Presidential Race 2016: Hillary Clinton Opposes Trans-Pacific Partnership
Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, has voiced her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a historic free-trade agreement between the Unites States and 11 other nations that aims to bring together 40 percent of the world’s economy.
Speaking on the massive trade deal that was made on Monday, Clinton said that, given what she knows about the TPP, she did not feel the agreement met her standards for job creation and wage-raising. As PBS reports, Clinton was specifically concerned about “currency manipulation not being part of the agreement” and said, “As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it.”
“I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set,” she added.
Clinton’s position on the TPP has actually changed. As Forbes reports, the former first lady once called it the “gold standard in trade agreements.”
Bernie Sanders, a 2016 presidential contender known for his openly socialist views, has railed against the agreement as well. As the Observer reports, Sanders released a statement in which he said, “I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision to move forward on the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that will hurt consumers and cost American jobs.”
“Wall Street and other big corporations have won again. It is time for the rest of us to stop letting multi-national corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense,” he added.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade agreement in history, still faces a battle in Congress.
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the “TPP raises significant concerns about citizens’ freedom of expression, due process, innovation, the future of the Internet’s global infrastructure, and the right of sovereign nations to develop policies and laws that best meet their domestic priorities.”
Obama has spoken of the necessity of the agreement, saying, “When more than 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy.”
As quoted in the New York Times, he added, “We should write those rules, opening new markets to American products while setting high standards for protecting workers and preserving our environment.”
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