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Port of New Orleans 10/8/92 [OA 5813] [2]
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323152234
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Port of New Orleans 10/8/92 [OA 5813] [2]
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Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
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Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13645
Folder ID Number:
13645-004
Folder Title:
Port of New Orleans 10/8/92 [OA 5813][2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
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G
26
18
5
4
7508
355024SS
Document No
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/7/92
DATE:
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
GROOMES
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE: TO: DANIEL B. MCGROARTY
October 7, 1992
The NSC staff concurs, subject to the changes indicated
PHILLIP D. BRADY
on the attached text. Note attached comment from NSC
Assistant to the President
staff member.
Brent Scowcroft
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
CC: Phillip D. Brady
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
02 0CT 7 A9: 30
NAWLINS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, a jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
I want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. I want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
did hear
point in the history of North America. Along with President
In Pe persence
negotiators? did his
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
Canada, I I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement was intealed.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
us/can/Mex economic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
Merchandise Trade
annual output.
Expect 1987- $158 bill
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
1992est. $ 253 bell
already made in our trading relationship -- an increase of XX 60%
percent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
?
exports have increased XX -- and X billion dollars of those goods
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats].
Louiseance
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
Exports Total
1991 16.5.bill trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
1987. $ 13.6 bill
us Exports to world
Louis. Exporte to Met
1991 - $ 422 bill.
1991 mill
1987 - # 246 bell
1987 $ 377mill.
3
export-related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets -- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families. I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
But the effects of trade ripple out -- to the teller who
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today -- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
aren'twe
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
still
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world --
leading?
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
ard
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
The
both oceans. andfrowN NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see, the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away.
must Take advantage pateriet
of many me We new more opportunity nations seek such os to develop Me free
as
economies
4
A President must understand more than just workings of works
how the the damestic economy
the domestic economy.
To renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else he must have
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
marketplace.
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
protect ionist thinking.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
? group
a
riot
of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
and tear The them the President down apportunities and is the to last to group line crow of averica defense through 's against trade. economic the future
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
is willing to
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
is willing to
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
Some say this agreement will lose jobs. That's right, some jobs will of be
traded up for higher paying, higher skilled and growing numbers
jobs. That's why we are to increasing increase our spending and increase the d
flexibility to experiment with job retraining.
5
Those are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
Western speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
Union
telegrams telegram,
this speech?
are
short!
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open of
its not Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
clear.
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
Now,
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
6
So do I. That's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges."
So do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
agreement to preventing import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes. All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
The President
?
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
is always
NAFTA
cardid
organize
It. is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
with American the
three way
people!
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
between
MAN
7
guard
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians nas -- brought it to life.
?
And there is nothing
inevitable
about America position as
?
the world's export superpower -- nothing
inevitable
about the
needs a
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
better
word-
the United States cannot be merely I inclined to accept the new
half-heartedly
idea clear. not
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
in Search of
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
present for America.
like the US or Zapata?
be clear
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets -
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ;10- 7-92 ; 2:00PM ;
OPD->
2024566218:# 1
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 110- 7-92 : 10:00 ;
The White House-
OFFI# I
Document No.
35502488
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/7/92
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENTSUE BY:
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUIST
NEW OELEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
GROOMES
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
Paul
K.
See comments.
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Goas. PK
Assistant to the President
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:01PM ;
OPD-
2024566218:# 2
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9100 AM
02 OCT 7 A9:30
NAWLINE
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, & jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for H
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
H want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. H want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. H want to strengthen the American
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:01PM ;
OPD->
2024566218:# 3
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products --- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
Varia
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks & turning
the initial NAFIA
Shin
Carla
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulreney of
Canada, I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
BY removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
He insisters not will
aconomic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
annual output.
instiding
D
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
already made in our trading relationship - an increase of-
45 (DOC)
parcent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
(Dec)
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
.87-
31% or 99
(DOC)
exports have increased and IN billion dollars,
Here in Louisiana, [trade state].
numbers
used
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs - on average,
In the same time frame in alone
over 50 billion dollars in exports passed
through these ports.
Louisiana
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ;10- 7-92 ; 2:02PM ;
OPD->
2024566218:# 4
3
export-ralated jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets -- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families. I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
But the effects of trade ripple out -- to the teller who
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today --- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world --
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
both oceans. NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see, the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:02PM ;
OPD-
2024566218:# 5
4
A President must understand more than just the workings of
the domestic economy. To renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else -- he must have
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
marketplace.
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
a. riot of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
tear them down.
The President is the last line of defense against the
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:03PM ;
OPD-
2024566218:# 6
5
These are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him &
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open of
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:03PM ;
OPD->
2024566218:# 7
6
so do I. That's why the agreement. as written. already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges."
(USTR)
so do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
providing sateguards for American workers agains +
agreement to - import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes. All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 : 2:04PM ;
OPD-
2024566218:# 8
7
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
And there is nothing inevitable about America position as
the world's export superpower - nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be maraly inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guesa
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
H see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
present for America.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 2:04PM ;
OPD->
2024566218;# 9
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets 6
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 3:12PM ;
2023953174-
2024566218:# 1
Che THE OFFICE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, D.C. 20503
FAX Transmittal Cover Sheet
Pages in this FAX including cover sheet:
3
Date:
10/7
To:
Dan McGrearty
Fax Number:
6218
Voice Number:
Comments:
Comments from OMB -- still checking
(with USTR) on page 2, last paragraph, 4th line
for "X billion dollars"
From:
Voice Number: (202) 395-3060
FAX Number:
(202) 395-3174
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ;10- 7-92 ; 3:13PM ;
2023953174-
2024566218:# 2
35502485
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/7/92
A: 00PM, TODAY, OCT.
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
KAUFMAN
GRAY
GROOMES
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
See comments
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
R. Grady may respond at n.t. a
and Staff Secretary
Two
Ext. 2702
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 3:13PM ;
2023953174-
2024566218:# 3
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompate anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
Canada, I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
economic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
Bl-
Samarien -annual output.
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
V
already made in our trading relationship -- an increase of at almost 60
5873
total + node
percent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
about 30 parat.
exports have increased ane and X billion dollars of those goods
$42 billeam 9 rom 1988-1990.
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats).
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
X5873 Saman
trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
92 OCT 7
October P3. / to, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DAN McGROARTY
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Port of New Orleans
We have reviewed the attached remarks and have noted several
suggested changes on the draft.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we may
help in any other way.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
355024SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/7/92
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT.
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
GROOMES
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
02:00T 7 A9: 30
NAWLINS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, a jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
TO REVOLUTIONIZE
I want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. I want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
WAS
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
1 JOINED By
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
AT A CEREMONY
Canada, YR initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
economic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
annual output. FURTHER
WILL STREMETHEN TRADE BETWEEN
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
TRADE
BETWEEN
an increase, of By XX
THE
U.S.,
MEXICO
already made in our trading relationship
KA
percent over the past five years
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
THE AGREEMENT WILL
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
,TNO CANADA HAS
AND WILL
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
INCREASE
exports have increased XX -- and X billion dollars of those goods
FURTHER
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats].
AS A
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
RESULT
-REZATED
of NAFTAO trade. And trade Y jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
THEY
3
export related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets -- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
INCREASED
STIMULATES GROWTH INDIRECTLY
But the effects of trade ripple out -- to the teller who
ALSO
FROM
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
AND
TO
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today -- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world --
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
both oceans. NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
BARRIERS
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see seed the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away. IN ITS PLACE IS A ELOBAL
ECONOMY WHERE NATIONS WILL BECOME POWERFUL THROUGH
ECONOMIC COMPETITION, NOT MICITARY CONFRONTATION
4
A President must understand more than just the workings of
the domestic economy. To renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else -- he must have
THE
OF
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
marketplace.
WORKERS
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
a riot of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
tear them down.
The President is the last line of defense against the
IRRATIONAL
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
S
MUST
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
5
MUST
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
5
A
These are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
my REMARKS TODAY SEEM
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open
)
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was --- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
6
So do I. That's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges."
So do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
agreement to preventing import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
7
9
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
No GUARANTEE ON
's
And there is nothing inevitable about America position as
CERTAIN
the world's export superpower -- nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be merely inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
WAS EOING TO HAVE.
present for America
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets -
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
355024SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
97
OCT 7 P2: On
10/7/92
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT.
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
GROOMES
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
02 00T 7 A9: 30
NAWLINS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, a jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
TO REVOLUTIONIZE
I want a revolution in I American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. I want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
WAS
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
JOINED BY
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
AT A CEREMONY TO
Canada, YR initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
economic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
annual output. FURTHER
STREMETHEN TRADE BETWEEN
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countrieschave
already made in our trading relationship
TRADE BETWEEN By THE U.S., MEXICO
increase XX
AD
percent
over the past five years
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
THE ABREEMENT WILL
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
cull waunun anuil
AND WILL
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
EXPAN
INCREASE
exports have increased XX -- and X billion dollars of those goods
FURTHER
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats].
AS A
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
RESULT
-REZATED
of NAFTAO trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
THEY
3
export related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets -- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
INCREASED
STIMULATES browth INDIRECTLY
But the effects of trade ripple out -- the teller who
ALSO
FROM
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
AND
TO
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today -- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world --
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
both oceans. NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
BARRIERS
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away. IN ITS PLACE IS A ELOBAL
ECONOMY WHERE NATIONS WILL BECOME POWERFUL THROUGH
ECONOMIC COMPETITION, NOT MICITARY CONFRONTATION
4
A President must understand more than just the workings of
the domestic economy. To renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else -- he must have
THE
OF
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
^
marketplace.
WORKERS
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
a riot of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
tear them down.
The President is the last line of defense against the
IRRATIONAL
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
S
MUST
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
S
MUST
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
5
A
Those are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
my REMARKS TODAY SEEM
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open of
I
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
6
So do I. That's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges."
So do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
agreement to preventing import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
7
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
I
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
No GUARANTEE ON
's
And there is nothing inevitable about Americay position as
CERTAIN
the world's export superpower -- nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be merely inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
WAS EOING TO HAVE.
present for Americay
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets -
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
U Chiod Natalie Javel
P J
355024SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/7/92
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT.
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
GROOMES
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached derectly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2:00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
02:00T 7 A9:30
NAWLINS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, a jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country --- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
I want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. I want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
Canada, I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
economic entity with over 360 million consumers and//$6 over trillion in
annual output.
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
already made in our trading relationship -- an increase of XX 70% (IMF)
percent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad (IMF)
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
699 billion nearly 2
exports have increased XX -- and * billion dollars of those goods (FT420)
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats].
more than one in Six
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by (DOC)
-related
trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
3
export-related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets -- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families. I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
But the effects of trade ripple out -- to the teller who
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today -- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
both oceans. NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see, the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away.
also
4
A President must understand more than just the workings of
But.
the domestic economy. to renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else -- he must have
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
marketplace.
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
a riot of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
tear them down.
The President is the last line of defense against the
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
5
Those are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open of
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
6
So do I. That's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges."
So do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
agreement to preventing import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes. All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
7
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
And there is nothing inevitable about America position as
the world's export superpower --- nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will have be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be merely inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
present for America.
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets -
good
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ;10- 7-92 ; 1:24PM ;
OPD-
2024566218:# 1
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ;10- 7-92 i 10:00
i
ine write nouse-
OFFIR
Document No.
02
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
OCT 7
10/7/92
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT/UE BY:
2:00PM, TODAY, OCT.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
SUBJECT:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISE
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCBRIDE
BAKER
MOORE
SCOWCROFT
MULLINS
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BATES
PORTER
BRADY
PROVOST
BROMLEY
ROSS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
TUTWILER
FITZWATER
ZOELLICK
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
GROOMES
MCGROARTY
HORNER
BOSKIN
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly
to Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to
this office NO LATER THAN 2.00PM, TODAY, WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 7. Thank you
RESPONSE:
Paul K. See comment. P.2
PHILLIP D. BRADY
90gs. PK intor
Assistant to the President
and Staff
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 1:25PM ;
OPD-+
2024566218:# 2
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
OCT 7 AS: 30
NAWLING
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 3:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great perts
of the world - a place where the past and present and future
come together, # jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and mustured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolarance, veriety, self-confidence, 8 fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say at few words about the now sconomy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal - the things I an fighting for in this campaign.
I want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. H want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
OPD-
2024566218;# 3.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 :10- 7-92 ; 1:25PM ;
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -
to
break down trade barriers because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales - and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
I was in San Antonio yesterday - a day that marks a turning
Carta
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
Canada, I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
the
NAPPLS
By removing harriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world - an
economic antity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
annual output.
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
already made in our trading relationship -- an increase of XX
percent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
exports have increased XX - and x billion dollars of those goods
pasa through this port, Here in Louisiana, [trade state).
Already one in coven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs - on average,
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
92 OCT 7 P1:41
October 7, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL B. MCGROARTY
FROM:
STEPHEN G. RADEMAKER SR
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Port of New Orleans
Pursuant to Phil Brady's request, Counsel's Office has reviewed
the above-referenced matter and has no objection, subject to the
changes indicated on the attached text.
Attachment
CC: Phillip D. Brady
5
Those are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open up of
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
7
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
And there is nothing inevitable about Americasposition as
the world's export superpower -- nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be merely inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got search the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
present for America.
(Ferguson/Nix)
October 7, 1992
9:00 AM
12:00T 7 30
NAWLINS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 8, 1992, 2:00 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Good afternoon, everyone.
(Acknowledgment)
It is a special pleasure for me to be here this morning,
alongside America's greatest waterway, at one of the great ports
of the world -- a place where the past and present and future
come together, a jambalaya of commerce and enterprise.
New Orleans is a city created and nurtured by trade; and its
virtues are those cultivated by openness to the world --
tolerance, variety, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new.
It is the perfect place for my topic this morning, for I
would like to say a few words about the new economy Americans
will face in the future, and about the force which above all
others will shape that economy -- America's trade with the world.
My Agenda for American Renewal sets an ambitious goal for
our country -- to create, by the early years of the next century,
the world's first $10 trillion economy.
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the things I am fighting for in this campaign.
I want a revolution in American education to prepare our
children to compete and win in the global economy. I want to
reform our wasteful legal system, and make health care more
affordable and accessible. I want to strengthen the American
2
family. I want us to save more and invest more, and I want a
government that spends less, regulates less, and yes, taxes less.
And I want to open new markets for American products -- to
break down trade barriers -- because the American worker can
outwork, outthink, outcompete anyone in the world.
New markets mean new customers, new sales -- and that means
new jobs for the working people of New Orleans.
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- a day that marks a turning
point in the history of North America. Along with President
Carlos Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of
Canada, I initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
By removing barriers to trade over the next 15 years, NAFTA
will create the largest free trade area in the world -- an
economic entity with 360 million consumers and $6 trillion in
annual output.
NAFTA builds upon the great advance our three countries have
already made in our trading relationship -- an increase of XX
percent over the past five years.
And it allows us to build on our success as an export
superpower. America already sells more of its products abroad
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years
exports have increased XX -- and X billion dollars of those goods
pass through this port. Here in Louisiana, [trade stats].
Already one in seven American manufacturing jobs is supported by
trade. And trade jobs are high-paying jobs -- on average,
3
export-related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage.
That's the bottom line of open markets --- good jobs for you
and your neighbors and your families. I'm talking about jobs
tied directly to trade right here at the Port of New Orleans --
clerks, warehousemen, longshoremen, computer processors and crane
operators, tugboat hands and welders.
But the effects of trade ripple out -- to the teller who
works in the bank where you save your money, the cashiers at your
grocery store, the mechanic who fixes your car.
America's economic future lies in free trade. That is the
way the world works today -- a world forged by American power and
resolve in the Cold War.
America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -- just as
it led the old one. We have the largest market in the world --
the most productive workers in the world -- and we specialize
in the high-tech products that emerging economies want to buy.
In the Cold War, America forged military alliances across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the same way we can build a
strategic network of free trade alliances with countries across
both oceans. NAFTA is only a beginning. If we are to be a true
export superpower, we must tear down trade walls not only along
our border but in every corner of the world.
You see, the old distinction between foreign policy and
economic policy has fallen away.
4
A President must understand more than just the workings of
the domestic economy. To renew America, a President must be able
to manage the international forces that shape our economic well-
being here at home.
And the president must have something else -- he must have
complete confidence in America's ability to compete in the world
marketplace.
Let me tell you why. It has to do with Congress.
Now, I served in the United States Congress twenty-five
years ago. I even have some happy memories of the institution.
But Congress has changed. Discipline has broken down; focus
has been lost; power has shattered into dozens of fiefdoms
controlled by individual congressmen. And those individual
congressmen have in turn grown dependent on well-funded special
interests.
Special interests plead for special favors; which means,
when you talk trade, protection from competition.
That's the trade policy of the United States Congress today:
a riot of conflicting interests with a common goal -- to close
markets rather than open them; to erect trade barriers instead of
tear them down.
The President is the last line of defense against the
reactionary impulses of protection and fear. Only the President
can speak for the undivided national interest; only the President
can maintain our country's historic commitment to open markets
and free trade, and the future prosperity they represent.
5
Those are the facts of life in Washington: the President's
commitment to open markets must be unwavering.
The American people have good reason to doubt Governor
Clinton's commitment. Take NAFTA as an example.
Once upon a time, Bill Clinton said he favored NAFTA. Then,
on the campaign trail, he started to waffle. He sought the
endorsement of powerful special interests, and they gave him a
going-over. Before long, he announced that he was undecided on
the agreement. When he was asked about it, his exact quote was:
"When I have a definitive opinion, I'll say so."
Finally, last week, Governor Clinton gave a long and curious
speech -- so long it makes this thing sound like a Western Union
telegram.
Bill Clinton said he was endorsing our agreement to open of
Mexican markets. But if you listened closely, you probably heard
something else.
His "endorsement" -- if that's what it was -- was cushioned
with every kind of qualifier and caveat. He says he won't back
the agreement until certain provisions are added.
For example, he wants the agreement to keep strike-breakers
from coming into the country.
So do I. That 's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents strike-breakers from coming into the country.
He said he wants the agreement to prevent contaminated food
from coming into the country.
6
So do I. That's why the agreement, as written, already
prevents contaminated food from coming into the country.
He says he wants the agreement to prevent what are called
"import surges.'
So do I. That's why we've devoted an entire chapter of the
agreement to preventing import surges.
The list goes on. You start to wonder -- Governor Clinton
says he thinks he kind of likes our free-trade agreement.
Don't you think he ought to read it first?
But there's a more serious issue here. All the "what if's"
and "yes, buts" and "even so's" show that Governor Clinton wants
to have it both ways -- reassure the protectionists while getting
credit for being a free-trader.
But a president doesn't have that luxury -- not if you're
going to stand up to the protectionists in Congress to do what's
right for the American worker.
Thirty five times I've had to say no to Congress -- thirty
five vetoes. All but one of them was sustained because I was
willing to fight on principle.
Our country faces unprecedented opportunities in the world.
The last thing America needs is a rubber check Congress and a
rubber-stamp President.
Let me be candid. There was nothing inevitable about NAFTA.
It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling negotiation;
hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions ignored.
Only the unwavering resolve of the three governments -- the
7
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroneuy
and Carlos Salians -- brought it to life.
And there is nothing inevitable about America position as
the world's export superpower -- nothing inevitable about the
economic growth and the jobs that will be created. The leader of
the United States cannot be merely inclined to accept the new
global economy; he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones;
he must have learned it in his life.
Governor Clinton's passion is for government. I guess
that's why he's spent his whole life either in government or
trying to get back in after the voters kicked him out.
I see the world a little differently.
Many of you know I'm a Texan -- it takes some guts to admit
that in Louisiana. I moved out there after the war; built a
business. When we finally got the business up and running, I
went around the world beating the bushes for customers -- in
Japan, in South America, the Middle East.
I knew the more we could sell outside our borders, the more
jobs we could create right there in Midland and Houston and
Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed the world was becoming more
like us -- and early on I saw the opportunities that was going to
present for America.
8
Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about opening markets -
- because I know that open markets mean jobs and growth for you
and your families and your neighbors.
We have plenty still to do. That's why I'm asking for your
support -- for four more years.
Thanks and etc.
# # #
Presidential Remarks: Port of New Orleans
October 7, 1992
9:00 a.m.
NAWLINS
Good morning, everyone. Former Governor David Treen,
Congressman Bob Livingston, Ron Brinson -- President and CEO of
the Port of New Orleans.
It is a special pleasure to be alongside the muddy
Mississippi, at one of the great ports of the world -- a place
where past, present and future come together -- a jambalaya of
commerce and enterprise.
Trade was this city's nursemaid, and your virtues are
cultivated by a true openness to the outside world -- virtues
like tolerance, self-confidence, a fondness for the old and a
passion for the new. All these can be found right here -- in the
great city of New Orleans. //
This morning I would like to say a few words about the
economic challenge facing America -- about the powerful force of
trade -- a force that will shape the lives and livelihood of our
children.
In this campaign, I have laid out my Agenda for American
Renewal -- a comprehensive series of steps to win the new global
economic competition. To create here in America -- by early in
the next century -- the world's very first $10 trillion
economy //
2
My agenda sets out the things we must do to achieve that
goal -- the priorities I am fighting for.
I want to literally reinvent American education -- and give
every parent the right to choose their kids schools -- public,
private or religious. / /
I want to reform our legal system -- as a nation we must sue
each other less and care for each other more. //
I want to strengthen the American family -- because family
is still the foundation of our nation.
I want our nation to save and invest more -- we can do this
only by reducing the size of government -- because today
government is too big -- and spends too much of your money / /
And I want to limit the terms of members of Congress -- take
Congress away from the special interests -- and give it back to
you -- the American people //
These are steps we must take to realize the global
opportunity before us -- to place more of our neighbors on the
path to prosperity.
But we can begin by grasping a unique opportunity -- to
break down century-old barriers to the free-flow of goods and
ideas -- by fighting to open new markets. Because you know as
well as I do, given the right chance, the American worker can
outthink, outcompete, and outwork -- any other in the world. //
I was in San Antonio yesterday -- to mark a turning point in
the history of North America. Along with President Carlos
Salinas of Mexico and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada --
3
we watched the signing of The North American Free Trade Agreement
-- or NAFTA.
Over the next 15 years, NAFTA will create the largest free
trade area in the world -- an economic trading area with over 360
million consumers -- and over $6 trillion in annual output.
Trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada has already
increased by 70 percent over the past five years. This agreement
strengthens our partnership -- and creates jobs for American
workers.
This agreement allows the U.S. to build on our lead as the
export superpower. America already sells more products abroad
than any other nation in history. Over the past three years,
despite a sluggish world economy, U.S. exports have increased
more than 30 percent -- and more than $20 billion of these goods
pass through this port -- right here.
(And you know what that means for this city. As the Saints
fans might say -- Cha Ching.) / /
Today, Louisiana is the nation's sixth largest export state
-- with over $16 billion in export sales. Almost 60,000 jobs,
enough people to fill the city of Kenner, are now tied to trade.
You send chemicals to Australia, cotton to China and paper to
France. You see that yellow tractor right there -- it's headed
for Chile. No matter what we're putting in these ships -- we're
going to mow down the international competition. / /
And while Louisiana leads the way, the rest of America isn't
far behind. Already, one in six American manufacturing jobs is
4
supported by trade. And for those who worry that our children
will not enjoy high-wages, consider this fact. On average,
trade-related jobs pay 17 percent more than the average U.S.
wage. So, if we want our kids to earn more -- we have to promote
trade.
You see, the world has changed dramatically the past few
years. Where once leaders gathered to find ways to evade
conflict, now we meet to find new ways to promote opportunity.
Where once our progress was measured only by crises averted, in
the new world it will be measured by jobs created.
I learned the lessons of trade not from a textbook, not from
a briefing paper, but from the only teacher that counts -- real
world experience.
I started out my career in Texas -- (though I know it takes
some guts to admit that in Louisiana.) I built a company, met a
payroll. Even back then, I learned that the more we could sell
in Japan, South America or the Middle East -- the more jobs we
could create in Midland and Houston and Odessa.
And over the years, I sensed that the world was becoming
more like us, saw people in China and Europe demand more of our
cars, our computers even our colas -- and that is why I am so
excited by the new era that lies before us.
I know times are tough in America today, but we must keep in
mind -- this is a global economic downturn. The nations of
Europe suffer higher unemployment, higher interest rates, higher
5
inflation. But we can lead the way to a new era of prosperity,
if we have the courage to do what is right today.
You see, America is uniquely suited to lead this new world -
- just as we led the old one. Despite all the pessimism, don't
forget a few facts. We have the largest market -- we sell more
high-tech products than any other nation -- our workers are more
productive than the Germans, more productive than the Japanese -
- more productive than any other men and women in the entire
world. //
In the Cold War, we used our military might to forge
alliances across the Atlantic and the Pacific. Today, we can use
our economic strength -- to forge new free trade alliances.
NAFTA is only the first step. I see other trade agreements with
nations in Europe, Latin America and Asia -- and as we tear down
walls of trade, we will build new ladders of opportunity here at
home.
The old distinction between foreign policy and economic
policy has simply vanished. To build a strong economy at home,
we must be strong and aggressive abroad.
That's why I believe the American people have a clear choice
this November -- between an experienced leader with a clear
global vision -- and a governor with virtually no international
experience, whose positions are determined by whatever poll was
last put in front of his face.
6
Governor Bill Clinton has spent almost all of his years in
government. When he wasn't on the public payroll, he was running
for office -- trying to get back on the public payroll.
The Governor's commitment to bigger government in Washington
is unwavering, but his commitment to free trade tends to depend
on the time of day.
Take NAFTA as an example.
When he started his campaign, Bill Clinton sounded like a
staunch defender of free trade. Then, he sought the endorsement
of powerful special interests, and they gave him a going-over.
Before long, he announced he was undecided. Finally, last week,
Governor Clinton looked at the polls one more time -- and came
out for NAFTA.
But he left so many conditions, that he left his audience
scratching his head.
He said he didn't want the agreement to encourage strike-
breakers from coming into the country. That's fine, but the
agreement already prevents that.
He said he didn't want the agreement to allow contaminated
food to come into the country. Once again, that's been taken
care of.
He said he didn't want the agreement to allow other
countries to flood our markets with imports -- but part of the
agreement is devoted to providing safeguards against them.
(Governor Clinton has laid out so many conditions -- that I
wonder if his trade advisor is Vidal Sassoon.)
7
That worries me. Because in the White House, you can't have
it both ways -- the phone in the Oval Office doesn't have a call
waiting button. When you're President of the United States --
"maybe" can't be your middle name. //
This is especially important when you're fighting for free
and fair trade. Today, the U.S. Congress is a riot of
conflicting interests. Many members are loyal to the future and
understand that free trade is the way to create jobs.
But others are loyal only to whomever gives them the biggest
campaign check -- they open their ears to every open wallet --
they respond to every special interest who asks them to shut down
a market, or erect trade barriers.
Only the President can stand up against the irrational
impulses of protectionism. Only the President can speak for the
national interest -- and fight for the jobs of the future.
That's why American should think hard about what my opponent
has to offer. At a time when our economy has become global in
nature -- he has virtually no international experience. At a
time when free trade demands a leader who will take a stand -- he
has demonstrated the sturdy backbone of an Eskimo pie on a steamy
New Orleans sidewalk. //
Keep in mind, there was nothing inevitable about this trade
agreement. It is the product of thousands of hours of grueling
negotiation, hundreds of detours avoided; thousands of diversions
ignored.
8
Only the unwavering resolve of three governments, the
steadfast commitment of visionary leaders like Brian Mulroney and
Carlos Salinas -- brought this dream to life.
And there is no guarantee that America will remain the
world's export superpower -- nothing certain about the economic
growth and jobs that will be created.
Our President cannot merely be inclined to accept the new
global economy -- he must be passionate about it. He can't just
have read about it in a textbook; he must feel it in his bones -
- he must have learned it in his life.
The nations of the worlds stand today at a one of those
anxious moments in history -- as one era ebbs away -- another
comes to fruition. Yes, there are clouds overhead -- but the
horizon beckons bright -- if we are true to our nature.
In meeting the challenge of a global economy, America cannot
be timid, we cannot be uncertain -- we cannot stand outside the
door waiting -- while other nations march right through.
We must be aggressive, we must lead -- we must keep our eyes
fixed on the future -- for that is where our opportunity lies.
This is the kind of leadership I have given America -- as we
have changed the world the past four years. This is the kind of
leadership I offer the next four years -- as we change the
country we love so dear.
Thank you for listening. God Bless the United States of
America.
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