As the calendar turns from July to August, the Democratic and Republican National Conventions have both concluded. During the conventions, Americans learned about the candidates and their respective parties’ positions through what could be seen and heard on television. Now, additional information on numerous issues—including international trade—may be gained by reading the Democratic and Republican Party platforms. Think of it as summer reading with a November twist.

Democratic Party Platform on International Trade

The Democratic Party platform on International Trade begins by asserting that “global trade has failed to live up to its promise” for many Americans due to unfair foreign competition and “too many corporations outsourcing jobs at the expense of

American workers and communities.” That introduction highlights a fundamental premise of the Democratic Party platform: U.S. trade policy must benefit American workers. Hillary Clinton’s July 28 nomination acceptance speech repeated this theme as she called on the country to “support our steelworkers and autoworkers and homegrown manufacturers.” Mrs. Clinton also stated that “Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again—well, he could start by actually making things in America again.”

Enhanced Trade Remedy Enforcement and Currency Manipulation

To achieve this objective, the “priority is to significantly strengthen enforcement of existing trade rules and the tools we have, including by holding countries accountable on currency manipulation and significantly expanding enforcement resources.” Not surprisingly, the platform singles out China by name when discussing countries that use “unfair trade practices to tilt the playing field against American workers and businesses.” The platform explains that the American “middle class pays the price” when Chinese manufacturers and other foreign competitors “dump cheap products into our markets, subsidize state-owned enterprises, devalue currencies, and discriminate against American companies.” With regard to China, the platform explains that Democrats “will stand up to Beijing on unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, censorship of the internet, piracy, and cyberattacks.”

This policy plank carries forward many elements of President Obama’s trade agenda, as reported previously.

Global Trade Agreements Generally

The Democratic Party platform also devotes significant attention to global trade agreements. That discussion covers both trade deals that are already in effect, without identifying any particular agreements (i.e., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)), and the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

In order to “develop trade policies that support jobs in America,” the platform supports the “review of trade agreements negotiated years ago to update them to reflect these principles.” With regard to future trade agreements, including TPP, the Democratic platform enumerates several standards that “Democrats believe must be applied to all trade agreements,” including labor and environmental standards and enforcement tools, and sufficient remedies to address the effects of government subsidies. The Democratic Party platform also emphasizes that “trade negotiations must be transparent and inclusive” and cannot “undermine democratic decision-making through special privileges and private courts for corporations.”

TPP

A prior draft of the Democratic Party platform, issued on July 1, noted a “diversity of views in the party” regarding TPP and that “many Democrats are on record stating that the agreement does not meet the standards set out in the platform.” While the final version of the Democratic Party platform no longer contains that language, Democratic Party Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton has stated her opposition to TPP generally and to an up-or-down Congressional vote on TPP during any lame duck session after the presidential election later this year. Recent press reports indicate that her administration would seek a “new approach to trade” that does not include renegotiating TPP.

Other Trade and Manufacturing Issues

The Democratic Party platform calls for significant infrastructure improvements by “updating and expanding our roads, bridges, public transit, airports, and passenger and freight rail lines” through the use of “American-made steel and other products manufactured in the United States.” This is commensurate with the platform’s desire to foster “a manufacturing renaissance” in “hard-hit manufacturing communities” through a “‘Make it in America’ plan.” In his remarks before Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech, long-time trade policy advocate Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) discussed how this plan would provide $10 billion in tax credits “to revitalize U.S. manufacturing.”

Republican Party Platform on International Trade

The Republican Party platform on international trade calls for “A Winning Trade Policy.” The platform states that trade “is crucial for all sectors of America’s economy,” but that “massive trade deficits are not.”

Chinese Currency Manipulation, Market Access, and Subsidies

The Republican Party platform states that American trade policy must address Chinese currency manipulation, “exclusion of U.S. products from government purchases, and subsidization of Chinese companies to thwart American imports.” The Republican Party platform criticizes the Obama Administration’s approach to “violations of world trade standards.” In his July 21 nomination acceptance speech, Republican Party Presidential Nominee Donald Trump criticized China for dumping and currency manipulation.

Global Trade Agreements Including TPP and NAFTA

Like the Democratic Party, the Republican Party platform expresses a need for “better negotiated trade agreements that put America first.” The platform explains that “you can succeed in a negotiation only if you are willing to walk away from it” and that “a Republican president will insist on parity in trade and stand ready to implement countervailing duties if other countries refuse to cooperate.” In his nomination acceptance speech, Mr. Trump stated his opposition to TPP and his call to renegotiate “NAFTA to get a much better deal for America.” The platform contemplates a bright-line rule of rejecting trade agreements that “do not adequately protect U.S. interests, U.S. sovereignty, or when” the agreements “are violated with impunity.” In an interview conducted following the end of the convention, Mr. Trump characterized the World Trade Organization as a “disaster” and said that “we’re going to renegotiate or we’re going to pull out.” The Republican Party platform states that “significant trade agreements should not be rushed or undertaken in a Lame Duck Congress.” Thus, international trade (and TPP in particular) is likely to constitute one of the first significant issues facing the President-elect and Congress after the November 8 vote.

The platform describes the Republican Party’s vision of “a worldwide multilateral agreement among nations committed to the principles of open markets, what has been called a ‘Reagan Economic Zone,’ in which free trade will truly be fair trade for all concerned.” This is consistent with the call “to broaden our trade agreements with countries which share our values and commitment to fairness, along with transparency in our commercial and business practices.” The platform further explains that the U.S. policy for trade negotiations must recognize that “the American people demand transparency, full disclosure,” and adequate protections to national sovereignty.

Other Trade and Manufacturing Issues

The Republican Party platform states that the United States “is overwhelmingly dependent on China and other nations for rare earth and other hardrock minerals.” The platform calls for “expediting the permitting process for mineral production on public lands” because these minerals “are critical to advanced technology, renewable energy, and defense manufacturing.”

In a section regarding U.S. territories such as Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, the Republican Party platform states that “economic stability and potential for growth must be considered in any trade agreements between the United States and other Pacific nations.” The platform calls for “flexibility or exemption from laws that increase costs for their populations, such as the minimum wage and the Jones Act concerning shipping.” The platform also suggests the removal of unspecified U.S. customs practices to facilitate this goal.

In sum, the Democratic and Republican platforms and public statements by the candidates confirm that international trade is a key issue in the 2016 presidential election.