Sen. Marco Rubio weighed in Tuesday on the ITC’s projections of economic gains from TPP, calling them “a little bit disappointing.” But he indicated he hasn’t made up his mind about the deal.
[Victoria Guida and Doug Palmer| May 25, 2016 |Politico]
“We’ve seen the report that just came out,” the former presidential candidate told POLITICO before the Republican caucus lunch. “I was hoping that the deal, when the numbers came back, would be better for economic growth.” But “there’s a geopolitical component to free trade that you can’t account for in dollars,” Rubio added. The Florida Republican said he is meeting with groups that support and oppose the agreement to hear them out.
Rubio said TPP opposition from presidential front-runners Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton could “potentially” increase the urgency to get congressional concerns addressed and TPP passed this year. But he added, “I don’t know if you can do that in three or four months.”
“I’m in favor of free trade, but it has to be the right deal,” Rubio said. “And if this is not the right one, it should be renegotiated. Whether a President Trump or President Clinton would do so, if you take them at their word in terms of what they’ve said on the campaign trail, it doesn’t look like it.”
