For backers of international trade, the 2016 presidential race carries little good news.
Both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation proposed by President Barack Obama. If approved, it would be the largest trade deal in history.
In Washington state, where 40 percent of all jobs are tied to global trade, Eric Schinfeld can only hope that the winning candidate will have a change of heart come January.
We understand that presidential campaign politics are what they are. Obviously, a lot of candidates say a lot of things on the campaign trail and oftentimes those things don’t come to fruition.
Eric Schinfeld, president of the Washington Council on International Trade in Seattle
“We understand that presidential campaign politics are what they are,” Schinfeld, the president of the Washington Council on International Trade in Seattle, said Monday. “Obviously, a lot of candidates say a lot of things on the campaign trail and oftentimes those things don’t come to fruition.”
Exhibit A: President Barack Obama. As a presidential candidate, he was a fierce critic of U.S. trade policy, only to become one of the most pro-trade presidents in history once he moved to the White House.
Trade supporters say the stakes are particularly high in Washington state, long regarded as the nation’s most trade-dependent state.
Schinfeld said the state would have created an additional 26,000 jobs and increased the state’s exports by nearly $9 billion if the Trans-Pacific trade pact had been in effect in 2015.
Trade backers say that Washington state, long regarded as the nation’s most trade-dependent state, would have created an additional 26,000 jobs and increased the state’s exports by nearly $9 billion if the Trans-Pacific trade pact had been in effect in 2015.
On Monday, the pro-trade Peterson Institute of International Economics, criticized both Clinton and Trump for their anti-trade stances, saying their plans to pull out of the Trans-Pacific trade talks would weaken U.S. foreign policy interests.
But the group aimed its strongest criticism at Trump, saying his proposal to impose a 35 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports would cause a trade war and cost more than 4 million private sector jobs in the U.S.
“Big numbers, but not surprising at all,” said Schinfeld.
Many trade backers are hoping that Congress will approve the Trans-Pacific trade pact after the elections in November, before a new president takes office on Jan. 20.
Earlier this month, 74 Washington state companies and associations with more than 200,00 employees sent a letter to the Washington state congressional delegation urging an immediate vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, before Congress adjourns for the year.
That promises to be an uphill fight, with many opponents in Congress vowing to block Obama’s plan, convinced it would do nothing but send more American jobs overseas.
Rob Hotakainen: 202-383-6154, @HotakainenRob
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