McCain:
“But then, to practice protectionism - look, I've seen the pictures of Mr. Smoot and Mr. Hawley. They sent America from a recession into a deep depression. That is a terrible thought that we would raise the specter of protectionism and cut off our access to markets around the world. That's exactly what Senator Obama wants to do.
RealClearPolitics / Bloomberg (June 10, 2008)

Obama:
Obama is opposed to the U.S.-Colombia free trade deal, but he takes a somewhat softer rhetorical approach on trade in this speech that he has on the campaign trail, where both he and Sen. Hillary Clinton have been highly critical of U.S. trade policy. “Trade must be part of the solution,” he says, “But I strongly reject the Bush-McCain view that any trade deal is a good deal. …There’s nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization, instead of steering them to special interests while we short-change workers at home and abroad.”
Wall Street Journal (May 23, 2008)

McCain:
…calls for jumpstarting the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas… “We need to build on the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement by expanding U.S. trade with the region,’’ he plans to say. “Let’s start by ratifying the trade agreements with Panama, Peru, and Colombia that are already completed, and pushing forward the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Too many Democrats have embraced economic isolationism, paying off special interests by opposing trade agreements with our democratic neighbors. They could not be more wrong.’’ “My administration would reduce barriers to trade and press for renewed Trade Promotion Authority.’’
- New York Times (June 19, 2007)

McCain:
"I would like to see a hemispheric free trade agreement," McCain said at a news conference here [Colombia]. "I would like to see our continued assistance to countries like Columbia." Protectionist sentiment at home is worrisome "because history shows that isolationism and protectionism has very unpleasant consequences," McCain said. But he added: "I am committed to getting every single American displaced from his or her job because of foreign competition ... a new job and a better future."
AP (July 2, 2008)

Obama:
“I approved the Free Trade Agreement with Peru, but I’m against an agreement with Colombia”, said Obama in an interview published by the Chilean journal “El Mercurio”. He stated that he will maintain this position until he is sure that “no union leaders are being murdered in Colombia” and added that “we need to stop these types of paramilitary activities…”
Living in Peru (June 11, 2008)

Obama – Obama said he would vote for a Peruvian trade agreement next week, in response to a question from a man in Londonderry, NH who called NAFTA and CAFTA a disaster for American workers. He said he supported the trade agreement with Peru because it contained the labor and environmental standards sought by groups like the AFL-CIO, despite the voter’s protests to the contrary. He also affirmed his support for free trade. “I am not going to say on a blanket basis that I’m going to vote against trade agreements,” Obama said. “We cannot draw a moat around the US economy because China is still trading, India is still trading.”
– MSNBC.com (October 9, 2007)

McCain:
“One of the most crucial economic issues in this campaign is the ability of American workers to benefit from exports to other nations, and how government policy can help them to do so. And here, too, I welcome the debate with the Democratic nominee.

I want to break down foreign trade barriers, so that America's small businesses can compete abroad. When new trading partners can sell in our market, and American companies can sell in theirs, the gains are great and lasting. The strength of the American economy offers a better life to every society we trade with, and the good comes back to us in many ways -- in better jobs, higher wages, and lower prices. Free trade can also give once troubled and impoverished nations a stake in the world economy, and in their relations with America.

At the same time, we have to help displaced workers at every turn on a tough road, so that they are not just spectators on the opportunities of others. And I have made that commitment with reforms to expand and improve federal aid to American workers in need. We need to help millions of workers who have lost a job that won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

Unfortunately, Senator Obama has a habit of talking down the value of our exports and trade agreements. He even proposed a unilateral re-negotiation of NAFTA -- our agreement with Canada and Mexico that accounts for 33 percent of American exports. But we have a sharp disagreement here that I look forward to debating. If I am elected president, this country will honor its international agreements, including NAFTA, and we will expect the same of others. And in a time of uncertainty for American workers, we will not undo the gains of years in trade agreements now awaiting final approval.
- McCain Website - Speech to NFIB and eBay National Small Business Summit (June 10, 2008)

McCain:
I'm a student of history. Every time the United States has become projectionist and listened to this siren song that you're hearing partially this stage tonight, we could pay at a very heavy price. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Acts in the 1930s were direct contributors to World War II. It sounds like a lot of fun to bash Chinese and others, but free trade has been the engine of our economy in the last half of this year; it will continue to be. And free trade should be the continuing principle that guides this nation's economy.
Wall Street Journal (October 9, 2007)

McCain:
“Senator Obama pretends we can address the loss of manufacturing jobs by repealing trade agreements and refusing to sign new ones; that we can build a stronger economy by limiting access to our markets and giving up access to foreign markets. The global economy exists and is not going away. We either compete in it or we lose more jobs, more businesses, more dreams. We lose the future. He's an intelligent man, and he must know how foolish it is to think Americans can remain prosperous without opening new markets to our goods and services. But he feels he must defer to the special interests that support him. That's not change we can believe in. Lowering trade barriers to American goods and services creates more and better jobs; keeps inflation under control; keeps interest rates low; and makes more goods affordable to more Americans. We won't compete successfully by using old technology to produce old goods. We'll succeed by knowing what to produce and inventing new technologies to produce it…”
- CNN.com (June 3, 2008)

Obama:
“…I believe in free trade. And as somebody who lived overseas, who has family overseas, I've seen what's happened in terms of rising living standards around the globe. And that's a good thing for America, it's good for our national security. But what I also believe is that if trade agreements are written only with corporate profits and Wall Street in mind and not with its possible effects on Main Street, then we're only seeing half of the equation, and we've got to take those into account.”
- CNBC – Interview with John Harwood (June 10, 2008)

McCain – "I strongly disagree with Sen. Clinton's position on open global trade. As a student of history I know that every country that has turned to protectionism has ultimately harmed itself. The steady march toward more open global trade has been a critical part of the economic miracle that is the American economy," McCain said in a statement.
– Phoenix Business Journal (October 9, 2007)

McCain:
McCain also criticized Obama for shifting his stance on the trade embargo against Cuba; Obama said in 2003 he would lift it but has hardened his position slightly to say he would ease it. McCain argues trade should not be normalized until the basic freedoms he outlined are granted... McCain also criticized Obama for opposing a free trade deal with Columbia that could benefit Florida's agriculture and manufacturing industries. The pact, blocked by Congress, would eliminate high barriers facing American exports to Columbia. Most Colombian products already enter the U.S. duty-free. In an interview with local reporters on his campaign bus, McCain said Obama "is a tool of organized labor ... He's been against (trade agreements with) Colombia, South Korea and several others. That's what labor unions want, no free trade agreements."
Minneapolis Star-Tribune / AP (May 20, 2008)

Obama:
“I will maintain the [Cuba] embargo. It provides us with the leverage to present the regime with a clear choice: if you take significant steps toward democracy, beginning with the freeing of all political prisoners, we will take steps to begin normalizing relations. That's the way to bring about real change in Cuba – through strong, smart and principled diplomacy...”

“Trade must be part of this solution. But I strongly reject the Bush-McCain view that any trade deal is a good deal. We cannot accept trade that enriches those at the top of the ladder while cutting out the rungs at the bottom. It's time to understand that the goal of our trade policy must be trade that works for all people in all countries. Like Central America's bishops, I opposed CAFTA because the needs of workers were not adequately addressed. I supported the Peru Free Trade Agreement because there were binding labor and environmental provisions. That's the kind of trade we need – trade that lifts up workers, not just a corporate bottom line.

There's nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization, instead of steering them to special interests while we short-change workers at home and abroad. If John McCain believes – as he said the other day – that 80 percent of Americans think we're on the wrong track because we haven't passed free trade with Colombia, then he's totally out of touch with the American people. And if John McCain thinks that we can paper over our failure of leadership in the region by occasionally passing trade deals with friendly governments, then he's out of touch with the people of the Americas…”
- Obama Website – Speech on Latin America (May 23, 2008)

McCain:
“Another priority of the next U.S. President must be to expand the United States' economic relationships in Asia and build the case at home and abroad for an open, inclusive system of international trade. Unfortunately, in what has become an all-too-predictable pattern, some U.S. politicians--including the two Democratic candidates for president--are preying on the fears stoked by Asia's dynamism; rather than encouraging U.S. innovation and entrepreneurship, they instead propose throwing up protectionist walls that will leave us all worse off. This kind of protectionism is profoundly irresponsible. The United States has never won respect or created jobs by retreating from free trade, and we cannot start doing so now…”
- Wall Street Journal Asia – Op-ed by Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman (May 27, 2008)

Obama:
"Like many members of Congress, I oppose the U.S.-Korea FTA, which I believe is badly flawed. In particular, the terms of the agreement fall well short of assuring effective, enforceable market access for American exports of manufactured goods and many agricultural products," Obama said... "Approval of the agreement as negotiated would give Korean exports essentially unfettered access to the U.S. market and would eliminate our best opportunity for obtaining genuinely reciprocal market access in one of the world's largest economies," Obama said.
- Malaysia Star / Reuters (May 23, 2008)

McCain:
"Canadian government sources have been quoted as saying if there's a unilateral renegotiation of NAFTA by the United States, then they would obviously consider their options to send their oil to wherever the highest market value would be," McCain said.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (April 17, 2008)

McCain:
"We have to defend it (NAFTA) without equivocation in political debate, because it is critical to the future of so many Canadian and American workers and businesses," McCain told a sold out Economic Club of Canada luncheon at the historic Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel, steps from parliament. "Demanding unilateral changes and threatening to abrogate an agreement that has increased trade and prosperity is nothing more than retreating behind protectionist walls," he said in an apparent jab at Democratic rival Barack Obama. "If I am elected president, have no doubt that America will honor its international commitments -- and we will expect the same of others," he said.
AFP (June 20, 2008)

Obama:
I’ve been a consistent opponent to NAFTA, not because I don’t believe in trade, I do, but because it is an example of a trade agreement that was good for Wall Street and not very good for Main Street. It didn’t have labor standards to make sure that countries weren’t using forced labor or going after union organizers. If a country doesn’t have strong labor standards, then U.S. workers are going to be undercut. We should have strong environmental standards to make sure that countries aren’t in a competitive disadvantage because they’re sending pollution into the air without restriction. We should have strong safety standards so that toys that are made don’t have lead paint in them. Those are all critical issues that should have been included in NAFTA. They weren’t. I will re-negotiate with Canada and Mexico to have enforceable provisions in NAFTA and all of our free trade deals. We also have to get tougher with China. The fact that we’re not willing to negotiate on critical issues like them stealing our intellectual property or manipulating our currency. That’s a real problem and something that I intend to change when I’m president of the United States
Anderson Herald Bulletin, Indiana (April 26, 2008)

Obama: “I would immediately call the president of Mexico, the president of Canada, to try to amend NAFTA, because I think that we can get labor agreements in that agreement right now.”
- Austin American-Statesman (August 8, 2007)

Obama:
[Interview, Nina Easton] "Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," [Obama] conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake…" Obama says he believes in "opening up a dialogue" with trading partners Canada and Mexico "and figuring to how we can make this work for all people." Now, however, Obama says he doesn't believe in unilaterally reopening NAFTA. On the afternoon that I sat down with him to discuss the economy, Obama said he had just spoken with Harper, who had called to congratulate him on winning the nomination. "I'm not a big believer in doing things unilaterally," Obama said. "I'm a big believer in opening up a dialogue and figuring out how we can make this work for all people."
Fortune / CNNMoney.com (June 18, 2008)