Foreign Affairs

Nearly 8 In 10 Americans More Likely To Back Politicians Who Defend US Companies Abroad, Poll Shows

Eric Prouzet/Unsplash

Nearly eight in ten American voters say they would be more likely to support a policymaker who works to ensure U.S. companies receive fair treatment in foreign markets, according to new polling provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The survey found broad support for Washington pushing back when American companies face unequal treatment overseas, including when the country involved is a close U.S. ally. Voters also tied the success of American companies abroad to exports, jobs, innovation and opportunities for small businesses at home.

The poll found 78% of voters would be more likely to support a policymaker who works to ensure U.S. companies receive fair treatment internationally, including 72% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans. Just 3% said such efforts would make them less likely to support that policymaker.

Support extended beyond general backing for American businesses. The survey found 83% of voters believe the federal government has a responsibility to work to ensure fair treatment of U.S. companies abroad, while 78% said Washington should respond when foreign governments apply different standards to American companies than to their own domestic firms.

That view held even when the country involved is an American ally. The poll found 76% of voters believe the U.S. should respond equally firmly regardless of whether the foreign government is a close partner, including 68% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans.

Americans were also broadly unified around the basic principle of reciprocal market access. The poll found 88% of voters believe U.S. allies should give American companies the same access to their markets that the United States gives companies from allied countries, while 87% said countries with access to the U.S. market should provide comparable treatment to American firms.

The polling suggests many Americans see the issue as affecting more than the companies directly involved. Among voters, 67% said discriminatory treatment abroad can significantly harm U.S. exports, 66% said it can hurt the expansion of American products into new markets and 62% said it can damage growth opportunities for small businesses.

Small-business owners were especially sensitive to those potential consequences. Among those surveyed, 70% said unfair treatment of American companies abroad could have a significant effect on their own financial well-being, while 60% already receive at least some sales from customers outside the United States and 63% have considered expanding internationally.

The survey also found that voters generally favored using traditional trade and diplomatic tools before harsher economic measures. Trade negotiations or formal dispute-settlement procedures drew support from 49% of voters, while 48% favored raising disputes directly with foreign governments through diplomatic channels and 39% supported imposing trade or economic consequences if the issue remained unresolved.

Penta Group conducted the online survey from Aug. 3 through Aug. 17 on behalf of the US-Asia Fair Market Alliance.

The poll included 1,000 nationally representative voters and 318 D.C.-area policy influencers, while 137 of the voters surveyed were small- and medium-sized business owners. It had a 3.1% margin of error for national voters, and 5.4% for D.C. influencers.