MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Trans-Pacific Partnership

Interview

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I want to bring in Senator Bernie Sanders tonight from Vermont, the
Independent who has been very clear on this issue all along.

Senator, we got an earful from the President, we ran it unedited on this
program because we wanted to make sure his side of the story got out and
the corporate side of the story got out.

He said that there are enforceable labor in environmental provisions in the
TPP, what does he mean? How enforceable are they? Your take.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Well, we`ve heard that, Ed, for almost
every trade agreement that`s come down the pike, and yet you have workers
being exploited all over the world, it take years before their concerns of
being heard.

I think the first point to make about this trade agreement is to look at
whose side -- multinational corporations are on this, how do the drug
companies feel about this, how does Wall Street feel about it? All of the
multinationals believe this is a great agreement, for good reasons.
They`re going to make a whole lot of money out of that.

Meanwhile, as you indicated, virtually every trade union in this country
isn`t strong opposition to it. Just the other day, I and a few of us spoke
before the thousands steelworkers on this issue. So you got working people
on one side you got corporate America on the other side.

Second of all, if you look at the history of trade agreements, there is a
reason why we have lost 60,000 factories in this country since 2001 and
millions of decent paying jobs. And there is a reason why most of the new
jobs being created are low wage part-time service industry jobs and that`s
because major corporation after major corporation has shutdown in America,
they`ve gone to China, they`ve gone to Vietnam, they`ve gone to Mexico to
(inaudible) low wage labor and then bring their products back into this
country.

I`ve been involved and oppose to NAFTA that have (ph) the permanent normal
trade relations with China. I`ve heard it all over and over again how
great these agreements are, and yet what they have ended up doing is
hauling out the middle-class of this country.

But in addition to all of that, you got another factor, and that is, you
have -- it`s a result of this agreement, if it`s passed, you`re going to
have corporations being able to sue governments, federal local state in
America, around the world because they`re trying to do the right thing in
terms of public health or in terms of the environment. And the
corporations will have the right to say, "Hey, you are limiting my ability
to make money and that`s what this agreement is about maximizing corporate
profits."

So you have a case which could be similar on the TPP where you (inaudible)
little country is being sued by Philip Morris, why, because I don`t want
the kids getting hooked on to cigarettes, because profits are more
important than human needs

You have doctors without boarders. One of the heroic groups in the world
going to treat poor people all over the world, they are say this agreement
is terrible because it will raise pharmaceutical prices in low income
countries because corporations -- pharmaceutical industry will be able to
maintain that patents and countries will not be able to go into generic
drugs.

So look at all of those factors and it is very disappointing, that
President Obama is on the wrong side of this, that Hillary Clinton has not
-- spoken out strongly in defense of working people on this issue.

SCHULTZ: President Obama said that we don`t write trade rules that China
will be writing the trade rules, what`s your response to that?

SANDERS: My response is, we are the largest economy in the history of the
world that every single night corporations are on television telling us buy
this product, buy that product, buy that product. Do you think that as a
nation we don`t have the capability of saying to those corporations, if you
want us to buy those products how about manufacturing them here in America
and not in China, how about putting our of people back to work?

One of the reasons, Ed, that the middle class has decline is that, we have
seen massive declines in manufacturing and manufacturing jobs. It is
terribly important, we rebuild a manufacturing base and you don`t do that
with these terrible trade agreements.

SCHULTZ: Senator Bernie Sanders, good to have you with us tonight, I
appreciate your time. And I have to ask you, does this issue, now that
you`ve hear President Obama and now that you heard the statement that
Hillary Clinton`s camp put out tonight saying that she`s going to be
watching this closely. That it was a non-position position really, it was
not for or against, you know, I mean it was just -- it was rather
political, it was political speak, it was generic.

SANDERS: Ed, there`s nothing -- this is not one that you can watch
closely...

SCHULTZ: Does this bring you any closer to a decision?

SANDERS: Well...

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Does this bring any closer to a decision?

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: I will make a decision within the next few weeks, yes. And this
is a key issue if I run traders at the central part -- at central part of a
campaign.

SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us tonight.

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