Clinton Affirms TPP Opposition Before and After Election
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Aug. 11 said that, if elected, she would oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership in office, as she does now, and pledged to stop “any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages,” including TPP (here). In prepared remarks for a speech on the economy at an automotive and defense manufacturing facility in Warren, Mich., Clinton also said she plans to appoint the first-ever U.S. chief trade prosecutor, triple the number of trade enforcement officers, and assess “targeted” tariffs in response to evasive or unfair trade practices by other nations. She also called out her political competitor Donald Trump for talking “a big game” on trade and about putting the U.S. first in trade deals, after Trump sourced some of his signature apparel products from China and Mexico. Clinton said that Trump’s approach to trade is based “on fear, not strength.” Trump’s campaign didn’t comment.
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Clinton also touted her trade record as secretary of State, saying she worked to stop intellectual property theft and currency manipulation around the world, and added that, as a New York senator, she fought to defend U.S. manufacturers and steelmakers from unfair trading by China. “The American electorate has made this issue front and center this year, and with our next President firmly against the agreement, it would be wrong for the current Administration to try and push it through a Lame Duck session of Congress,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., also an opponent of TPP, said in a statement.
Progressive anti-TPP group Democracy for America said Clinton's clearly stated opposition to TPP before and after the election is the strongest rebuke she's given so far, and will "undoubtedly" build momentum to kill the deal (here). But Democracy for America Executive Director Charles Chamberlain said in a statement that Clinton should clearly state that a vote on TPP during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress "must not happen."
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of DeLauro’s statement.