U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended a 12-nation Pacific trade agreement on Tuesday against what he suggested was fear-mongering by the leading U.S. presidential candidates.
Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Kerry argued that the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal that the Obama administration negotiated would be good for the U.S. economy even as he acknowledged U.S. workers' fears about free trade agreements.
"Many Americans still feel a sense of anxiety about TPP and T-TIP. In fact, they've been revved up to have some anxiety about anything related to trade," Kerry said in a speech in Los Angeles, also referring to a trade deal with Europe called the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.