By Holly Ramer
Associated Press
Saturday, August 25, 2007 7:25 PM

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (AP) -- With intensity that matched the heat, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards continued his scorching criticism of special interests Saturday, telling voters his trade policies would work for them, not big corporations.

As temperatures hit the upper 90s, the former senator wondered jokingly whether he actually was in his home state of North Carolina before turning serious.

"The question that has been asked as we negotiate our international trade deals has been: 'Is this good for the profits of big multinational corporations?' That's the wrong question," he said outside an elementary school. "The question should be: 'Is this trade agreement good for working middle-class Americans?"'

Edwards said he will insist that the nation's trade partners meet strict labor and environmental standards and will enact regulations barring other countries from manipulating their currencies.

"And we're going to close down these tax loopholes that actually give incentives to take jobs and go overseas," he said. "This is crazy."

In response to an audience question later, Edwards said the measures he outlined would help reduce the nation's debt to China. He said he also would push to enforce existing laws that require goods to be labeled with their country of origin, encourage people to buy locally and give the government more authority to inspect products and food from elsewhere.

"We all know the problems we've seen with Chinese toys and Chinese food products coming into this country," he said. "The basic idea is to have a trade policy that works and to be clearer that we have not just smart trade but safe trade, where we actually identify problems and encourage people to buy locally because it's good for the American economy."

Three days into a four-day bus trip of the state, Edwards has been framing his campaign as a fight against the lobbyists and other "Washington insiders" he argues stand between Americans and change. After his brief remarks on trade policy, he took questions, often bringing the subject back to his universal health care policy.

Edwards supports a plan that he estimates would cost $90 billion to $120 billion a year. Employers would be required to cover their workers or pay into a government insurance fund, and workers would get to choose among plans.

Asked how he'd get it through Congress, Edwards said he would be flexible on the details as long as the final plan ensured all Americans would be covered.

Edwards said he also would tell the public not to be swayed by the millions of dollars he predicted health insurers will spend on ads criticizing his plan.

"Every time you see one, I want you to ask yourself who's paying for them?" he said. "The very people who are charging you so much for your health care."