[CTC] Kaine comes out against Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal

[Arthur Stamoulis]

A couple on Sen. Kaine and the TPP...

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/kaine-comes-out-against-trans-pacific-partnership-deal-226064 <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/kaine-comes-out-against-trans-pacific-partnership-deal-226064>

Kaine comes out against Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal

Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate, has gone on record saying he cannot support the Trans-Pacific Partnership in its current form— a stance calculated to make him more appealing to supporters of Bernie Sanders who revile the deal.

Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Saturday that the Virginia Democrat shared his negative views on the trade deal with Clinton this week, confirming a report by The Washington Post. “He agreed with her judgment that it fell short” when it came to protecting wages and national security, a Clinton aide reportedly told the newspaper.
Kaine had never taken a formal position on the pact, but as recently as Thursday told reporters he saw much in the agreement that he liked, while continuing to express concerns about other provisions, including the handling of investment disputes.

His decision to oppose the agreement deals another blow to President Barack Obama's hopes of winning approval of the deal from Congress this year. It adds to the White House's difficulty of winning approval in the Senate because of weakening Republican support for the pact. However, only 50 votes are needed for TPP approval, in contrast to the 60 votes that were needed to give Obama the “fast track” trade promotion authority to finish the TPP.

Kaine was just one of 13 Senate Democrats who voted last year for fast track authority. The legislation allows the White House to submit trade deals to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote, without any amendments, giving Japan and the 10 other countries involved in the pact some assurance it will be approved.

U.S. business groups were cheered by Clinton's decision to choose the former governor of Virginia, hoping Kaine would help persuade the former secretary of state to reconsider her opposition to the TPP.

"Tim Kaine has first-hand experience and knowledge about the impact of public policy on investment, job creation and competitiveness," Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement before Kaine's statement opposing the deal. "On that note, we hope Sen. Kaine, who has spoken positively about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will persuade his running mate that expanded trade will support jobs for millions of Americans.

Before Kaine's statement opposing the deal, supporters of Sanders, a staunch foe of the trade deal, had said they were alarmed by Kaine's selection as a running mate, saying it confirmed their fears that Clinton is secretly a supporter of the pact.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/23/new-vp-pick-kaine-getting-in-line-in-opposition-to-pacific-trade-deal/ <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/23/new-vp-pick-kaine-getting-in-line-in-opposition-to-pacific-trade-deal/>
New VP pick Kaine getting in line in opposition to Pacific trade deal

Sen. Timothy M. Kaine and Hillary Clinton once held very similar views on international trade deals — President Obama's signature Trans-Pacific Partnership proposal in particular. They liked the idea.

The senator’s vote in favor of fast-track authority for the TPP was a subject this past week in their discussions on him joining the ticket, a Clinton aide said.

“He agreed with her judgment that it fell short” of the test of protecting wages and national security, the Clinton aide said.

Kaine (D-Va.) had reserved final judgment on the pact despite that vote last year, which came months before Clinton had announced her opposition to the deal she had helped negotiate.

Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had called the TPP the "gold standard" of multinational trade and incentive packages when she was Obama's secretary of state.

Kaine is expected to state his full opposition to the pact soon. Kaine and Clinton make their first campaign appearance together as running mates <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-timothy-m-kaine-of-virginia-chosen-as-hillary-clintons-vp/2016/07/22/8926ecce-4ed6-11e6-aa14-e0c1087f7583_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_kainevp-830pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory>Saturday in Florida. They will accept the Democratic nomination for president and vice president next week.
In the past, Kaine has had nice things to say about the TPP — as recently as Thursday — that sound much like what Clinton said about the pact before she reversed course last year.

Kaine was one of 13 Senate Democrats who voted in June 2015 to grant Obama "fast-track" authority to push the deal through Congress.

"Why would I not give to this president the same tools to negotiate a trade deal that other presidents had?” Kaine told reporters Thursday, the day before he was picked to be Clinton's running mate.

But the TPP has become a liberal lightning rod that makes support for it untenable in the presidential race this year, even though Obama asked Democratic senators to back him on the first vote on the fast-tracking. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also opposes the TPP and uses it as a stand-in for complaints about loss of American jobs and international stature.

During a scrum with reporters after a roundtable discussion with Muslims on Thursday in Sterling, Va., Kaine had this to say about TPP:

"I see much in it to like. I think it's an upgrade of labor standards, I think it's an upgrade of environmental standards, I think it's an upgrade of intellectual-property protections."

He added: "I do see at least right now there's one element that I still have some very serious concerns about, and that is the dispute resolution."

Clinton has also identified that aspect as a problem.

Still, Kaine said, "Much of it I see as a significant improvement over the status quo."

That sounds rather like what Clinton had said in 2010 in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations.

"We want to realize the benefits from greater economic integration. In order to do that, we have to be willing to play," the then-secretary of state said. "We're pursuing a regional agreement with the nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and we know that that will help create new jobs and opportunities here at home."

 
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