Hillary Repeatedly Says She's Against Free Trade Agreements, Later Votes For Them: Huge US Jobs Loss

[amborin]

......as secretary of state, Clinton called the Trans-Pacific Partnership the "gold standard in trade agreements." In her second memoir, Hard Choices, released in 2014, Clinton lauded the deal, saying it "would link markets throughout Asia and the Americas, lowering trade barriers while raising standards on labor, the environment, and intellectual property." She even said it was "important for American workers, who would benefit from competing on a more level playing field." She also called it "a strategic initiative that would strengthen the position of the United States in Asia."

That kind of apparent contradiction has been especially glaring during the rollout of her second presidential campaign, as she has tried to pacify the liberal base with talk of constitutional amendments to get undisclosed money out of politics and has launched with a video that noted how "the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top."

It also highlights Clinton's complicated history with trade. Her husband brokered and passed the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, in 1993. The move irked labor unions, which are key to organizational efforts in Democratic campaigns. As first lady, in 1996, Clinton trumpeted NAFTA as "proving its worth."

Two years later, she went to Davos, Switzerland, where she spoke at the World Economic Forum and thanked businesses for lobbying for the agreement.

She also criticized them for not making a stronger push to give her husband fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals and limit congressional power to alter those deals......

As Clinton campaigned for a U.S. Senate seat in New York, where upstate manufacturing jobs had been lost, she backed away from strong support for NAFTA. She called it "flawed," adding that it needed to be fixed and noting, "[W]e didn't get everything we should have got out of it."

As a senator, she voted in favor of free trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia, Morocco and Oman.
.


When running for president in 2007 and 2008, she spoke strongly against potential agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. .....


In 2007, for example, Clinton called the South Korea deal "inherently unfair."

Yet, four years later in Seoul, South Korea, as secretary of state, she said getting a South Korea deal done was a "priority for me, for President Obama and for the entire administration. We are determined to get it done, and I believe we will."

In April 2008, before the Pennsylvania primary, where she was trying to woo white working-class men, she said of a Colombia deal that she "will do everything I can to urge the Congress to reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement."

But again, as secretary of state, she changed her tune.

"We think it's strongly in the interests of both Colombia and the United States," Clinton said two years later. "And I return very invigorated ... to begin a very intensive effort to try to obtain the votes to get the free trade agreement finally ratified."

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/21/401123124/a-timeline-of-hillary-clintons-evolution-on-trade

Meanwhile, the US has massive continuing job loss:

Enormous, Humongous January Trade Deficit Hits Jobs, Wages

March 4, 2016


The U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday that the January goods and services trade deficit was an enormous, humongous $45.68 billion. The January goods deficit was $63.7 billion, offset by an $18 billion services surplus.

Both imports and exports were down, but exports hit a 5 1/2-year low thanks to a “strong” dollar, currency manipulation and weak economies outside of the US. According to Reuters, automobile imports were the highest on record.

According to the Census Bureau, “The [goods] deficit with China increased $1.4 billion to $31.1 billion in January. Exports increased less than $0.1 billion to $8.6 billion and imports increased $1.5 billion to $39.8 billion.”

Trade Deficit Hits Jobs

The trade deficit is a metric for jobs leaking out of the economy, which causes wages to stagnate. The continuing trade deficit is the reason that Friday’s February jobs report showed that manufacturing lost 16,000 jobs. Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing said of the jobs and trade deficit report:

“Working people in states like Michigan and Ohio feel the lousy manufacturing job loss and growing trade deficit with China, even if Wall Street and D.C. do not. If you’re wondering why there’s so much interest in political insurgencies among both Democrats and Republicans this year, here’s your answer.

“We’ll never experience a true manufacturing resurgence in the United States unless we get trade policy right and get a lot tougher with China. So far I haven’t seen the will on Capitol Hill or the White House to do that, even though I see it on the campaign trail.”

https://ourfuture.org/20160304/enormous-humongous-january-trade-deficit-hots-jobs-wages

Where have some of those jobs gone? To Singapore, thanks to the Free Trade Agreement Hillary Voted For:

Thanks to Singapore's low tax rates and other tax incentives aimed at luring businesses, companies sent $55.1 billion to related parties in the island nation in 2013. This is up from almost $40 billion the year before

......Companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, ... have all admitted in recent hearings as part of the Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance that they are under audit by the ATO for their use of Singapore "marketing" and "service" hubs, where they route hundreds of millions of dollars of income.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/singapore-remains-the-top-choice-for-multinational-hubs-tax-data-shows-20150429-1mw59e.html#ixzz429BJ5YgU

Singapore tops list for US companies to staff overseas, finds Stipenda

- See more at: http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2013/09/singapore-tops-list-for-us-companies-to-staff-overseas-finds-stipenda/#sthash.fdWuDoKo.dpuf

http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2013/09/singapore-tops-list-for-us-companies-to-staff-overseas-finds-stipenda/

approximately 3,600 U.S. companies established in the country, a large number of which use Singapore as their regional headquarters.......

The two countries participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations that seek to develop a regional trade agreement. The United States is Singapore's largest foreign investor, with U.S. investments reaching $154 billion in 2013.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2798.htm

one example:

Amgen Chooses Singapore for New Manufacturing Plant

The company will invest $200 million to build an innovative new facility, which will initially focus on expanding Amgen's manufacturing capability for monoclonal antibodies.

Amgen (IW 1000/286) announced last week plans to build a new manufacturing facility in the Tuas Biomedical Park area of Singapore.

Over the next several years, Amgen anticipates investing approximately $200 million to build an innovative new facility, which will initially focus on expanding Amgen's manufacturing capability for monoclonal antibodies. The facility will be capable of manufacturing both clinical and commercial products.

"Amgen is pleased to be planning for a new world-class facility in Singapore as part of our global expansion strategy. Singapore is an ideal location to further our manufacturing efforts based on its rich talent pool and friendly business environment," said Madhu Balachandran, executive vice president of Operations at Amgen.

http://www.industryweek.com/expansion-management/amgen-chooses-singapore-new-manufacturing-plant

[cantbeserious]

1. What More Should Citizens Expect Since HRC Is Owned By The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-27/snowden-sums-presidential-campaign-just-one-tweet

[Faux pas]

4. Great find!

Thanks cantbeserious!

[amborin]

9. Thanks!

[highprincipleswork]

2. We've got to get someone in the White House who is truly on the side of the worker.

Any folks who can't tell that is Bernie Sanders are simply not being honest with themselves.

[Faux pas]

3. Kickin' for the truth!

[PatrickforO]

5. She's against it now, sure, but if she gets the nomination, then watch her

pivot to the right so fast it will make our heads all spin.

And listen for the giant sucking sound as hundreds of thousands MORE American jobs are lost to 'free trade.'

[nationalize the fed]

6. k&r

Al Gore mocks Ross Perot in 1993

The American People have been screwed by a bunch of con artists

[MisterP]

7. but if saying you're against the FTA gets you in, then you've won

and that's all that matters to many

[AzDar]

8. K & R

[kgnu_fan]

10. People have to remember her Republican roots, she is a republican. nt

[BreakfastClub]

11. Oh come on. Is Elizabeth Warren a republican too? She was still a member of the GOP

in her FORTIES! Hillary has worked relentlessly for democratic causes for many decades. Accusing her of being a republican is ridiculous.

[amborin]

14. Hillary votes like a Republican

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1251&pid=1385759

[Cheese Sandwich]

12. Hillary Clinton Repeatedly Lies About Support for Free Trade Deals

[Ferd Berfel]

13. SHe will FLIP right back to the Corporate side when the time comes

It's delusional to actually believe otherwise.