Clinton forcefully disavows Obama's trade deal

Hillary Clinton on Thursday forcefully rejected the notion that she will support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if she’s elected in November, telling a blue-collar crowd in Michigan that “I oppose it now, I’ll oppose it after the election, and I’ll oppose it as president.”

Donald Trump has accused Clinton of lying about her opposition to the 12-nation trade pact, which President Barack Obama has aggressively pushed. Following a POLITICO report last month in which Clinton ally and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe suggested Clinton would come around to a modified version of the deal, Trump called Clinton a liar and said her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, is one of the deal’s top supporters.


In an economic address Thursday in Warren, Michigan, the Democratic presidential nominee partially agreed with Trump’s views on trade, acknowledging that “too often past trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that did not pan out,” but pushed back on the notion that she would ever support TPP.

Communities in Michigan, she said, have lost factories and jobs due to hollow promises about how past trade deals would help American workers.

“Too many companies lobbied for trade deals so they could sell products abroad, but then they instead moved abroad and sold back into the United States,” she said. “It is also true that China and other countries have gamed the system for too long. Enforcement — particularly during the Bush administration — has been too lax. Investments at home that would make us more competitive have been completely blocked in Congress, and American workers and communities have paid the price.”

“But the answer is not to rant and rave — or to cut ourselves off from the world,” she continued. “That would end up killing even more jobs. The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us. So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages — including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Clinton also pointed to Team USA’s success in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as she pushed back on Trump’s assertion that America is a country that doesn’t win anymore and accused the real estate mogul of fearmongering.

“Now Mr. Trump may talk a big game on trade, but his approach is based on fear, not strength. Fear that we can’t compete with the rest of the world, even when the rules are fair. Fear that our country has no choice but to hide behind walls,” Clinton said. “If Team USA was as fearful as Trump, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles would be cowering in the locker room, afraid to come out to compete. Instead, they’re winning gold medals. America isn’t afraid to compete.”