Huckabee said this year that workers would “take it in the backside” under President Obama’s trade deal. As governor of Arkansas, he went to Japan and Mexico to foster trade ties and wrote columns touting the benefits of free trade.
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in Little Rock, Ark. Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006.
Brian Chilson / AP
"We don't create good jobs for Americans by entering into unbalanced trade deals that forego Congressional scrutiny and looking the other way as the law is ignored so we can import low wage labor, undercut American workers, and drive wages lower than the Dead Sea," he said.
Though the exact terms of the deal, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are still being negotiated, it is expected to reduce tariffs on a variety of goods and includes countries from Mexico to Japan.
Huckabee writes on his campaign website that he supports "free, fair trade" but says he is sick of "America's workers getting punched in the gut."
Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Huckabee said American workers would suffer from a bad trade deal.
"When there's a cronies involved in getting a special deal, and when other countries are cheating, and Americans lose jobs, I'd like to think the U.S. government would stand up to the U.S. worker rather than let them take it in the backside and somehow just have to tough it out," Huckabee said.
"Percentagewise, Arkansas has the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the country. Arkansas industries, especially our burgeoning poultry industry, have offered jobs that often are filled by immigrants from Mexico. The rapid growth of our state's Hispanic population has led to complex social issues. Heavy migration can increase the demand for state services. But most of those who've moved to the state in recent years are hard-working people with strong family ties. They've made a contribution to our economy and revitalized parts of numerous Arkansas towns that previously were dying. I was reminded again during the trip to Mexico of how proud I am of the way the majority of Arkansans have received these Hispanic immigrants. We respect hard work in Arkansas. We respect those who want to provide a better life for their children and grandchildren. For decades, we treated our state's African-American population poorly. The Hispanic influx gives us a second chance to prove what kind of people we really are.
"I looked into the eyes of rural Mexican children, and my heart was moved. These children often don't have enough to eat, don't have good clothes and don't have a dry place to sleep at night. They have little chance of ever breaking out of the cycle of poverty. I was humbled at the thought of how much Americans have. And I was reminded we can give something back by offering a helping hand to those who follow the American dream along Interstate 30 and Interstate 40 into Arkansas. I also was reminded of the global impact our small state and the companies based here have had."
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