Biden supported NAFTA and the TPP. Sanders and Trump plan to charge him.

The kickoff of Joe Biden's campaign was intended to showcase his attraction to blue-collar workers: a rally in a Teamsters hall in Pittsburgh, where he rose up against Wall Street and was asked a local employer to "stop his anti-union activities".

But it lacked an essential element of the speeches about the democratic strains heard through Rust's belt: "Joe of the middle class", as he calls himself, did not once mention the trade.

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There is probably a reason for that. In the Senate, Biden voted in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement and permanent and normal trade relations with China. As number two of President Barack Obama, he also supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

President Donald Trump's team, rival democratic campaigns and progressive activists believe this record is a major vulnerability – especially with a protectionist in the White House – and they plan to make sure that voters know it.

"Biden's advocacy for NAFTA and the TPP would suggest that Washington's conventional belief that it has strong support among unionized Midwestern homes and elsewhere could be more complicated than what the media is presenting. currently, "says Waleed Shahid, director of communication at the Justice Democrats (left):" Biden has not been held responsible for his political record and he will be more and more exposed to the fact that he is not really the populist hero he likes to introduce himself to. "

Many old-school Democratic voters believe that free trade agreements have been disastrous, shutting down factories and cutting American wages. Trump put that opposition to his advantage, defeating some Democrats by denigrating NAFTA and the TPP.

While trade policy was turned upside down, Biden often voted as a Clinton Democrat in the 1990s for major trade deals, although he also opposed other agreements. And as vice president, Biden has supported the pro-free-trade agenda of the Obama administration.

Bernie Sanders already stings Biden on the trade. Hours after Biden made his first official campaign speech, Sanders went to CNN and compared his positions on the issue.

"When people looked at my record of Vice President Biden's record, I helped lead the fight against NAFTA; he voted for NAFTA, "he said. "I helped fight the fight [permanent normal trade relations] with China; he voted for. I strongly oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership. he supported it. "

Sanders, second behind Biden in most of the national polls and first polls, did not stop there: he published a video on the subject, and issued a press release calling on Trump and other Democratic candidates to support his commercial program.

It is not surprising that Biden ignored the provocations given his status as a favorite. Asked about Sanders' reporters on a trip to Iowa, Biden said, "We have plenty of time to respond. I will not engage in a debate with my colleagues here. When asked if he was a "free trader", Biden replied, "I am a fair trader. That is why I have long argued that we should treat other countries in the same way as we do, especially with regard to China: if they want to trade here, they will be subject to the same rules. . "

Biden's allies, for their part, rejected the idea that he is insufficiently pro-worker. Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said Biden "has a clear record of 40 years of supporting workers, working families and unionized families, from minimum wage to living wage, to the protection of their pension plan. He added that he was expecting a "majority of the labor movement" to finally support Biden.

Republicans also spotted an opening in Biden's record. America Rising, a GOP opposition research firm, has posted a video on YouTube titled "Joe Biden, nostalgic for his work on a controversial transpacific partnership." The clip captures Biden lamenting at the University of Pennsylvania this year. "S 'is far from globalization and said that Chinese President Xi Jinping asked him:" If you get [TPP] can we join? "

Bryan Lanza, Trump's campaign assistant in 2016, said voters "feel abandoned by trade" in key states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. He compared Biden's past stances on trade and other issues to Wall Street's Hillary Clinton's financial backing, which her opponents seized to represent her as a maid of the financial elite.

"Formerly, Republicans were Wall Street candidates. With Hillary, she had a strong relationship on Wall Street and President Trump had somehow reversed that dynamic, where he was more adopted by blue-collar workers, "said Lanza. "Biden is no different. Delaware is a corporate paradise and Biden has been a great fit for these people throughout his career. "

Biden's supporters say his ties to white-collar middle-class voters make him the best Democratic candidate to face Trump. But progressive activists do not waste time trying to break through this argument, starting with trade.

"There are many reasons why Joe Biden is the least eligible Democrat our party can possibly nominate," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which supports Elizabeth Warren. "To be considered comfortable with large corporations and to like to negotiate discreet agreements with political insiders are two of those reasons – and that is exactly what trade agreements like the TPP represent. This is just the opposite of the spirit of the outside that Trump has exploited in 2016 and will try to repeat itself in 2020. "

Biden does not apologize for his past in favor of trade, at least up to now. When asked in Iowa whether it was a mistake to support NAFTA, he said, "No, it was not."

In a brief summary on his website, Biden's campaign seems more balanced, stating that trade agreements must protect workers and the environment, but that "other countries will write the rules for us" if the United States do not do it. . The Biden team is expected to publish more details on its policies in the coming weeks.

Trade could be a major crack among primary-school candidates in 2020. Along with Warren, who fought the TPP, detectives Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar often opposed free trade agreements, while that the former US representative Beto O. Rourke and Housing and Urban Development. Secretary Julian Castro is seen as more pro-trade.

It is unclear how critical the problem will be in the Midwest. The 2016 polls showed that Trump's anti-trade stance was certainly a boon in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. In August and September of the same year, 53% of Midwestern adults reported that free trade agreements had harmed their communities, more than any other region, according to a survey conducted by POLITICO and the US. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

But in 2018, Trump's employment rating was below 40 percent in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota – countries where companies and workers were directly affected by Trump's tariffs.

"I think the independent Vermont senator sees an opportunity to mitigate the benefits of Biden," said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist who advised the Clinton campaign in 2016, adding, "C & # 39 is partly because Biden is a favorite, and Bernie is the number one candidate. "