Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden defended his vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Monday during a campaign swing through New Hampshire.
“Fair trade is important,” Biden told the Associated Press. “Not free trade. Fair trade. And I think that back in the time during the Clinton administration, it made sense at the moment.”
Biden did not address his support for other free trade pacts, like President Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he touted as recently as 2016. There was also no mention of his 2000 vote in support of granting China permanent normal trade relations status—a move widely seen as responsible for the country’s current trade dominance.
It is unclear if Biden’s prior support for free trade will undercut the ‘Middle-Class Joe’ image his campaign is trying to cultivate. Since announcing his presidential bid, Biden has pitched himself as the only candidate that can entice disaffected blue-collar voters back into the Democrat fold. Such voters are pivotal for any strategy Democrats have to win back Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan in 2020. – READ MORE