WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, breaking with President Barack Obama as he moves to win congressional approval for the deal.
Clinton said the goal of trade pacts should be to create new jobs, raise wages and protect national security.
“Based on what I know so far, I can’t support this agreement,” the former secretary of state said.
Clinton supported the trade talks as secretary of state, calling it the “gold standard” for trade deals during a 2012 trip to Australia.
“I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set,” she said.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s leading Democratic rival in the presidential race, also expressed his opposition to the deal earlier this year.
It is not clear what the immediate impact of Clinton’s position will have, but it may make it harder for Obama to secure the deal.
If passed, the pact would lower trade barriers among 12 Pacific countries, from highly developed nations such as Japan to developing economies that include Vietnam and Malaysia. The deal would phase out thousands of import tariffs, establish uniform rules on corporations’ intellectual property, open the availability of the Internet and suppress wildlife trafficking and environmental abuses.
Andrew V. Pestano contributed to this report.
