Republican Mike Rogers flip flop on trade raises questions about his commitment to Michigan workers

Former Rep. Mike Rogers says free trade agreements are hurting American workers, despite backing several such pacts earlier in his career.

Rogers is the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015.

A free trade agreement (FTA) is a pact between two or more nations to reduce or eliminate barriers on trade, such as tariffs or import quotas. When these barriers are eliminated, it becomes cheaper for American companies to import goods. Critics of FTAs say this creates a financial incentive for corporations to offshore jobs to countries with cheaper labor and less stringent regulations.

Lawmakers in both parties have supported and denounced FTAs. 

In July, Rogers told NewsNation that FTAs are a drag on Michigan’s manufacturing industry and backed a plan to impose new tariffs on foreign imports.

“The trade issue here has been very, very unfair,” Rogers said. “If you look at a state like Michigan, when the rest of the country catches a cold, we get pneumonia here in the manufacturing sector. When you don’t have policies, trade policies or engagement policies around the world that make it fair for us to compete, that’s a problem. When people say America first, what they’re saying is let’s have some reciprocal trade agreements. If they tax our car 25%, let’s tax their car 25%.” 

Rogers’ statement echoes former President Donald Trump, who frequently talks about tariffs as a core part of his economic agenda, despite not seeming to totally grasp how tariffs work. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods that American companies are required to pay. On Sept. 17, Trump said he would cut grocery costs by levying new tariffs on food imports. In this scenario, grocers would be paying more to put imported items on the shelf, leading to higher costs for consumers.

Trump has endorsed the Reciprocal Trade Act, a law that would empower the president to unilaterally impose new tariffs, essentially undoing previous FTAs. Rogers told the Washington Examiner in July that he would back this law as well.

In 2014, however, Rogers played a role in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. His office even drafted a form letter to be sent to business leaders in which Rogers endorsed TPP and FTAs more broadly.

“It is important to note that in order for any TPP agreement negotiated to come into force, legislation implementing the agreement must be passed by both houses of Congress,” Rogers wrote. “I believe America has the best workers in the world, and while I support efforts such as the TPP negotiations to expand free trade, I believe that we must enforce fair trade.”

TPP was still not finalized in January 2017. When Trump took office, he withdrew from the negotiations. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 election, opposed TPP as well.

Between 2008 and 2011, Rogers voted 12 times to advance multiple FTAs, including the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Between 2001 and 2008, he voted four times to limit congressional oversight of FTAs.

In December 2001, Rogers sent an email to his constituents expressing broad support for FTAs.

“So long as open trade is fair, I believe free trade has the possibility to create new markets for America’s farmers, workers, service providers, and high-tech entrepreneurs,” Rogers wrote. “It will also fuel the engines of economic growth that create new jobs and new income for Michigan businesses and their employees.”

During Rogers first reelection campaign, the Michigan Republican Party sent out mailers listing “enforcing free trade” as one of Rogers’ top legislative priorities.

The most high-profile FTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in 1994. NAFTA is often blamed for contributing to offshoring and a decline in American manufacturing. According to the New York Times, NAFTA partially contributed to the closure of 90,000 American factories. CNN reports that Michigan has lost nearly 300,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000.

In 2000, Rogers praised NAFTA in an interview with C-SPAN.

“NAFTA is going to be good for America,” Rogers said. 

That same month, the AP reported that Rogers was a NAFTA supporter.

Rogers’ Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate race in Rep. Elissa Slotkin. A Siena College poll from September showed Slotkin leading Rogers 47% to 42%.