Marco Rubio: There Are Good Trade Deals and There Are Bad Ones

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JAKE TAPPER: Senator Rubio, last October you said that you're "generally very much in favor of free trade." More recently, you backed a away from your support of some trade deals. If elected, will you support free trade deals even if it means the inevitable loss of U.S. jobs?

MARCO RUBIO: No, I support free trade deals that are good for America. We're five percent of the world's population. If all we do is sell things to each other, we can only sell to five percent of the people on earth. We have to have access to the hundreds of millions of people in the world today who can afford to buy things.

The problem is we're a low-tariff country. To import something into the United States is not very expensive, but many of these countries we can't export to because their tariffs are too high. And so, I am in favor of deals that allow us to bring down those tariffs so that America can sell things to all these people around the world.

There are good trade deals and there are bad ones. So for example, here in Florida, we have benefited from the free trade deal with Colombia. It's allowed flower exporters to come into the United States, but it's created jobs for hundreds of people who are now delivering those flowers and working in that industry. We have a surplus with Colombia.

On the other hand, you've seen trade deals like in Mexico that have been less than promising in some aspects, better in others. Bottom line is I believe that America, if given access to foreign markets, our workers are the most productive in the world. Our people are the most innovative on this planet. If it is a free and fair trade deal, we can compete against anyone in the world, and we need to in the 21st century.

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