Obama Sells Trade Proposal As A Win For Agriculture

Clinton’s opposition comes as she has sought to insulate herself against attacks from the left by rivals for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton has distanced herself from the Obama administration on other policies recently, announcing opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, backing a no-fly zone over Syria and offering plans to expand and change Obamacare, the president’s signature healthcare reform. Bernie Sanders, says the accord is “disastrous”, so Obama may be in the uncomfortable position of watching a Democratic debate next week in which none of the major candidates is willing to defend the deal.

Even so, Obama has been dubbed “Deporter-in-Chief” by a few immigration advocates for the record-high number of deportations under his administration.

Her position on the agreement marks a striking reversal for the former secretary of state, who promoted the deal in dozens of appearances during Obama’s first term in office – a turnaround that was not lost on her primary opponents.

Clinton’s campaign and the Obama administration have always said the time would come when she would outline her own policies and deliver criticisms, implied and direct, of the president.

“We’re stalled economically and we know that states, families, everybody is under pressure for all kinds of reasons”, Clinton said during a campaign event last month.

Obama emphasized that the deal would eliminate or reduce more than 18,000 tariffs that participating countries impose on US exports.

Another Democratic candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, has been highly critical of the trade pact in recent months.

So, yeah, the TPP is a flawed agreement, and I suspect that its supporters will overhype its benefits in the debate that Congress will have going forward.

Asked Tuesday whether the White House expected Clinton’s support, press secretary Josh Earnest said: “I would expect that she will take a look at the details of the agreement and arrive at her own conclusions”.

Before Clinton announced her opposition to the Keystone pipeline and gun proposals, campaign staff alerted the White Houses.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with agriculture and business leaders about the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the Department of Agriculture in Washington October 6, 2015.

In the interview, she said the agreement does not meet her standard for creating jobs, raising wages and protecting national security.

Her stance aligns her with most of the Democratic Party, including Sen. “I think the Trans-Pacific Partnership is one way that could really enhance our relationship”. Now that negotiations have concluded, Clinton soon will be forced to choose between supporting the president on a legacy-enhancing issue or siding with labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal constituencies that oppose the deal.

“Our hope is that a TPP agreement with high standards can serve as a benchmark for future agreements – and grow to serve as a platform for broader regional interaction and eventually a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific”, Clinton wrote.

During a White House event, Biden ended a speech by saying he had to wrap up or be “demoted” to secretary of State, the job Clinton held not so long ago. As a trade agreement, the TPP has to be passed by simple majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate. Just 28 of 188 House Democrats voted in favor of that legislation.

In the Republican party, populist forces – including the poll-leading Donald Trump – are denouncing the deal. I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made.

Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said he doesn’t think the presidential candidates’ position on TPP would significantly affect the outcome in Congress, because lawmakers will be more concerned about what is in the economic interests of their districts.