Hillary Clinton has said very little so far on the sweeping trade deal that House Democrats derailed on Friday, but her campaign said Sunday that she will take a clear position on the legislation as soon as the details are finalized.
"What we've seen at the last couple of days is skirmishes around the process for considering that agreement," John Podesta, chair of Clinton's presidential campaign, told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press." "But the agreement's not final. So when it is final, she'll render a judgment about that. And she's stated her concerns. ... She has a clear standard that it's got to be good for American workers, or she thinks the United States will walk away from it."
Two of Clinton's 2016 primary competitors, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), have been urging her to clarify her stance on the controversial trade deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, in the past few weeks. House Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), rebelled on Friday against legislation that would have granted President Barack Obama the authority to fast-track the trade deal though Congress. Pelosi said the deal did not contain enough protections for labor rights and the environment.
Podesta said Clinton has similar concerns about the deal. He said the former secretary of state has "stated that she has problems with the provisions that are weak and give special privileges to corporations and not similar treatment to workers and their representative."
"She's stated her concerns about strong environmental standards, worker protections," he continued. "The deal's not done. The deal has some good things, it has some concerns, but when the deal is done, she'll render her final judgment."
UPDATE 2:45 p.m.: Clinton spoke about trade Sunday afternoon while speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa. She advised Obama to work with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D).
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