Subject: Re: DRAFT: TPP statement
From: Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>
To: Speech Drafts <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2015 21:18:04 -0400
List-Id: <speechdrafts.hillaryclinton.com>

Thanks to all for the feedback. This is indeed a hard balance to strike,
since we don't want to invite mockery for being too enthusiastically
opposed to a deal she once championed, or over-claiming how bad it is,
since it's a very close call on the merits.  Below and attached is a
revised draft:

*Statement on TPP*

As Secretary of State, I called for a strong, fair, and balanced
trans-Pacific trade agreement as part of a broader strategy to reassert
American leadership in Asia and a robust economic agenda at home to
strengthen our ability to compete successfully with anyone in the world.  I
salute President Obama and his team for working incredibly hard in pursuit
of that kind of deal.  Based on what I have seen so far, however, the final
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) does not do meet the high bar by which we
should judge any new trade agreement – and I cannot support it.

As I have said many times, we need to be sure that any new trade agreement
will create good American jobs, raise wages, and advance our national
security.  The goal is greater prosperity for American families, not trade
for trade’s sake.  That is why, as a Senator, I voted against agreements –
like the Central American Free Trade Agreement -- that I didn’t think
measured up.

The Obama administration deserves credit for securing improvements on a
range of key issues in TPP, but there are significant flaws that remain
unresolved and tip the balance against this agreement.  I believe it will
do more harm than good for hard-working American families whose paychecks
have barely budged in years while corporate profits have reached
near-record highs.  It’s a close call, but this is the wrong agreement at
the wrong time.

We still need to do more to stop currency manipulation, which costs
American jobs and puts our businesses at a disadvantage.  We can’t allow
other countries to play by their own rules or exploit American consumers –
something we’ve seen too often over the past 15 years.  We also need to get
tougher on unfair subsidies, loopholes, and other underhanded trading
practices.  Some progress has been made in this agreement to better protect
workers and the environment, but we need to go further, especially when it
comes to clear, enforceable assurances that countries will meet their labor
obligations under this deal.  And, as I wrote in my book *Hard Choices,* I
remain deeply concerned about a process for settling trade disputes that,
despite new improvements, still favors powerful corporations at the expense
of everyone else.

As President, I will pursue a comprehensive approach to trade that
addresses these challenges and prioritizes the needs of American workers
and families.

First, I will fight to improve our country’s economic competitiveness based
on strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth.  That’s how we’ll make
trade work more for us rather than against us.  We need to close tax
loopholes that reward corporations for shipping jobs overseas and instead
create more good-paying jobs at home and invest in the sources of American
strength, from infrastructure to innovation to clean energy.  Most of all,
we have to invest in our people, so every American can get the skills and
training they need to compete in the global economy.

Second, I will strengthen enforcement of the trade agreements we already
have and hold China and others accountable for their unfair trading
practices.

Third, I still believe a strong and fair trans-Pacific trade agreement is
both possible and necessary, so I will build on the Obama administration’s
valuable work and negotiate a deal that meets our tests and delivers for
everyday Americans.

Fourth, I will bring more transparency and inclusiveness to trade
negotiations, including making sure that workers, labor unions, NGOs, and
small businesses are well-represented at every stage.  Just as we demand
more open and fair markets, we should also demand more open and fair
negotiations.

I will also continue to reassert American leadership in Asia, where so much

of the future of the 21st century will be written.  Our strategic position
in the region, the security of allies like Japan and South Korea, and our
ability to push China to act responsibly all depend on a strong American
leadership.

As President, I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done – fighting for
families, fighting for fairness, fighting for you.

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