Mr. Seib: Governor Romney, trade keeps popping up here so lets boar in on it a little bit. By one estimate, the U.S. has lost 5 million jobs to overseas trade since 1989 and the U.S. must borrow everyday $2 billion from overseas to pay for its imports.
Mr. Seib: President Bush says trade is still good for America. Are you a Bush Republican on trade?
Mr. Romney: Well, I believe in trade, but I believe in opening up markets to American goods and services. And it's been calculated that the average family in America is $9,000 a year richer because we have the ability to sell products around the world.
And a lot of people in this country make their living making products that go around the world. But it's also true that the people who negotiate these agreements -- the people who sit down with the Chinese and sit down the Mexicans and others are people, by and large, who spent their life in politics.
And the politicians come together and try to understand how the economy works. I think I'm probably the only guy on the stage who spent most of his career in the business world. I understand how the economy works. I understand how if you make a certain adjustment in the agreement, it's going to have a huge impact on the United States.
And so if, for instance, we agree to sit down with China, I understand that if we don't get real careful and protect patents and designs and technology, that what we tend to sell the most of, those kinds of things -- intellectual property -- is going to get stolen by the Chinese or by others; that we have to recognize agreements have to be in our benefit, not just in their benefit.
Mr. Romney: And so as I look across the agreements we've made, I recognize we're going to have to do a better job. We're going to have to have people who understand how the business world works, how the economy works, and make sure that the playing field really is level by having people who know something about the economy and that understand the business world being part of that effort.
I want to make sure that the American worker gets a fair shake. We need to make sure that the Chinese begin to float their currency and they protect our designs and our patents and our technology.
We need to make sure that the American workers don't have to carry the burden of extra taxes as we sell our products around the world. The come here without that tax embedded.
We can do a better job.
Mr. Romney: And I want to do a better job for the American worker.
And by the way, this is key for Michigan. And for me, Michigan is personal. I'm going to go to work to help Michigan.
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