Trump’s factory intervention reopens protectionism debate

Global Business

Trump Visits Air Conditioning Manufacturer Carrier After Deal To Keep 1000 JobsPresident-elect Donald Trump speaks to workers at Carrier air conditioning and heating on December 1, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP)

Most, if not all, political leaders promise voters they’ll protect their jobs. 

And Donald Trump is no exception. But in making good on a campaign pledge, he’s opening up long-standing tensions between protectionism and free trade.

CCTV business correspondent Owen Fairclough reports.

Donald Trump is back in Indiana to tell air conditioning workers his new populist climate is here to stay.

Preventing just over a 1,000 jobs at manufacturer Carrier from moving to Mexico.

The deal’s been sweetened with $7 million of tax credits and training grants.

But direct intervention by a President-elect before he’s even taken office is raising questions about financial incentives and protectionism in an era of global free trade.

Trump isn’t the first leader to step in like this.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy ran into protectionist trouble with the European Union by using political pressure and sweeteners to try to stop car makers Renault and Peugeot from moving jobs abroad.

And more recently, the EU ordered Apple to reimburse the Irish government $14 billion in illegal tax breaks.

And just days before Trump’s intervention, the World Trade Organization ruled Boeing had benefited from illegal tax breaks to keep manufacturing in its Washington state home.