AP FACT CHECK: Clinton tries to hedge on trade remarks

WASHINGTON – A claim from the final presidential debate and how it stacks up with the facts:

CLINTON: Asked about her reference in a 2013 speech to a Brazilian bank as part of her “dream of a hemispheric common market,” Clinton said she was “talking only about energy. We trade more energy with our neighbours than we do with the rest of the world combined.”

THE FACTS: Clinton’s speech in May 2013 to Banco Itau was not simply about energy, but also referenced other forms of open trade, according the partial transcript released by WikiLeaks. Clinton said that “my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, sometime in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.” In other partial transcripts released by WikiLeaks, Clinton cautioned that the rules of such unfettered trade also needed to be fair.

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Contributed by Associated Press writer Stephen Braun.

EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures