Another GOP Debate, Another Opportunity to Talk Trade

By Matthew McMullan
Nov 10 2015 |
Republicans, mid-brawl during a recent debate. Will tonight’s clash involve more substance? | Photo by Carlos Adampol Galindo

Will Donald Trump’s Wall Street Journal help direct the discussion?

Republican presidential debates are very crowded; kinda like Royal Rumbles, if no one was ever physically thrown off stage by a rival.  

With so many candidates in front of the camera, and so much concern among conservative voters about America’s economic relationship with China, you’d think a few of them would bring the topic up during a debate – like the CNBC event a few weeks ago – whose broad parameters were ostensibly economic issues. 

You’d think so, right? Well, you’d be wrong. Wrong! When CNBC got the gang together for a debate a few weeks ago, China was mentioned once. The whole night. Once!

America does an astronomical amount of trade with China, and most of it is coming this way: We buy what China sells. That sustained deficit costs America jobs

Will tonight’s debate, hosted by Fox Business, be any different? Well, here’s an indicator: Just last night, beauty pageant promoter and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump published an opinion in the Wall Street Journal excoriating the Obama administration for its handling of America’s trade relationship with China:

Through manipulation of the yuan, the Chinese government has been able to tip the trade balance in their direction by imposing a de facto tariff on all imported goods. Imagine the impact these practices have had on our weakened manufacturing base, our agriculture industry and every small business unable to compete internationally.

Later, he writes:

On day one of a Trump administration, the U.S. Treasury Department will designate China a currency manipulator. 

He’s not the first Republican candidate to make that promise, but it’s a bold one. What's more, tonight’s debate is to focus on the economy, and one of its three moderators will be the Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief.

He’s no doubt aware of Trump’s provocative opinion. He should raise the topic during the debate, and get the rest of the candidates on the record: What will these GOP contenders do about America’s uneven trade relationship with China?