WASHINGTON _ Advisers to the two leading U.S. Democratic presidential contenders said Friday their candidates are for trade agreements, but only when they meet the required standards and protect American workers.
Aides to Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, questioned about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and trade pacts in general, agreed that trade is a reality.
"It can't be stopped or slowed. It shouldn't be stopped or slowed," Susan Rice of Obama's campaign said in a teleconference sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations.
"It (trade) can be very beneficial to us and others," she said. "But we need to make it work for the American workers."
"(It's not) good enough to negotiate FTAs, even good ones, as important as that is, without taking care of consequences for our workers," Rice said.
Both Obama and Clinton oppose the FTA with South Korea that was signed in June and is awaiting respective legislative ratification. They argue that the deal fails to address issues for key U.S. industries such as autos.
The candidates demand reopening of NAFTA for negotiations to include higher standards for labor and the environment.
Mara Rudman, adviser to Clinton, said her candidate also recognizes that trade is the reality of the world, but adjustments are needed.
"On the broader question of how NAFTA and trade agreements are being handled, she has said repeatedly we need to take a fresh look," she said.
"She's confident, though, based on how she knows how to deal, again, with friends and allies in negotiating situations, that she can do better going forward," said Rudman.
Sen. John McCain, who this week clinched the Republican presidential nomination, supports the South Korea FTA. His aide, Randy Scheunemann, charged that the Democratic rivals' demand to renegotiate is unilateralist.
"When you talk about reopening an agreement that was passed over a decade ago with strong bipartisan support...it is not only protectionist, it's unilateralist," Scheunemann said.
"And I thought one thing the two campaigns agreed on was that the era of cowboy diplomacy was over."
(Yonhap)