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Saturday, March 7, 2015

Huckabee slams 'globalists,' free trade agreements

Huckabee slams 'globalists,' free trade agreements

By JAMES HOHMANN | 03/07/2015 12:04 PM EST | Updated: 03/07/2015 12:35 PM EST

Expressing deep skepticism of proposed free trade agreements, Mike Huckabee warned in Iowa Saturday that the United States is becoming like communist China.

The former Arkansas governor recalled a trip he took to China last year during his appearance at an agricultural summit that drew a number of potential Republican 2016 candidates to the state fairgrounds.

"In China, I felt like they were becoming more like America used to be," he told a crowd of some 900 activists. "But, sadly, America is becoming more like they used to be. Our government is becoming more oppressive; theirs is beginning to ease up.

"We have a lot of globalists and frankly corporatists instead of having nationalists who put forward the best interests of the United States and working families," he added.

Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses and gave up his Fox News show in January to prepare for a potential presidential campaign, positioned himself as a populist in the mold of Ross Perot.

He complained that American wages have been stagnant since Chinese trade agreements went into effect over the past few decades.

"People are working hard, and they have less to show for it," he said. "We need to quit apologizing for being America, and we need to start making it so that Americans can prosper and not just so that the Chinese can buy Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags."

The comments came in response to questions about why the government has kept the embargo in place against Cuba, even as trade barriers with China have been lifted.

"We have basically surrendered to the Chinese market," Huckabee said. "We've not put the pressure on them."

Huckabee, who followed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the cattle call, said that Cuba must make serious concessions before the embargo is scaled back. He said President Barack Obama is sending the wrong message.

"If my parents had raised me that way, I'd have been a monster," he said. "They didn't reward me with ice cream and candy every time I did something horrible."

"Don't give the Chinese and Cubans ice cream and candy," he added.

Huckabee expressed doubts over the Trans Pacific Partnership. "If it's not fair trade," he said, "it's not free trade."

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