Bernie Sanders & the death of TPP: Why his stunning Michigan upset could be the final nail
Hillary supporters might want to take note of what their candidate is saying about the TPP:
Bernie Sanders & the death of TPP: Why his stunning Michigan upset could be the final nail in the free-trade coffin
At a campaign event this weekend, Hillary Clinton opposed the trade deal like never before. Can you guess why?
By DAVID DAYEN - TUESDAY, MAR 15, 2016 04:56 AM CDT
Horse-race journalists dismissed Bernie Sanders’ victory in Michigan last week by pointing to the unforgiving delegate math. Because Hillary Clinton currently leads by roughly 228 pledged delegates, Sanders would need not just to win states tonight, but win them by good-size margins to recapture the lead. Squeaker victories just tread water, given how Democrats distribute delegates on a proportional basis.
But that’s a cramped way of looking at a presidential primary and its effect on politics. Because we’ve already seen a tangible result from Bernie’s victory in Michigan, one that could set Democrats on a different path on manufacturing and trade for a generation.
In a campaign event this weekend in Youngstown, Ohio, Clinton went further than before in opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Instead of stale bromides like wanting to make trade agreements “work for workers,” she took aim at a specific policy: the “rules of origin” for automobiles.
Indeed, as I wrote for Salon almost one year ago, the TPP’s rules of origin represent one of the worst provisions affecting good-paying jobs in the Rust Belt. The rules refer to how much of a good can be produced outside a member country while still qualifying as originating from inside a member country. As Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said at that time, this makes TPP a great deal for China. “Goods can be 65 percent made in China, then they can ship them to Vietnam, slap a ‘Made in Vietnam’ label on it and get them into this country duty-free,” Sherman explained. “But because China’s not party to the agreement, we can’t get our goods in (to China).”...
~Snip~
While many assume Clinton is simply pretending to oppose TPP until becoming president, her complaint is not a generalized opposition that can easily be walked back. She made a very specific claim that the rules of origin for auto parts were inadequate and needed to be changed. It’s technically possible for her to go back on her word and sign TPP afterward, but getting specific makes it that much harder....
Read more:
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/15/bernie_sanders_the_death_of_tpp_why_his_stunning_michigan_upset_could_be_the_final_nail_in_the_free_trade_coffin/
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