Reflecting a growing disillusionment with free trade on the left and right of the political spectrum, Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump have both come out against ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Mr. Trump led the charge against the deal during the Republican presidential primary season and has also expressed anti-trade sentiments more broadly, stating his strong opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as it currently is implemented and to China's membership in the World Trade Organization. In the heat of the primary season, Secretary Clinton announced her opposition to the TPP as it is currently written. However, Secretary Clinton continues to support free trade more broadly and has appointed pro-trade members to key positions in her campaign.
Trade and Investment – Clinton
In her most public disavowal of the legacy of the Obama Administration, Secretary Clinton has said that she now opposes the 12-nation TPP that she had a role in negotiating during her time as Secretary of State. Secretary Clinton, who once called the TPP the "gold standard" for trade deals, announced her opposition to the agreement last October before the final text was released. Secretary Clinton recently said that she still believed in the goal of "a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific," but objected to the TPP on grounds that it did not live up to her standards, though she has so far not addressed the exact manner in which it fails to do so. Clinton has gone to pains to emphasize her opposition to the TPP, saying "I oppose it now. I'll oppose it after the election, and I'll oppose it as president." However, Secretary Clinton's selection of Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) as her running mate and former Interior Secretary and Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) as chair of the transition team, both of whom have supported the TPP in the past, has drawn condemnation from the left wing of the Democratic Party.
In drafting the party platform this summer, Democrats decided not to explicitly object to the TPP or trade deals more broadly. Instead, they adopted language that reflects President Obama's more nuanced approach to trade as compared to Senator Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) aggressively anti-trade platform.
Trade and Investment – Trump
Donald Trump, in a break from nearly three decades of Republican policy orthodoxy, is skeptical of international trade agreements, opposing the TPP and backing tariffs to protect American industry from "unfair competition." Mr. Trump has gone so far as to call for a renegotiation of NAFTA, saying he would scrap the pact if Canada and Mexico are unwilling to make changes. Mr. Trump has been particularly vocal in his opposition to the TPP, calling it a "death blow" for American manufacturing and said the deal was "just a continuing rape of our economy." His strong opposition to trade deals has led him to clashes with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a number of other traditionally Republican-supporting organizations.
Mr. Trump has also come out strongly against the current trade relationships with the United States' second and third largest trade partners, China and Mexico, respectively, threatening to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports in retaliation for Beijing's alleged currency manipulation and a 35 percent tariff on imports from Mexico to discourage U.S. companies from moving across the Rio Grande.
Takeaway: Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump both oppose implementation of the TPP as it is currently drafted. However, Mr. Trump is less inclined to support future trade agreements than Secretary Clinton, who continues to express support for trade liberalization while critiquing the TPP.
