State of Illinois Archives: on Free Trade
Tammy Duckworth:
Yes to Ex-im bank; Yes to fast-track
Ballotpedia.org analysis of Congressional voting record on trade issues:- Voted NAY on Trade adjustment assistance (TAA): On 6/12/15, the House rejected the TAA measure in HR 1314 by a vote of 126 to 302. TAA is a federal program providing
American workers displaced by foreign trade agreements with job training and services.
- Voted NAY on Trade promotion authority (TPA): On 6/12/15, the House narrowly passed the TPA measure in HR 1314 by a vote of 219 to 211.
TPA would give the president fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements sent to Congress without the opportunity for amendment or filibuster.
- Voted YEA on Export-Import Bank: On 10/27/15, the House passed HR 597, the Export-Import Bank
Reform and Reauthorization Act, by a vote of 313-118. The bill allows the Export-Import Bank to resume offering assistance in the form of loans and insurance to foreign companies that want to buy U.S. goods.
Source: Ballotpedia.org coverage of 2016 Illinois Senate race
Oct 27, 2015
Jim Oberweis:
Challenge in China is lack of clarity on taxes
Q: When doing business in China, how do you navigate waters like capital gains? You've observed in the past that, yes, they may be on the book somewhere, but nobody pays attention to them.Oberweis: We talked a lot to our tax people on this, as well.
As it currently stands, nobody pays it and you have to be aware of it. I think you're going to see clarification on it, though. I think, within the next couple years, there'll be much sharper clarification. It's not only a question of China, but what
about other companies that are listed elsewhere or have part of their business elsewhere? Or companies where their headquarters are elsewhere, but all the businesses are in China? That's one of the challenges of investing in China, is the lack of clarity
with respect to tax positions. We have experts on our team who try to help advise us. I'll be the first to tell you, it is not a crystal clear area and you have to make the best decisions you can under the circumstances that you know.
Source: Forbes Magazine interview on 2014 Illinois Senate race
Jan 5, 2012
Jim Oberweis:
Invest in Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, India, and China
Q: What countries interest you in Asia, besides China?Oberweis: I'm going to Jakarta for an exploratory reason in February.
Q: Do you fear you've missed it?
Oberweis: Maybe. It's been on fire. We're going to go visit companies and look and see. We
were in Vietnam two years ago looking at the same types of things. Vietnam is a great place to be. It's a really hard place to play public equity markets, just because it's a relatively corrupt insider trading environment. We're certainly seeing more
ideas in Japan than we've seen in a long time. Part of that is currency, part of it is rebuilding and part of it is, I think, increasing trade with China. You would expect that, with the exception of the cultural barriers that are so high, but I think
you'll see a little bit more of that in the decade to come. Money has a way of trumping even the gravest of enemies over time. India has always been an area of interest for us. Until recently, it's been hard to find the valuations that we like.
Source: Forbes Magazine interview on 2014 Illinois Senate race
Jan 5, 2012
Pat Quinn:
Exports support 500,000 jobs in IL; double that in 5 years
Illinois is a major player on the global stage. Our current exports support more than a half a million Illinois jobs. In 2010, our state's exports went up by nearly 20% to just under 50 billion dollars. We are 6th in the nation in exports, and first in
the Midwest. As Governor, I pledge double our exports over the next five years. To meet this goal, we will be reorganizing our foreign trade offices--working with representatives from international markets to develop new trading relationships and enhance
the ones already in place. For example: we recently hosted the president of China and his delegation of trade officials. These meetings resulted in $1.8 billion in agreements that will sell 25% of Illinois' soybean crop to China.
In 2010, exports from Illinois to China increased by nearly 30%. And more than 30 Chinese companies have already invested in Illinois, employing thousands of Illinois workers.
Source: Illinois 2011 State of the State Budget Address
Feb 16, 2011
Alexi Giannoulias:
Eliminate $200B in tax loopholes that ship jobs overseas
End Unfair Trade Agreements and Fight China's Anticompetitive Practices: Alexi wants to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade pacts, ensuring that future agreements learn from out past mistakes.
He also wants to close loopholes that give tax breaks to companies that ship overseas, raising nearly $200 billion by doing so.
Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, AlexiForIllinois.com, "Issues"
Dec 25, 2009
Barack Obama:
Fair trade should have tangible benefits for US
[Obama believes in] ensuring fair trade by enforcing existing trade agreements. Obama believes any trade agreement must have real, tangible benefits for U.S. business and workers and will work to enforce the trade agreements on the books.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, ObamaForIllinois.com
Jun 25, 2004
Page last updated: Feb 13, 2018