Adviser: Obama gets bum rap on trade
By David Milstead, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 27, 2008 at 12:55 p.m.
Updated August 27, 2008 at 12:55 p.m.
Austan Goolsbee, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago's business school and one of two top economic advisers to Barack Obama said labeling the candidate as protectionist on free trade issues is "totally not accurate."
Obama is gaining the backing of most major unions and has been a voice in the debate over whether the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, needs to be reworked.
Goolsbee, making the case for the candidate Wednesday morning before a not-necessarily-friendly audience at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, highlighted Obama's pro trade statements. Obama has said trade is good for the economy, access to foreign markets is critical for American business, and trade has helped keep prices low.
At the same time, Goolsbee said, Obama recognizes that millions of people have not benefited from trade because of stagnant income or lost jobs.
"If we're not mindful of their concerns, all the political good will toward trade will evaporate," he said.
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