Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is taking aim at free trade deals like NAFTA and the recent Trans Pacific Partnership. He says they’ve cost the country millions of jobs. And he says it’s a critical difference between him and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Our trade policies have failed,” said Sanders, looking to shore up support among unions and blue collar workers. Sanders says he’s not opposed to trade deals, but how they’ve been negotiated by Republican and Democratic administrations. “These trade agreements were pushed and written to a significant degree by corporate America for corporate America.”
“The results are clear. This is not some academic debate here. The results are clear. You look at Detroit. You look at Flint. You look at my home state of Vermont. We have lost thousands and thousands of decent-paying jobs.”
Sanders's position also puts him at odds withPresident Obama on trade. The Clinton campaign says she’s only supported some trade deals, but not others, depending on protections for workers and investments in the manufacturing sector.
Clinton is preparing a speech on the economy to be delivered today at a Detroit factory.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
