'The risks are too high': Hillary Clinton in U-turn as she opposes new Trans-Pacific Pact

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday she does not support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), rejecting a central tenet of President Barack Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia.

Clinton, who backed the developing trade pact when she was secretary of state during Obama’s first term, said she was worried the agreement would not do enough to crack down on currency manipulation or protect consumers from excessively high drug prices.

“The bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe the agreement has met it,” Clinton said in a statement issued during a campaign swing through Iowa.

“I don’t believe we can afford to keep giving new agreements the benefit of the doubt. The risks are too high that, despite our best efforts, they will end up doing more harm than good,” Clinton said.

The TPP deal, reached on Monday after marathon talks between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim nations, aims to liberalise commerce in 40 per cent of the world’s economy and would be a legacy-defining victory for Obama.

Clinton’s opposition, however, could help her shore up support from labor groups and liberal Democrats who oppose the pact out of concern it will cost manufacturing jobs and weaken environmental laws.