Clinton says drug firms that benefit from deal should offer discounts
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said drug companies that would benefit from a Pacific trade pact should sell their products to the US government at a discount in her strongest comments yet on an issue that has divided her party.
Clinton's comments amount to an implicit rebuke of President Barack Obama's efforts to secure the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a nod toward liberal critics of the deal as she campaigns to win the Democratic nomination for the November 2016 presidential election.
Democrats in Congress rejected a related trade package on June 12 despite a personal plea from the president. Clinton has faced pressure from the left and the right to take a stand on the pact.
"I have held my peace because I thought it was important for the Congress to have a full debate without thrusting presidential politics and candidates into it," she said at a campaign stop in Burlington, Iowa. "But now I think the president and his team could have the chance to drive a harder bargain."
Clinton did not say whether she would support or reject the deal. But she criticized several aspects of the agreement, which has drawn strong opposition from labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal interest groups.
She said that US drug companies that stand to boost foreign sales from the deal should be required to give bulk discounts to government programs like the Medicare health plan for the elderly.