Nine in 10 Voters Want Congress to Prevent Currency Manipulation in International Trade Deals
Washington, D.C. – Nearly three-fourths of U.S. voters say that Congress should oppose trade deals that do not prohibit currency manipulation, according to a new Ipsos poll. Almost all Americans – both Democrat and Republican – say it is important to have rules to prevent currency manipulation, when foreign countries artificially make their products cheaper, in international trade agreements.
[Reposted from the blog of the Alliance for American Manufacturing | May 7, 2015]
“Currency is why President Obama’s trade agenda is in such trouble. Nearly everyone thinks we should be aggressive about combating currency manipulation, but the President is not willing to budge an inch on the issue,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
As Congress considers the Trade Promotion Authority bill that does not currently contain enforceable currency rules, almost half of the public says they are more likely to vote for a Member of Congress if they vote to prohibit currency manipulation. Only 1 in 5 say they are less likely.
Voters also repudiate the argument that Obama is expected to make in a speech at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon on Friday about the consumer benefits of free trade. Eight in 10 Americans favor protecting manufacturing jobs over gaining access to more imported goods.
Paul added: “While President Obama is essentially glorifying a model of offshoring at Nike, he’s completely ignoring currency manipulation, even though many economists believe that addressing currency manipulation could unleash job creation and lower our trade deficit.”
The national poll found:
-
9 in 10 Americans say it is important to have rules to prevent currency manipulation, including:
- 89 percent of Arkansas voters
- 93 percent of Colorado voters
- 87 percent of Georgia voters
- 89 percent of Louisiana voters
- 89 percent of Missouri voters
- 88 percent of Nebraska voters
- 93 percent of Oklahoma voters
-
8 in 10 Americans prefer to protect jobs when asked to choose between access to goods and American manufacturing jobs, including:
- 80 percent of Arkansas voters
- 84 percent of Colorado voters
- 84 percent of Georgia voters
- 85 percent of Louisiana voters
- 89 percent of Missouri voters
- 89 percent of Nebraska voters
- 80 percent of Oklahoma voters
-
73 percent of Americans say that Congress should oppose trade deals that do not prohibit currency manipulation, including:
- 83 percent of Arkansas voters
- 83 percent of Colorado voters
- 73 percent of Georgia voters
- 76 percent of Louisiana voters
- 68 percent of Missouri voters
- 81 percent of Nebraska voters
- 77 percent of Oklahoma voters
-
Almost half of Americans say they are more likely to vote for a Member of Congress if they vote to prohibit currency manipulation, including:
- 40 percent of Arkansas voters
- 49 percent of Colorado voters
- 39 percent of Georgia voters
- 49 percent of Louisiana voters
- 36 percent of Missouri voters
- 42 percent of Nebraska voters
- 42 percent of Oklahoma voters
Find the entire results of the poll here, the crosstabs here, and the state data here.
**This national poll was commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing. These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted May 1 to 6, 2015. For the survey, a sample of 3,215 registered voters, including 213 registered voters in Arkansas, 257 registered voters in Colorado, 277 registered voters in Georgia, 236 registered voters in Louisiana, 256 registered voters in Missouri, 218 registered voters in Nebraska, and 226 registered voters in Oklahoma, age 18 and over was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.0percentage points for all respondents, 7.7 percentage points for respondents from Arkansas, 7.0 percentage points for respondents from Colorado, 6.7 percentage points for respondents from Georgia, 7.3 percentage points for respondents from Louisiana, 7.0 percentage points for respondents from Missouri, 7.6 percentage points for respondents from Nebraska, and 7.4 percentage points for respondents from Oklahoma, respectively.
The data were weighted to the U.S. current population data by gender, age, region and household income based on Census data. Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding.
