Iowa Fair Trade Campaign Position: Trade agreements must not limit our ability to ensure that both imported and domestic products meet our safety standards, nor should they limit the rate of border inspection of imported goods.

Sen. Joe Biden's Position Sen. Hillary Clinton's Position Sen. Chris Dodd's Position
"Instead of allowing unsafe products – such as toys with lead paint – to enter the United States, I would suspend imports as we are allowed to do under WTO rules." (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign) "I will protect American families from unsafe food, drugs and toys made overseas. I have called for a single safety agency to oversee all federal food safety activities. We must hold foreign producers of drugs, toys and food to American safety requirements. I have also called for Country of Origin labeling and an increase in the number of inspectors at ports of entry and in foreign countries to verify that our safety rules are observed." (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign) "I will ensure that goods imported into America are not harmful to the health and welfare of our citizens, especially children. And, if they are found to be harmful, I will not hesitate to immediately shut those imports down…[I] will require that imported goods contain information about where they are made as well as where they are assembled. [I] will create a ‘Surgeon General's' warning for products that come from countries that have problematic safety records." (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign)
Former Sen. John Edwards' Position Sen. Barack Obama's Position Gov. Bill Richardson's Position
"We need as a nation to specifically, and urgently for immediate health and safety reasons, eliminate both the unreasonable limitations on border inspections of imports and the ceilings on safety standards which are now present in many of our trade agreements." (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign) "I have talked extensively about stepping up enforcements of our trade and product safety laws and I am committed to doing so. We will not allow the shipment of toys contaminated with lead into our country, nor will we place our people at risk of eating food that does not meet our safety standards. I will make sure that any goods coming into America meet American safety standards, and that the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the other agencies that protect consumers have the tools necessary to make sure that what we're buying is safe." (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign) "The 151 members of the WTO should [also] agree to a 'no-standards lowering clause.'" (Statement to IA Fair Trade Campaign)