On trade, ‘we cannot close the doors to America’
Commerce secretary optimistic lame-duck deal can be reached
Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, 57, a Chicago entrepreneur and longtime friend of Barack Obama, sat down Wednesday to talk with USA TODAY Washington Bureau chief Susan Page about trade and the beleaguered Trans Pacific Partnership. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Why have trade deals become so controversial in this year’s presidential election?
A: The challenge that we’re facing is that somehow trade agreements are getting caught up in terms of what’s happened in terms of globalization, automation, digitization, which are factors that we’re not going to be able to reverse. ... What we’re trying to do with trade agreements is put the United States on a more competitive footing. What’s happening is that people are being told that’s not right, that’s not good. And I get the challenge, that we understand that growth is not being appreciated or felt equally among American citizens and that some people are being hurt in some instances. ... What’s happening is we’re conflating a number of things, and trade is taking a beating because of it. But it’s not really right. We cannot close the doors to America and assume that if all we do is sell to ourselves, that’s a sufficient marketplace.
Q: Can the Trans Pacific Partnership win congressional approval before President Obama leaves office?
A: Well, I’m an optimist. I think we get this done. I know this administration is all in.
Q: But how? In a lame-duck session?
A: The president has said that he sees the lame duck as the opportunity to get this done, and I don’t see what gets in the way of that. Look, trade agreements are always difficult to get done, at any Congress, at any time. ... The other thing we need to remember is that the status quo is not sustain- able. China is out making its own multilateral trade agreements in the region, and those trade agreements are not to the benefit of the American worker.
Q: When Hillary Clinton was secretary of State, she called the TPP “the gold standard” of trade deals; now she opposes it. Was that disappointing ?
A: I don’t agree with that position, obviously. ... She has talked about what should we do to strengthen enforcement of the agreement, and I actually think Congress has taken some steps to strengthen our hand at the Department of Commerce and the hand of the U.S. trade representative to enhance enforcement. Maybe there are a few other things that we could be doing. ... As we move forward with implementation, there’s opportunities also to adjust so that were getting the full benefit of this agreement.
Q: Enough to change her mind, if she’s elected?
A: I really don’t know. What I know is this is the highest standard trade agreement that the United States has ever negotiated, and ... it would be a real shame for us not to proceed with it.