A video released Tuesday shows presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership as “the gold standard in trade agreements” during a speech she made in Australia back in November 2012.
The former secretary of state has said mostly negative things about TPP throughout the 2016 election cycle, but the four-year-old video indicates Clinton’s position on agreement has changed drastically.
“So it’s fair to say that our economies are entwined, and we need to keep upping our game both bilaterally and with partners across the region through agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. Australia is a critical partner,” Clinton told attendees at the Techport Australia in Adelaide. “This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field. And when negotiated, this agreement will cover 40 percent of the world’s total trade and build in strong protections for workers and the environment.”
Clinton’s claim that the TPP included “strong protections for workers and the environment” has been bone of contention with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders.
