President Obama: the full Marketplace interview

oh I'm ready come on let's do it very good hey guys we've got a whole bunch of beef last night for not letting you hold your own mind I'm like we don't want amateurs do that you know what I could Anna lit all right next time next time you know this is yeah you ready sir yeah all right here we go mr. president good talk to you again sir great to be so you spent the first couple years of your presidency as you say trying to drag the economy out of a ditch here we are now recoveries five years old jobs are back growth is back and yet you have chosen an issue where you are armwrestling members of your own party you're aligning with the GOP who've spent six years throwing everything they can at you to stop yet why this issue now well keep in mind that we started this issue four or five years ago and in my trips to Asia what became very clear is this is the fastest-growing part of the world economy the most populous the most dynamic and if we are not there helping to shape the rules of the road then US businesses and US workers are going to be cut out because there's a pretty big country there called China yep that is growing fast has great gravitational pull and often operates with different sets of rules so we started this negotiation the trans-pacific partnership recognizing that a third of our recovery has been driven by exports that typically export industries pay higher wages and if we want to make sure that we're selling American products American services into the not just the next decade but the next several decades then we've got to have high standards high labor protections high environmental protections in that part of the market that part of the world where we need to do business I get all that and I understand it but you brought up China so I'm gonna go there is the 800-pound gorilla that is not in this deal you say you want to write the rules of trade for the global economy so that the Chinese don't on the theory that this agreement is about our place in the global economy how confident are you that the Chinese who as you know do what they want when they want the way they want to do it how confident are you that they're gonna follow well they've already started putting out feelers about what the possibilities of them participating at some point to you to us to Jack Lew the Treasury secretary the fact is that if we have 11 of the leading economies in the asia-pacific region who have agreed to enforceable labor standards enforceable environmental standards strong IP protections non discrimination against foreign firms that are operating access to those markets reduced tariffs then China is going to have to at least take those international norms into account and we are still pursuing strong bilateral economic relations with China we still pressure them around issues like currency or the subsidies that they may be engaged in or theft of intellectual property we still directly deal with them on those issues but it sure helps if they are surrounded with countries that are operating with these same kinds of hands high standards but by the way we already abide by so part of what we're doing here is we're leveling up as opposed to a race to the bottom which means no labor protections no environmental protections we want to make sure that there's a level playing field that's gonna allow us to be successful and will help to shape trade and commerce not just in the region but in the world for a long time to come let me get back to the American economy here for a minute economists generally generally agree and I'll get some pushback here from economists who will hear this but they generally agree that in the aggregate free trade is a net plus 25 years ago 20 years ago the last time this country dealt with a big free trade it didn't work out well for a whole lot of people wages were lost jobs were lost do you understand the pushback on that yeah absolutely and and I've said repeatedly publicly there is a reason why you've got labor unions and some of my best friends in the Democratic Party concerned about any trade agreement because the truth is is that globalization advances in technology big cargo containers shipping goods in that are sold through the distribution and logistics networks in this country over the last 20 30 years played a role in reducing the leverage that workers had played a role in outsourcing but the argument that I make to my friends whose values I share is that you can't fight the last war the truth is today if there is a company in the United States that wants to find low-wage labor if that's their business model I think it's a mistake but if that's their business model they can do it now under existing rules NAFTA did not have labor protections or environmental protections that were enforceable that was a side letter so part of what I'm saying to our our folks is that precisely because the existing rules oftentimes disadvantage US workers and US businesses for us to create new rules that raise standards in an important part of the world including by the way the two countries that were signatories to NAFTA Canada and Mexico so that now suddenly they've got to have stronger labor rules if we've got potentially hundreds of millions of workers who are now subject to international labor standards that weren't there before and now when we're working with them even if they're not enforcing those standards a hundred percent we've got enough leverage to start raising those standards that is good for us so just because past experience raised concerns around outsourcing we've got a about the future and where our economy is now going it's not gonna be based on low-wage work it's gonna be based on high skill high value-added high wage work which we're good at that means that we've got to be able to access those markets to sell those goods which is based on a change in the American economy and we all know that right now it's moving toward knowledge-based it's moving toward innovation away from manufacturing but there's still a huge manufacturing base in this country so that brings up this question you know last week or a couple of weeks ago I guess in in Oregon you went out the Nike right and you have a long speech on on the TPP and you said when the rules are fair we win every time right we win every time and I get that you're using the presidential we here right the national yeah but but what do you say to the blue-collar worker who's lost wages over the past decade who's lost perhaps a job to the small business owner who's had to shut down how do you say to that person listen this is really for the greater good here well no no but keep in mind that it this is important not just for the Boeing's of the world this is important for small businesses and medium-sized businesses they constitute the majority of exporters and we know that wages are higher for firms that also are accessing international markets and even the large firms like a Boeing have hundreds maybe thousands of suppliers all across the country many of them small and medium-sized businesses who benefit and who are able to hire more workers because they have access to these new markets Nike is actually a great example the truth is is that the footwear industry in the United States got decimated now part of that was technology part of it was globalization and much lower labor cost elsewhere the reason I went to Nike is because they said that if this passes they're in a position to bring 10,000 new jobs to the United States partly because technology is now advancing essentially 3d printing for Footwear where the labor costs per shoe are inherently lower because of technology on the other hand the need for knowledge skills reliability all those design all those things have increased this is part of the reason why since I came into office we've seen the strongest growth in manufacturing since the 1990s part of that is we made some good decisions around the auto industry but part of it is generally we're actually seeing insourcing as opposed to outsourcing there are a bunch of manufacturers who are saying you know what it's actually smart for us to be in the United States and low energy costs great workers great infrastructure access to the largest market so manufacturing has been growing faster during my presidency than at any time since the 90s and faster than the overall growth of the economy but even manufacturing changed it's not you know if you go into an auto company where it used to take a thousand workers in a factory now it might take a hundred those jobs aren't coming back regardless of where we go because it really is due to technology what we can do though is continue to expand our markets and 95% of the world's market place is outside of the United States we've got to have access to it I understand when you say that that things have grown over your administration and that manufacturing is still solid in this country one of the things I don't understand though and this is a larger free-trade debate which we have been having in this country for decades and it is generally acknowledged to be a good as I said before and yet one never hears from proponents of free trade yourself included that there are losers full-stop there are losers the truth is guy if you'd look over my interviews you'll see I've said there are losers and we have to take account of those losers the question is are there a lot more winners than losers and the answer in this case is yes but that doesn't mean that there is not going to be some impact on some sectors of the economy by definition that's gonna be true anyway by the way but it may be that as a consequence of this trade deal there are particular markets there are particular niche parts of the economy where we've got to provide help to transition and to retool and adapt that's part of the reason why part of this package includes trade adjustment assistance but one of the basic premises for me in pursuing this is that we can't just draw a moat and pull up the drawbridge around our economy we are completely woven into the global economy we're the hub to many to a large extent of the global economy so the question is how do we construct a set of rules but then also how do we make sure that we're adapting and using the the incredible advantages we have to the best of our ability and so when I talk to labor leaders for example I say you are absolutely right that there's been growing inequality and some of that has to do with globalization and technology the answer is not to not trade anymore the answer is how do we upgrade our skills how do we make sure that the laws and the tax rules and and and how companies compensate their workers versus their ceos how are those rules fair and if we do that well then we can address those issues but we're not going to address those issues by not trading with Japan we're not going to address those issues by pretending that the global supply chain doesn't exist the same is true when it comes to environmental issues if we want to solve something like climate change which was one of my highest priorities then I've got to be able to get into places like Malaysia and say to them this is in your interest what leverage do I have to get them to stop deforestation well part of the leverage is if I'm in a trade relationship with them that allows me to raise standards now they have to start thinking about how quick they're chopping down their forests and what kinds of standards they need to apply to the to environmental you know conservation so we have to engage not withdraw and I think the big mistake that some of my progressive friends make when it comes to trade is not the values they're pursuing or the very legitimate concerns they have about some of past trade deals the the issue is are you now identifying what's gonna make the biggest difference in helping American workers compete and prosper and nets not to shut off trade that's designing good trade agreements and then doing the things that are fully in our control in this country like raising our minimum wage like making sure that we are providing job training and and apprenticeship programs making sure that our education system works making sure we're investing in R&D making sure we've got a fair tax system and we're closing corporate loopholes that allow us to fund things like infrastructure all that stuff has to be at the center of our jenna les thing sir there are a lot of issues in this free trade debate that played directly into the election next fall right economic inequality right opportunity the wealth gap what did you figure the average Americans economy looks like to them right now the person making the median income fifty-three thousand dollars a year I think they feel better than they did when I came into office I think they they feel somewhat more stable but they are still traumatized by saying their home values drop as fast as they did by saying their 401ks shrink even though they've now more than recovered their value if they left those 401 k's untouched so they still had those memories of instability and that's made them cautious I also think that the the long-term trend that predates the last economic crisis and predates my administration which is incomes and wages flatlining at a time when corporate profits and and the stock market have all been booming and and the winner-take-all elements of our economy have have been entrenched I think that continues to concern them and my hope is that next year part of what we discuss is how to combine a competitiveness and growth agenda with a inclusive broad-based middle-class economics agenda and those things I do not believe are contradictory sometimes they get framed as either you're for free trade or you are for a strong worker voice either you are for the unfettered market or you are for a higher minimum wage and my attitude is that we have to be for both we have to compete in the world stage the world is not slowing down technology is not stopping and technology's probably had a bigger effect on the economy than anything like trade has so we've got to continually adapt we've got to be nimble we've got to be efficient but we also have to be fair and we have to give everybody access and we've got to make sure that those at the very top are not using their economic wealth to influence the political process in ways that disadvantage the middle-class and working-class folks and if we do these things simultaneously think about fairness but also about growth and efficiency that turns out to be the best recipe for growth and prosperity and that's part of what has always been the hallmark of the American economy when the middle class grows and there are ladders into the middle class and everybody is participating and income inequality and wealth inequality is not too skewed that tends to be when we've got all cylinders clicking and we can compete against anybody mr. president thanks very much for your time sir I really enjoyed it thank you

Channel: Marketplace APM

Views: 21,593

Rating: 4.8095236 out of 5

Keywords: obama, kai ryssdal, marketplace, trade, economy, business, president, Spend, Cost, Supply, Demand, Bankroll, Big banks, Exchange, Deal, Recession, Financial crisis, Layoff, Trade, Work, Occupation, Commerce, Financial affairs, Money, Economy, Analysis, News, Fund, Marketplace APM, NPR, investment, community, home, Washington D.C., POTUS, 44th, global, international, world, China, NAFTA, TPP, Mexico, Canada, Nike, workers rights, Labor, Standards, Outsourcing, future, innovation, high wage work, markets, Manufacturing, exports, Boeing

Id: TnBAIFFmFvA

Length: 16min 58sec (1018 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 04 2015