Here's Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson talking about the TPP with Glenn Thrush of Politico:
THRUSH: ... So the other thing I find fascinating about you, the other wildfire that's really striking in terms of the Trump thing is the free trade stuff. You have been on the record as saying you thought NAFTA was good for New Mexico. Do you support the TPP, and do you think that this backlash against trade is bullshit?
MR. JOHNSON: Well, first of all, NAFTA. Would I have signed it or not? My skepticism says that maybe I wouldn't have signed it, because these trade agreements are just laden with crony capitalism. Would I have signed or implemented the Trans-Pacific Partnership? I've got to tell you, I think it's laden with crony capitalism. Free market really is the answer. It's the answer to unifying the whole planet, in my opinion, and if China wants to subsidize the goods that it sells to the United States, who benefits from that? Well, we do. And at the end of the day, who pays for any sort of tariffs? We do.
So free trade, genuine free trade, that's another one of Trump's--you know, hey, he says "I'm all for free trade" but then, in the next sentence, he says, "I'm going to force Apple to make their iPads and their iPhones in the United States." Hm, that sounds really free trade to me.
What I take from this is that he's a pure, unilateral free trader. As to what he thinks of trade agreements, as a general matter or with respect to specific agreements, I think we need some more follow-up questions to get a better sense of his views. The "crony capitalism" assertion is a bit vague. Which provisions does he not like? Which provisions, if any, does he like?
