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158699596
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[Letter to President from House of Representatives about Fast Track Proposals – October 21, 1997] [loose]
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158699596
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[Letter to President from House of Representatives about Fast Track Proposals – October 21, 1997] [loose]
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Records of the Office of the Chief of Staff (Clinton Administration)
John Podesta's Files
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FOIA Number: 2017-0401-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Chief of Staff
Series/Staff Member:
John Podesta; Kelly Craighead; Jane Von Kaenel
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
14212
FolderID:
Folder Title:
[Letter to President from House of Representatives about Fast Track Proposal - October 21, 1997]
[loose]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
S
23
1
4
3
10/31/97
16:19
202 456 6797
CHIEF OF STAFF
001
fist
100
219-5288
Congress of the United States
Obey
the cared
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house of Representatives
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Washington, D.C.
October 21, 1997
William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States
The White House
Dairy fam family you mis gard ment Nyvhi Prope
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
or
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Dear Mr. President,
We are writing with regard to your Fast Track proposal currently before Congress. We
agree that trade is of the utmost importance to the future of our country, and that America's
strong economy leaves the U.S. poised to lead the current global trade expansion into the 21 st
century. While we likewise concede that Fast Track authority may be helpful in this effort, we do
not feel we can support the Fast Track language under consideration in Congress.
Our concern is that we do not believe we can allow out desire for expanded trade to subvert
our values as a nation. Just as trade is vital to America's interests, we believe our country's
leadership in advocating our principles and values in trade agreements is equally vital. As the sole
"nerpower, we must continue to lead the free world's economic growth toward the realization of
ese shared principles and values.
One of these principles upon which the American experiment was founded, is the notion that
human capital is equal to other types of capital such as intellectual property and financial
investment. Our trade agreements must hold true to this conviction.
We must also ensure that nations with whom we trade uphold the fundamental value of the
rule of law by, at a minimum, enforcing their own current laws. If Fast Track legislation does not
require this, we endorse through silence, such un-American practices as child labor, sub-minimum
wages and toxic waste dumping.
Spreading the benefits of economic growth is also fundamental to our way of life. America
is the prime example of a society built by a strong middle class, having only four percent of the
world's population, yet one quarter of the world's market. The growth of a middle class can be
nurtured in the countries with whom we trade by encouraging them to embrace the approaches
that have been successful in our democracy. We fear that if these approaches are not facilitated
by our trade agreements, the result will be increased disparity between the incomes of the rich and
the poor throughout the world.
We believe American principles and values must be included in American trade agreements,
and we ask that you work with Congress to achieve trade agreements that meet this objective.