CAMPAIGN 2012
Romney's New Trade Team—the 'Corporations Are People' Crew

By Kelsey Snell
Updated: October 13, 2011 | 6:45 p.m.
October 13, 2011 | 1:22 p.m.

It has been less than 24 hours since Congress approved what is sure to be President Obama's signature trade package, but Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wasted no time unveiling a trade team that crystalizes his image as the free-market expansion candidate of choice.

(RELATED: Congress Approves Trade Agreements)

The three-man team, led by former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, consists of George W. Bush-era business boosters with an eye toward global liberalization and deregulation. Gutierrez will be joined by Rod Hunter, a former general counsel with the U.S. Trade Representative and John Hermann, the former National Security Council director for international trade and investment — also appointees of former President Bush.

(RELATED: Map of Current, Pending Trade Deals)

The group sends a clear message that Romney's famed comment that “corporations are peopleâ€