Gianforte Talks China Trade

Montana's sole U.S. Representative, Greg Gianforte (R), spoke to the Courier about his recent trip to China as part of the first Congressional delegation of 2019. Gianforte said he was one of only six legislators in the bipartisan group, working to secure a new trade deal with the nearly 1.4 billion person market.

Gianforte explained that his reason for going to China was simple. "Trade is so important to our ranchers and farmers," said Gianforte, "and they need certainty and we were there to talk trade."

The Congressman described the negotiations as very promising, and reported that the general sentiment from delegates and diplomats alike is that a deal is close. "I would say we had very promising meetings with the U.S. Ambassador there in Beijing and also with Chinese government officials, and we also met with business leaders, both Chinese and American firms operating in China."

In meetings with the U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, Gianforte said he delivered a very clear message that the negotiations needed to be done in a timely manner. He recounted the exchange saying, "We need to get this trade deal done. We need certainty for our farmers and ranchers. Please bring these negotiations to a close, so we can get back to fair and reciprocal trade."

The Congressman said he had a similar message for the Chinese officials that the governments should be seeking "free, fair, and reciprocal trade." He went on to say that Democrats, Republicans and the administration were all on the same page with China and that in addition to the free, fair and reciprocal trade, China needed to follow the established trade rules shared by the international community. According to Gianforte, that is especially true in regards to intellectual property rights and preventing the forced transfer of technology in return for the ability to do business in China.

"We were so encouraged," said Gianforte, "that the administration shared with us that they were close to getting a deal done, and that would be so good for our farmers and ranchers here in Montana."

In the Congressman's view, the trade agreement would have to have a number of agreements. Those include fair and reciprocal market access, the prevention of forced intellectual property transfers and an enforcement mechanism to deal with violators on both sides.

Gianforte said that although the negotiations are close to securing a deal, the major issue preventing an agreement is the enforcement mechanism and how that mechanism will manifest itself to hold both parties responsible.

Gianforte defended the trade conflict with China citing progress made for farmers and ranchers.

"We've seen progress over the last few years," explained the Congressman, "We've seen deeper ties, the Chinese market is now open to American beef, that is progress." He went on to describe how issues with the Chinese hog industry has left open an opportunity for American beef to fill a protein void in the largest southeast Asian nation.

"I think American producers and Montana producers in particular, can compete with anyone in the world if there is a level playing field," said Gianforte in response to whether he felt Montana producers would have better access to China and other markets once negotiations had finished. "Our focus in these trade negotiations is to get a level playing field. And, I'll leave it to the farmers and ranchers to compete, we just want to make sure the deck isn't stacked against them."

Gianforte discussed the major impediments to coal exportation to China as well. He blamed coal capacity and West Coast state policies for the obstacle.

"The issue we have with coal is we don't have enough port capacity on the West Coast," explained the Congressman, "This is why just last week I had a chance to visit with Governor [Jay] Inslee [D] in Washington State who has honestly been the primary impediment to exporting coal. I've talked to officials in the Japanese government and they want to buy more coal, but there is a lack of port capacity on the West Coast."

Gianforte said he was pleased the President had approved a streamline in the permitting process to build ports that would export coal to markets in Asia. He went on to explain that the Governor of Washington was promoting a "really-extreme leftist" view on energy policy. Gianforte blamed Inslee's hopes to secure the Democratic nomination by running on a climate change platform.

"I'll say pretty clearly, the climate is changing and part of it is man's industrial impact on it and we should be acting to apply American ingenuity to all forms of energy. Whether it be renewable energy or traditional fossil fuels. But the extreme approach Governor Inslee is taking will eliminate all coal-fired electricity would have massive detrimental effects on Montana. So I personally, on behalf of Montana, have pushed back hard on that," said Gianforte.

Gianforte also said he has supported a reasonable and common sense approach that would allow the U.S. to produce affordable energy from coal and to get port capacity so the U.S. can get coal to trading partners that want to buy it from American producers.

For those hopeful that a successful trade deal in China might clear the U.S. for a major multi-lateral trade deal, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will likely be discouraged. Gianforte said that he thinks it is pretty clear that the administration is seeking to focus on bilateral trade deals rather than expansive multi-lateral deals.

"I understand that negotiations are progressing with Japan," said Gianforte. "I would like to see a trade agreement with Japan and these other southeast Asian countries that would have many of the elements of TPP."

Gianforte explained that although the administration abandoned TPP, he felt there were many desirable elements in the deal that were beneficial to Montana producers. He said he would continue to push Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer to get similar deals signed.

"I certainly see it when I meet with ranchers and farmers around the state," explained Gianforte in response to whether he felt agriculture producers were owed an acknowledgment that the loss of access to foreign markets has harmed their livelihood alongside a series of other impacts like weather. "We certainly saw it with weather issues, with the drought, and these trade agreements just add additional issues. When I meet with the grain growers in our state, what they say is they want free and reciprocal access to these markets but they also realize that the President is working to achieve that, but these negotiations can't go on forever. We need to get ink on paper."

For those hoping to see Gianforte working in Congress in 2020 may be disappointed. In response to his plans for the 2020 election season, Gianforte said, "I'm talking to people all over the state, and I'm being encouraged to consider a run for governor. I am seriously considering that but have not made a final decision."

Until this interview, Gianforte had been non-committal about his 2020 plans. His potential run for governor would leave open the congressional seat he has held since 2017 when he claimed the seat in a special election against Democrat Rob Quist after Ryan Zinke was nominated to become the Interior Secretary.