Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton talked trade as one of the topics of the first presidential debate on Monday night. Trump accused Clinton of supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation deal supported by American agricultural groups. Trump accused Clinton of secretly supporting the TPP, noting that she once described TPP as “the gold standard of trade deals.” Trump also called the North American Free Trade Agreement one of the “worst deals in history.” Clinton insisted she was opposed to TPP and noted that she voted against the Central America Free Trade Deal while in the Senate. She also argued that trade is critical to the U.S. economy, saying “We are five percent of the world’s population and we have to trade with the other 95 percent.” An Agri-Pulse report says Trump also accused Clinton of wanting to expand the Obama Administration’s regulatory agenda, saying she would “Regulate businesses out of existence.” Clinton said her economic plan would “cut regulations and streamline them for small businesses” but didn’t say how.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.