Hillary Clinton speaks out against new trade agreement

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday she does not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, reached on Monday after marathon talks between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations.

"As of today, I'm not in favor of what I have learned about it," Clinton said in an interview on the public-television news program PBS NewsHour, noting that she doesn't believe the deal will meet her "high bar" for creating good US jobs, raising wages and advancing national security.

The former secretary of state said she was "worried" about currency manipulation not being part of the trade deal and that "pharmaceutical companies may have gotten more benefits, and patients and consumers fewer".

Clinton's objection came as the Obama administration stepped up efforts to sell the trade deal to the US Congress and the public. As a trade agreement, the TPP has to be passed by simple majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.

US officials have touted the trade deal with Pacific Rim countries as a means to create jobs and write the rules of international trade, but labor unions, environmental groups, consumer groups and healthcare organizations across the US have come out against it, citing various concerns.

"We are disappointed that our negotiators rushed to conclude the TPP in Atlanta, given all the concerns that have been raised by American stakeholders and members of Congress," said Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO union, in a statement.

"We will evaluate the details carefully and work to defeat this corporate trade deal if it does not measure up."

Some influential and pro-trade Republicans were also skeptical about the trade agreement.

"While the details are still emerging, unfortunately I am afraid this deal appears to fall woefully short," said Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade.

The TPP deal, which covers about 40 percent of global economic output and is believed to be the biggest trade agreement in the world in the past two decades, was announced on Monday after about five days of round-the-clock TPP ministerial meetings in Atlanta.

As Obama has to notify Congress at least 90 days before he can sign the TPP agreement, it still has a long way to go before the deal reaches Congress for possible ratification.

The earliest date for a final TPP vote in Congress will be in February, when presidential nomination contests kick off in early voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, according to trade experts at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization in Washington.

In addition to the US, the TPP deal involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.