10 Presidential Candidates Criticize the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Upping Political Costs of Supporting the Pact
Leading Democratic Candidates’ TPP Positions: From Criticism to Adamant Opposition
By Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
As the 2016 presidential campaign ramps up, so do the political costs of support for the already controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would expand the status quo trade model broadly opposed by Democratic, Republican and independent voters in repeated polls. As presidential candidates push anti-TPP messages, stoking voters’ ire about the pact, on-the-fence members of Congress facing upcoming elections will find it even more difficult to vote for the unpopular pact. Given the extremely narrow margin of House passage of Fast Track, every vote will count.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s rivals have made TPP opposition a central part of their campaigns. This has forced Clinton to express concerns about the pact. Meanwhile, TPP criticism from at least seven of the Republican candidates stokes conservative voters’ opposition to more-of-the-same trade deals.