Clinton defends TPP opposition
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday tried to strike a middle ground on a key trade deal, saying such deals are beneficial but only if done right.
At a town hall in Orangeburg, S.C., she said she supports free-trade agreements in general, but only when they are matched with education and training programs to ensure Americans can compete on a global playing field.
{mosads}“Look, we are five percent of the world’s population, we have to build things and sell things to the 95 percent, so people who are against trade under any circumstances no matter what are kind of missing the point,” Clinton said.
The line was an apparent jab at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — Clinton’s primary opponent — who has touted his extensive record of voting against free-trade agreements.
“If you open the door to trade, which I’m all for, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got people in your own country who are able to compete for those jobs,” she added.
Clinton said Republicans are “all for trade,” but accused them of negligence when it comes to ensuring the American workforce has the skills to compete in a global marketplace.
“The Republicans are all for trade, but they’re not for job training, they’re not for preschool education that will prepare kids, they’re not for re-skilling the work force — they don’t want to spend any money on that,” she said.
“I am holding out to say, OK, we can do trade, but we can only do trade that is going to benefit the American people across the board if we invest in our own people and we give them the skills and the opportunities to be successful.”
Clinton helped to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership while secretary of State in the Obama White House.
She announced her opposition to the 12-nation trade agreement last month, causing opponents to accuse her of flip-flopping on the issue.
Clinton’s presidential campaign has been backed heavily by labor unions, an important Democratic constituency that strongly opposes TPP.
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