But time and again over the last seven years, Clinton backed trade deals that other lawmakers rejected.
When the Bush administration in 2003 pushed for congressional approval of bilateral agreements with Singapore and Chile, more than 30 senators, including several Republicans, voted against each.
Environmental organizations complained about provisions in the deals that gave multinational companies rights to challenge environmental regulations in the participating countries.
And labor unions assailed the lack of any requirement that Singapore and Chile adhere to international standards to protect workers.
At the time, Clinton cited concerns about several of these terms. "The labor provisions in the Chile and Singapore agreements should not be used as a model for future trade agreements," she said in a statement she entered into the congressional record.
But she nonetheless voted for the two agreements, citing their potential benefits for New York.
A year later, as the Senate debated deals with Australia and Morocco, Clinton again voiced concerns about the scope of the deals. Once again, however, she voted for the pacts, which included labor provisions matching those in the Chile and Singapore agreements.
In 2006, the Bush administration inserted similar provisions in a free trade agreement with Oman, as well as the oft-used section giving companies the right to challenge the regulatory authority of the participating countries.The Oman deal and the subsequent pact with Peru prompted renewed opposition from leading trade skeptics on Capitol Hill.
"Workers get short shrift," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said before the Peru vote in December. "Slave wages are OK, unsafe working conditions are OK, unsafe products and food are OK, contaminated food is OK."
Clinton missed the vote. But she told The Times she supported the Peru deal, calling its labor and environmental provisions "very strong."
Three months later, in March, she won a key primary victory in Brown's state with attacks on the devastating effects of trade agreements.
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noam.levey@latimes.com
