Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) admitted Sunday that he has never supported a trade deal negotiated by America.
Sanders told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that he would not support the Obama administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it, like all other American-negotiated trade agreements, was written to benefit corporate America.
"This trade agreement, Chuck, was written by corporate America and the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street. That's what this is about," he said.
He said that trade agreements are crafted by Republicans in the House and the Senate in order to benefit elites. According to Sanders, these agreements hurt American workers by lowering wages and forcing them to compete with workers around the globe.
"That's why the Republicans control the House and the Senate, because working people understand that after NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China, we have lost millions of decent paying jobs. Since 2001, 60,000 factories in America have been shut down; we're in a race to the bottom, where our wages are going down," he said.
Sanders said that the drop in wages and jobs is due to elite-backed trade agreements.
"Is all of that attributable to trade? No. Is a lot of it? Yes," he said.
Sanders credited himself with "consistency," saying that he has not wavered in his opposition to trade agreements like TPP.
Sanders’ comment was a jab at Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has flip-flopped on policy issues before. Clinton most recently declared her opposition to TPP after pushing for the bill at least 45 times over the last four years.
Full transcript below:
TODD: Let's go into some issues. Let's start with TPP. You have been against every single trade agreement.
SANDERS: Yes.
TODD: I had a senior Democrat say to me yesterday, if you can't be for this trade agreement, then there's no trade agreement you can support. What do you say to that?
SANDERS: Absolutely wrong. That’s the problem that we have. This is a senior democrat told you that?
TODD: Yes, sir.
SANDERS: That's why the Republicans control the House and the Senate, because what working people understand, that after NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China, we have lost millions of decent paying jobs. Since 2001, 60,000 factories in America have been shut down; we're in a race to the bottom, where our wages are going down. Is all of that attributable to trade? No. Is a lot of it? Yes. This trade agreement, Chuck, was written by corporate America and the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street. That's what this is about. I do not want American workers to compete against people in Vietnam who make 56 cents an hour for a minimum wage.
TODD: So basically, there's never been a trade agreement this country has negotiated that you've been comfortable with?
SANDERS: That's correct.