When it comes to foreign policy, members of the large 2020 Democratic presidential field share a similar world-view, with the notable exception of trade deals and what to do about North Korea.

The Council on Foreign Relations invited the Democratic candidates to answer 12 questions on critical foreign policy issues. The questionnaire was sent on July 8 and to date, Council officials say they have received responses from nine of the candidates.

Trade — and the far-reaching Trans Pacific Partnership Asian trade deal negotiated by President Obama and rejected by President Trump — sparked the most division among the candidates who responded. President Obama saw the deal as a key way to constrain the rise of China, which was not a party to the TPP.

After Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the original TPP, the remaining countries went ahead with a new pact known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (PCTPP) that kept most of the original agreement intact — with the U.S. on the outside looking in.

Sens. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, Reps. Tim Ryan and Seth Moulton, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and author Marianne Williamson all told the Council they oppose trying to enter a renegotiated Asian trade deal.

Ms. Williamson wrote simply, “The TPP would need greater protections for workers and the environment for me to support it.”

Other candidates, notably Ms. Gillibrand, said there would have to be specific changes, in particular protections for American workers, before they would sign on.

“I will only support a trade deal that, at its core, is focused on advancing the American worker and working families — creating jobs, lifting wages, and boosting environmental standards,” Mr. Booker wrote.

Sen, Bernie Sanders and Mr. Ryan, who wrote that he has spent “my entire career fighting bad trade deals” like TPP, werevocal in their opposition to any major new multilateral trade deal in Asia..

“Under no circumstance would we rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership under a Sanders administration,” the Vermont lawmaker wrote.

Former Reps. John Delaney and Joe Sestak were both in favor of rejoining the pact. Mr. Delaney was in favor of rejoining “the TPP on day one of my administration.”

North Korea

President Trump’s precedent-shattering outreach to North Korea — including three face-to-face meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — to deal with the nuclear crisis on the peninsula also provoked divided Democratic responses.

All nine Democratic candidates who addressed the issue agreed that denuclearization of North Korea is key for national security.

Mr. Buttigieg, Mr. Moulton, former Adm. Joe Sestak and Ms. Williamson all said partial sanctions relief could be a solution to help move North Korea closer to giving up its nuclear and missile arsenal.

“Negotiations will likely lead to some sort of preliminary agreement involving partial sanctions relief in exchange for some dismantling of the North’s nuclear weapons program,” Mr. Sestak wrote.

Maryland Rep. John Delaney said that before rolling back sanctions, the U.S. must be “steadfast in demanding verified progress” from Pyongyang. “I fear the Trump administration may agree to removing sanctions against empty measures on the part of North Korea,” Mr. Delaney wrote.

Ms. Gillibrand and Mr. Booker stressed the importance of enlisting allies in containing North Korea.

“I would work closely with our allies to develop and execute a thoughtful strategy to denuclearize the peninsula and address international concerns with [North Korea‘s] missile program and proliferation activities,” Mr. Booker wrote.

Mr. Sanders wrote that he would sign a partial agreement and then continue negotiations with North Korea.

“Every step we take to reduce North Korea’s nuclear force, to open it up to inspections, to end the 70-year-old Korean War and to encourage peaceful relations between the Koreas and the United States increases the chances of complete denuclearization of the peninsula.

Mr. Buttigieg also wrote that “denuclearization will not happen overnight and will require a sustained, step-by-step approach spanning a significant number of years.”

Consensus

Iran is another area where most of the candidates agreed — and criticized the president. All agreed that rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, which Mr. Trump withdrew from in May 2018, was a priority for the candidates.

Aside from Mr. Ryan, who wrote that it would be impossible to rejoin as it was written, every candidate wrote they would support rejoining the 2015 accord.

Both Mr. Buttigieg and Mr. Booker wrote leaving the deal was a mistake. Ms. Gillibrand wrote that leaving the deal was “reckless and dangerous.”

“While President Trump’s reckless policies have moved American security and the security of allies backwards, I would — together with our allies — press Iran to extend the agreement for a longer period, and tackle other security issues from Iran’s missile program to its support for terrorists,” Ms. Gillibrand wrote.

In other Middle East foreign policy, almost all of the candidates supported withdrawing or reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan.

Mr. Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan, wrote that the best way for Afghanistan to never again become a base for terrorists attacks is “maintain a relevant special operations/intelligence presence but bring home our ground troops.”

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