuels like coal.Cato Institute reason for voting YES to kill the bill:The Ex-Im Bank's reauthorization buffs contend that Ex-Im fills a void left by private sector lenders unwilling to provide financing for certain transactions. Ex-Im's critics [say that] by effectively superseding risk-based decision-making with the choices of a handful of bureaucrats pursuing political objectives, Ex-Im risks taxpayer dollars. It turns out that for nearly every Ex-Im financing authorization that might advance the fortunes of a single US company, there is at least one US industry whose firms are put at a competitive disadvantage. These are the unseen consequences of Ex-Im's mission.
Source: Supreme Court case 15-S0995 argued on Oct 19, 2015
Page last updated: Jan 10, 2019
