QuickTake Q&A: Why Global Trade Is Central to Clinton-Trump Race
Clinton vs. Trump: It's Still the Economy, Stupid
The differing world views of Hillary Clinton, the globetrotting former U.S. secretary of state, and Donald Trump, who preaches "America First," are on display on the issue of trade. Trump blames trade deals and China’s inclusion in the World Trade Organization -- negotiated during the presidency of Clinton’s husband -- for the closings of U.S. factories and the loss of millions of American jobs. Clinton, who faced another free-trade critic, Senator Bernie Sanders, during the Democratic primaries, has tried to soften her past support for trade deals.
The merits of free trade have come under attack in recent years as attention focused on the workers and communities that critics say have been hurt by the global movement of capital and jobs. A bipartisan coalition of politicians, unions, religious groups, Internet freedom activists and conservationists opposes a new generation of proposed trade deals, including the Asia-focused Trans-Pacific Partnership. Unless President Barack Obama manages to win congressional approval of the TPP this year, the treaty’s future will be up to the next president.