Clinton Attacks Trump For Outsourcing Jobs Overseas, But WikiLeaks Email Reveals She Encouraged Outsourcing As Secretary Of State
Hillary Clinton has been attacking Donald Trump on his practice of outsourcing business overseas since the beginning of the presidential election cycle. Clinton even used the outsourcing as a centerpiece in one of her ads, noting that Trump outsources his own clothing line to China, Mexico, and India. Though one of Clinton’s platform issues is to “crack down on companies that ship jobs and earnings overseas and create incentives for companies to bring back jobs to the U.S.,” it seems that she hasn’t always felt that way. In fact, a recent WikiLeaks email dump reveals that Clinton views outsourcing of American companies as the answer to many countries’ problems following natural disasters or economic hardship, even if living wages aren’t paid.
In a recent WikiLeaks Hillary Clinton email dump, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was attempting to overcome negative stories in the media regarding the State Department’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Clinton was being criticized for putting USAID in charge of the humanitarian efforts instead of the military. Clinton noted that she wanted to “monitor media and rebut inaccuracies and outright misstatements” regarding the process by creating a “joint information center/war room” like communication process.
In the email, Clinton seemed happy to report that one effort was well underway involving the encouragement of American businesses to move textile companies to Haiti to help with the economic efforts.
“Ron Kirk called to report that he was woking [sic] on getting commitments from retailers like the Gap to start textile factories as soon as feasible.”
This call for American companies to build textile factories overseas seems counter to Clinton’s current manufacturing platform listed on her presidential campaign website. On her website, Clinton says she will “crack down” on companies that move jobs overseas, but does not mention any exemption for companies moving jobs for “humanitarian” purposes.
“Crack down on companies that ship jobs and earnings overseas and create incentives for companies to bring back jobs to the U.S.”
The email seems to indicate that Clinton felt moving American textile factories overseas to Haiti was a fantastic idea in this situation as it would provide more jobs for the people of Haiti struggling to recover from the earthquake. Therefore, it may be assumed that Clinton would be okay with a company moving jobs overseas if she deemed it a humanitarian effort.
Memba kids, Trump cares so much about keeping American jobs that he sent all of his overseas! Ouch! https://t.co/IgYtrYQpe6
— Jim Hughes (@TheJimHughes) August 24, 2016
Though Clinton seemingly encouraged the shipment of jobs overseas during her time as Secretary of State, that hasn’t stopped her from blasting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his companies’ outsourcing. Clinton created an entire presidential ad around the fact that Trump has shipped jobs overseas to Mexico, China, and India for his textile businesses.
Newsmax reports that the attack ad featured Robert Kidder, the owner of New England Shirt Co. in Fall River, Massachusetts, blasting Trump for producing shirts, suits and coats in other countries when his company could produce them in America.
“Donald Trump’s brand of shirts come from China, his suits from Mexico, his coats from India. Trump’s products have been made in 12 other countries because he says there’s no place in America that he can make them.”
While Kidder shares his disappointment that Trump wouldn’t utilize his company’s services for American-made textiles, it is unclear if he is aware that Clinton encouraged textile manufacturing in Haiti following the deadly earthquake.
Though Clinton had outwardly hoped the textile industry would help the economically suffering Haiti, Counter Punch reveals that an October 2013 Worker Rights Consortium report revealed that all 24 American textile companies were guilty of cheating workers out of legally-entitled minimum wages. The report specifically calls out Gap, the textile company that Clinton had mentioned in her email, as one of the wage violators.
“Tacitly complicit in this theft of wages are the major North American apparel brands and retailers, like Gap, Gildan, Hanes, Kohl’s, Levi’s, Russell, Target, VF, and Walmart, that are buyers of garments from Haiti. Although most, if not all, of these firms are well aware of this law-breaking, they continue with business as usual, profiting from the lower prices that they can obtain from factories that cheat their workers of legally owed wages.”
GAP, TARGET & WALMART “CLOSELY TIED TO CLINTON FOUNDATION” ARE THE 3 BIGGEST BENEFICIARES IN HAITIAN TEXTILE FACTORY.
$5 Day Wages. Boom.— KGB Agent ?????? (@HouseCracka) April 25, 2015
Mrs Clinton was instrumental to get Sae-A Trading Co., textile giant that supplies Wal-mart, Gap, Target in Haiti. https://t.co/Q0jzzysTd9
— Grace & Paul, LLc (@gracedogood) March 30, 2015
What do you think of Clinton’s platform stance that companies should be given incentive to manufacture their products in the United States while encouraging American companies to move textile manufacturing overseas to help struggling countries?
[Photo by J. Scott Applewhite and Larry Downing/AP Images]
