    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [April 15, 1991]
    [Pages 369-371]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a White House Briefing for the Associated General Contractors
    of America
    April 15, 1991

        Thank you all very much. This rainy day, I'm delighted to have you
    all here at the White House. May I salute our Secretary of
    Transportation, Sam Skinner. And I want to say a word about a matter
    that's of great interest to him and to me and to the entire country. But
    first, to President Black and all the members of the AGC, we're
    delighted you're here. I appreciate the chance to just say a few words
    to a group whose support on so many issues has meant a great deal to me,
    and I think it's meant a great deal to our country.
        I know that you were in strong support of Operation Desert Storm. I
    think your strong support was very helpful--Capitol Hill and elsewhere.
    I salute you, and I appreciate it very much. Thanks, also, for helping
    us promote free trade, especially during the negotiations for the United
    States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement, an agreement that we strongly
    support.
        And today I wanted to ask for your support again, support which can
    certainly enhance our ability to compete in the global marketplace and
    our ability to negotiate with our trading partners. That's the main
    subject I wanted to talk to you about.
        But inasmuch as Sam Skinner is here with us, I thought I'd make a
    comment on another situation that affects the entire country. The rail
    industry is absolutely critical, and it's critically important to the
    United States economy, moving more than a third of all goods shipped in
    the United States. Now, there's a strike looming. And that strike that
    looms for right after midnight tomorrow could severely disrupt the
    economy just as the economy, in our view, is trying to turn around and
    get out of this recession. A rail strike could potentially idle hundreds
    of thousands of workers and affect virtually all Americans one way or
    another. It is always better for labor and management to resolve their
    differences and produce an agreement.
        A Presidential Emergency Board, after 8 months of hearings, issued a
    report making dozens of recommendations for settling the dispute. This
    report can and should serve as the basis for resolution of this
    difficulty. Because of the potential economy-wide disruption, it would
    be prudent that all efforts and actions be taken to avoid the strike. My
    administration is willing to work with the parties to help in any way
    possible.
        Now, just for a word on this free trade. We need Fast Track
    authority in trade negotiations, and we've asked Congress to approve
    Fast Track authority. Fast Track's a way of assuring our trading
    counterparts that the agreements they reach with us at the bargaining
    table--the ones that they reach with the negotiation process--will be
    the same ones that Congress has a chance to vote on, up or down.
        Some allege that Congress has no say. And that simply is not true.
    We must negotiate with our trading partners, and then we bring the
    negotiated pact to the Congress for an up or down vote. Fast Track
    doesn't affect Congress' power to accept or

    [[Page 370]]

    reject trade agreements. But it does prevent eleventh-hour changes to
    agreements that have already been hammered out, changes that force
    everyone to start all over again.
        We need this Fast Track authority to pursue vital trade objectives:
    the Uruguay round, the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, and the
    North American free trade agreement that we're talking to both Canada
    and Mexico about. If we lose this Fast Track authority, we lose any hope
    of achieving these three vital agreements. We lose trade. We lose jobs.
    And we jeopardize economic growth. And we unleash horrifying new waves
    of protectionism.
        Here's the key: A vote against Fast Track is a vote against all the
    things we hold dear--prosperity at home and growth in other lands. It
    ignores the dramatic and wonderful changes in the world economy. We want
    to play a leading role in this new, exciting, emerging world. And we
    don't want to hide from it. And we want to join in the thrilling
    business of innovation. And we do not want to chain people to outmoded
    technologies, outmoded ideas.
        Right now, we have the chance to expand opportunity and economic
    growth from the Yukon to the Yucatan. Think of it. The North American
    free trade agreement would link us with our largest trading partner,
    Canada, and our third-largest partner, Mexico. It would create the
    largest, richest trade zone on Earth--360 million consumers in a market
    that generates $6 trillion in output in a single year.
        A unified North American market would let each of our countries
    build on our own strengths. It would create more and better jobs for the
    U.S. workers. Let me just say that one once more: It would create more
    jobs for U.S. workers, better jobs for U.S. workers. And it would
    stimulate price competition, lower consumer prices, and improve product
    quality. The agreement would promote productivity and produce a higher
    standard of living throughout our entire continent.
        As we help Mexico, as we help them achieve prosperity, we'll help
    the environment as well. Only through economic growth will Mexico obtain
    the resources necessary to address its tremendous environmental needs.
    They need new water systems for their border cities; they need air
    pollution control equipment for Mexico City. These are just a handful of
    the things that would be enhanced.
        Mexico is committed to environmentally sound industrial expansion.
    President Salinas has already closed down the largest polluting
    refinery, taken a lot of political heat in the process--a PEMEX refinery
    near Mexico City. He's promised his people that the economic growth
    coming out of the free trade agreement will be ``clean growth'' and that
    dirty industries are not welcome.
        I don't know how many of you all have met President Carlos Salinas,
    but I can tell you, he's an outstanding individual. And he talks about
    the environment and the need to clean it up, and he gives this dramatic
    example of the young children in the schools--because of Mexico City's
    pollution--painting the sky gray. And he says: ``I don't want our
    children to paint the sky gray any more. I want them to see the Sun. I
    want them to see the bright stars at night.'' He is committed to
    cleaning up that environment. And new Mexican laws requiring
    environmental impact assessments for all investments in new industrial
    facilities will make this commitment a reality. So the attacks on him
    from some in the environmental community I don't think have merit.
        As we increase trade with Mexico, we will also help Mexican workers.
    Mexican wages have risen, and have risen quickly in recent years, with
    no tangible impact on America's pay scales. And that being true, someone
    then should ask the opponents of Fast Track why they oppose prosperity
    in Mexico.
        We have much to gain from extending Fast Track--a new era of open,
    free, and fair trade. A vote on Fast Track is really a vote on what kind
    of America we want to build. A ``no'' vote will show that we fear the
    future and that we don't welcome it. A ``yes'' vote will express
    confidence in American know-how and ingenuity. I think we have
    confidence in ourselves. I say we do believe in ourselves.
        And so, I'm going to be fighting my heart

    [[Page 371]]

    out to assure the congressional approval of Fast Track. I ask for your
    support for America's heart. And I thank you for the past support on so
    many critical and key issues. Thank you all very, very much for coming
    to the White House. And God bless you.

                        Note: The President spoke at 10:07 a.m. in Room 450
                            of the Old Executive Office Building. In his
                            remarks, he referred to Secretary of
                            Transportation Samuel K. Skinner; Marvin M.
                            Black, president of the Associated General
                            Contractors of America; and President Carlos
                            Salinas de Gortari of Mexico.