Poll: Ohio Favors Foreign Import Restrictions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Most Ohio voters support restrictions on imported products, even if it leads to higher prices for foreign consumer goods, according to a poll released Wednesday.

 

The Quinnipiac University Poll found that 58 percent of those surveyed said increased restrictions on foreign imports would be better for Ohio's economy. Thirty-two percent said they favored continuing current trade laws, and 11 percent said they didn't know.

 

The survey of 1,430 Ohio voters was conducted from Aug. 28 through Monday. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

 

The poll found that among Republican voters, 51 percent said they supported increased restrictions on imports, and 63 percent of Democratic voters said they favored such a policy.

 

Ohio has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

 

''Given Ohio's clout in picking presidents, these numbers are a clear message to candidates that free-trade could be a politically dangerous position to take,'' said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Conn.

 

''Given that the Democrats have generally been more in favor of such restrictions, it gives their eventual nominee an advantage for the state's crucial electoral votes,'' Brown said.

 

Fifty-three percent of Ohio voters said the growth of the global economy has mostly hurt their financial situations, while 30 percent said global economic growth has mostly helped.

 

Rating the quality of goods from major trading partners, 77 percent of Ohio voters said Japanese goods are ''excellent'' or ''good,'' European imports get a 71 percent ''excellent'' or ''good'' rating, while only 21 percent of voters gave such a rating to products made in China.

 

Severals recalls of Chinese-made goods have made headlines in recent months.

 

Late Tuesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Mattel Inc., announced a recall of more than 800,000 toys made in China that have excessive amounts of lead paint.

 

The announcement marked Mattel's third major recall of Chinese-made toys because of lead paint in a month.