Voters, business leaders split on trade views

Many voters in this year’s presidential campaign see trade as the enemy preventing prosperity, while many United States businesses see trade as creating new opportunities, according to recent exit polls and a CEO survey conducted by Business Roundtable.    Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton each scored several key primary victories Tuesday night and trade remained a subtext in their respective campaigns to win the presidential nomination for their respective parties.
   Trump, who has taken the lead in the Republican nomination process with a relentless populist and protectionist message, won contests in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina and expanded his lead in delegates. He lost Ohio to Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Clinton won the same states as Trump in the Democratic process, and took Ohio as well.
   In his victory speech from Palm Beach, Fla., Trump said that when he is president, companies such as Apple will be making products in the United States instead of in China and Vietnam.
   Clinton’s victories in Ohio and Illinois blunted some of the momentum for opponent Bernie Sanders, who won in Michigan last week. Sen. Sanders has also used anti-trade rhetoric to help stoke his campaign to surprising success so far in the campaign. Clinton has coopted some of Sander’s message to appeal to more voters, indicating that she would try to preserve jobs by cracking down on unfair trade practices by other countries while maintaining an overall interest in expanding export opportunities for U.S. firms.
   Exit polls in Ohio, according to CBS News, showed 56 percent of Republican voters and 53 percent of Democratic voters in Ohio believe trade takes away jobs. The economy was the top concern for voters and trade is one of the issues that influenced their thinking.
   Meanwhile, a majority of CEOs surveyed by the Business Roundtable said that the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement pending before Congress would have a positive effect on their ability to grow their companies, become more globally competitive and expand U.S. operations.
   CEO confidence for the next six months ticked up slightly in the quarterly economic outlook. The survey reported that CEOs expect 2.2 percent economic growth, down from their 2.4 percent estimate at the end of 2015. Projections for sales increased by 8.5 points, and plans for capital expenditures increased by 7.1 points. Hiring plans declined by nearly 10 points from last quarter.
   On Tuesday, the Department of Commerce updated its “Free Trade Agreement Tariff Tool” to include the latest information on tariffs on U.S. products exported to TPP partner markets. When, or if, TPP goes into effect, it will eliminate more than 18,000 foreign import taxes that various countries have placed on products made in the United States.
   The FTA Tariff Tool allows users to see how TPP and other free trade agreements treat individual products, which are searchable by keyword or tariff code. Additionally, U.S. importers and exporters can see the current tariff and future tariffs applied to their products, as well as the year in which those products become duty free. It also incorporates agricultural and non-agricultural goods and includes product specific rules of origin information.