Laura Rosenberger, foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton, spoke with the BBC alongside the Democratic National Convention last week. Below is my transcription of her remarks, based on the video published here:
On TPP: “Well, Secretary Clinton’s been very clear. You know, she believes that trade agreements need to work for the American people. That means it needs to help create good American jobs, it needs to raise wages for American workers, and it needs to advance America’s national security. And she believed when she looked at the final version of the TPP that was negotiated that it unfortunately didn’t meet those three tests. And so she concluded that she cannot support it.”
On “the pivot to Asia”: “The pivot to Asia was not a one-time move, and it was not a move away from anything. It was really about making sure we are invested and resourced in the right way in the region, and, as president, she would absolutely figure out ways to build on what’s been done over the past eight years. And it’s true that we continue to deepen our alliances, build new strategic partnerships, and make sure that we are doing what we need to do to manage China’s rise. It is absolutely a complex relationship. It’s one of the most consequential as well.”
On the South China Sea: “The way that the other countries in the region are responding will have an important impact on how China reacts, and this is where U.S. leadership is very critical. You know, the U.S. making sure that our partners and our allies have the confidence to know that we stand by them, as they stand by the ruling, sending the very clear signal to China that breaking the rules is simply not acceptable. It’s not acceptable when it comes top ignoring a ruling. It’s not acceptable to ignore the rules when it comes to the WTO on issues like trade. It’s not acceptable to ignore the rules when it comes to issues like human rights.”
On North Korea: “Well Secretary Clinton believes the threat from North Korea is very serious. She absolutely thinks that we need to convince North Korea that its only option is to give up its nuclear weapons. And to do so requires imposing some real pressure, because all signs right now are that North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, and that’s a real problem for the United States and our allies, and we need to make that choice very clear to them.”
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