Republican president hopeful Donald Trump found common policy ground Monday with Democratic rival Bernie Sanders and labor unions – opposition to President Barack Obama’s trade deal.
Trump reaffirmed his opposition not long after the president and the leaders of 11 other Pacific nations arrived at a finalized version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). After years of negotiating and resistance from fellow Democrats, the massive international trade deal could become a huge victory for the president. Nevertheless it will still need approval by Congress.
“The incompetence of our current administration is beyond comprehension,” Trump wrote in a Tweet. “TPP is a terrible deal.”
With little support from within his own party, the president has relied mostly on Republicans to help advance legislation supporting his trade goals. Currently, Trump is only one of two major Republican candidate to oppose the deal.
Democrats on the other hand have been much more opposed to the trade deal. This includes Democratic candidate and self-described socialist Bernie. Additionally labor unions, which usually support Democratic causes, have been at the forefront of opposing the deal. The labor movement has organized rallies and launched extensive media campaigns in protest.
His opposition to the trade deal is not new for Trump. Back in May he argued the trade deal would be used by other countries to take advantage of the U.S. Unions and Sanders have noted concern that the deal will end up benefiting corporations as the expense of workers and the environment.
With most Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans opposed to the deal, it could face significant opposition in Congress. With the passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), however, the trade deal has already managed to overcome a major challenge. Also known as fast-track, it was passed by Congress in June after a bitter fight in both the House and Senate. Fast-track allows the president to make trade deals with a straight up or down vote without amendment or filibuster.
Reluctance by Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton to oppose the deal has put her at odds with labor unions. Besides Trump, the only other major Republican candidate to oppose the trade deal is Mike Huckabee. Republicans Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, have expressed support for it.
Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have said they are open to supporting TPP but would like to see the fine print. John Kasich has not opposed or supported the bill arguing he is open to trade but it must include protections for Americans. Ted Cruz and Bobby Jindal have opposed fast-track but not explicitly the trade deal.
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