    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [June 27, 1991]
    [Pages 727-730]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Commemorating the First Anniversary of the Enterprise for the
    Americas Initiative and an Exchange With Reporters
    June 27, 1991

        Please be seated. Welcome, distinguished Members of Congress and
    both Houses. Let me salute our Secretary of the Treasury and another
    Cabinet member, Ambassador Carla Hills; Minister Foxley of Chile;
    Minister de Franco of Nicaragua; Minister Alfaro of Panama. I could not
    be more pleased to have you all join me up here today. And look at this
    audience, sweating out there. [Laughter] Change that--perspiring out
    there.
        Bob Mosbacher is here, our Secretary of Commerce; and Ed Madigan,
    General Scowcroft, Bill Reilly, Mike Boskin, Larry Eagleburger--and I'm
    going to get in trouble--Mr. Robson, and many, many more. Fred Zeder,
    and John Macomber of the Ex-Im, Ron Roskens of AID. You have our top
    people here, and it's very symbolic and important that they be here. I
    think that this shows vividly our commitment to building a better and
    more prosperous hemisphere.
        We're also pleased to have with us Mr. Enrique Iglesias of the
    Inter-American Development Bank. It seems like he just left. He was just
    here the other day, and we

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    welcome him back. The Ambassadors from Latin America and some of the
    Caribbean countries; from the OAS, the Secretary General here--we salute
    you, sir; and many members of the diplomatic corps. To everyone I would
    say, my warmest greetings to you on this historic day. Feel free to take
    your coats off. If it weren't for these cameras, I'd take mine off.
    [Laughter]
        I'm just delighted, again, that you're all here. And we've come here
    today to celebrate the first anniversary of the Enterprise for the
    Americas Initiative. As you know, this initiative wasn't a unilateral
    thing; it grew out of talks between many of us here today. I heard many
    of your concerns about building a prosperous hemisphere, of throwing off
    the deadening weight of debt and economic stagnation, and building
    strong ties of idealism and self-interest. With the Enterprise for the
    Americas Initiative, we vowed to encourage free trade, stimulate
    investment, and reduce the debt burden that overwhelms so many of our
    neighbors and our colleagues.
        We've made great progress. In just 1 year we've signed eight
    bilateral framework agreements for trade and investment--with Chile,
    Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, and
    Venezuela. Make that 10 agreements, because today Carla Hills will sign
    bilateral framework agreements with Minister de Franco of Nicaragua and
    Minister Alfaro of Panama. We also are negotiating with Guatemala and
    the 13-nation English-speaking Caribbean Community.
        Last week, right here, Ambassador Hills also joined representatives
    of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in signing what we call the
    Rose Garden Agreement, the first regional framework accord under the
    Enterprise for the Americas Initiative. Carla has been very busy, and
    I'm glad to see her bringing a lot of these things to fruition. I
    congratulate her and Dave Mulford and so many others who have worked
    tirelessly on these projects.
        Ambassador Hills and her counterparts will pull down tariff and
    nontariff barriers, protect patents and intellectual property,
    strengthen investment environments, and make it possible for firms to
    repatriate their profits. In short, we will build a solid foundation for
    economic cooperation and prosperity.
        We've also begun making our hemisphere more hospitable to
    investment. The Inter-American Development Bank has approved its first
    investment sector loan--it's $150 million to Chile. Minister Foxley and
    President Iglesias completed arrangements for this loan today, I am
    told.
        President Iglesias, I want to thank you, sir, and congratulate
    everyone at the IDB for this important step. And we should congratulate
    Chile for the impressive free-market reforms that it has undertaken.
    Through these loans, the IDB will help Latin America and the Caribbean
    countries compete for capital and embrace reforms that foster economic
    growth.
        For years the world experimented with the fantasy that experts could
    manage economies. The utter failure of the communism system demonstrated
    that expert cadres can no more manage growth than they can manage the
    weather or anything else. Free markets reward people who have ideas, not
    just those who have connections. They allow poor people to become rich.
    They make possible unprecedented levels of social mobility. And of
    course, they mean jobs. They teach people hard study, hard work, and
    commitment to others. Those commitments produce real wealth.
        I'm also pleased to report that our proposal for a $1.5 billion
    multilateral Investment fund has gotten off to a great start. Japan has
    pledged $100 million for each of the next 5 years. Canada, France,
    Portugal, and Spain have expressed keen interest in supporting the fund,
    which will provide targeted support for countries that undertake the
    difficult reforms necessary to encourage investment and stimulate free
    enterprise.
        Pillar three of our proposal, debt reduction, also has gotten off to
    a rousing start. Five nations already have negotiated far-reaching
    reductions in commercial debt through the provisions of the Brady plan.
    Other nations will take advantage of the plan as their economic reforms
    take shape.
        Congress has agreed to reward economic reform and trade
    liberalization by reducing a portion of a nation's debt,the food
    assistance loans contracted under P.L. 480. Con-

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    gress also supported our recommendation to use interests on remaining
    debt for grassroots environmental projects. And this ambitious,
    innovative plan already has produced results. Today, the U.S. will sign
    an agreement with Chile, slashing Chile's P.L. 480 debt 40 percent, to
    $23 million. This is the first example of bilateral debt reduction under
    EAI. We look forward to reaching an understanding soon on the
    environmental component of this agreement.
        So now, just briefly, let me talk about what lies ahead. As you
    know, Congress recently voted not to terminate the Fast Track trade
    procedures that enable us to deal in good faith with you--and with
    Congress--in trade negotiations. Our goal is to create a free trade zone
    that will cover all of North America. This trade zone--360 million
    consumers and markets that produce more than $6 trillion in annual
    output--will set the stage for something even more dramatic, a whole
    hemispheric zone of free trade.
        I was very proud and pleased the way so many countries south of
    Mexico and in the Caribbean supported the FTA, the Fast Track authority,
    with Mexico. It's broad vision, because it should sweep through--this
    whole concept of free trade must sweep through our whole hemisphere.
        The Enterprise for the Americas Initiative can link our nations with
    their diverse cultures, work forces, and creative forces. I know some
    have worried that the EAI might indicate a reduction in our commitment
    to the multilateral trading system. Not so, we remain fully committed
    and fully determined to make that system work.
        Indeed, as part of the Uruguay round, we have joined our Latin
    American and our Caribbean allies in trying to pull down protectionist
    barriers in Europe and in Asia. I want to stress the importance of
    reaching a successful conclusion to the round. It can establish a basis
    for worldwide free and fair trade. Without it, we're going to have great
    difficulty moving forward.
        We live in an extraordinary place at an extraordinary time. When
    Cuba embraces democracy, ours will become the first truly democratic
    hemisphere in the world. That is a major goal, a major accomplishment by
    most countries already; Cuba being this holdout.
        There's no accident of history here. From the northern tip of Alaska
    to the southernmost point of Tierra del Fuego, we share common
    heritages. Our people can trace their roots to all the nations of the
    world. We share ties of culture and of blood and of common interest. And
    now, as democracy sweeps the world, we share the challenge of leadership
    through example.
        We can lead the way to a world freed from suspicion and from
    mercantilist barriers, from socialist inefficiencies. We can show the
    world how prosperity preserves the social order, and the land, air, and
    water as well. We can show the rest of the world that deregulation,
    respect for private property, low tax rates, and low trade barriers can
    produce vast economic returns. We can show the rest of the world how to
    build upon each other's strengths, rather than preying upon weaknesses.
        Today, I simply want to pledge to you, our friends, my full effort
    to make the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative a total reality. I
    urge Congress to pass promptly the legislation necessary to enact EAI.
    This includes debt reduction authority and authority for the United
    States to contribute its share to the Multilateral Investment Fund.
        In 1876--I think I mentioned this the other day when President
    Collor was here--the Brazilian Emperor, Dom Pedro II, visited the United
    States and stopped in St. Louis, among other places. And he noted that
    local craftsmen were using only the sturdiest materials in building a
    customs house. The emperor was stunned. ``But an iron building would
    last 400 years,'' he noted. ``You do not mean to tell me that there will
    be any custom houses in 400 years.''
        We meet today to honor Dom Pedro's vision of a hemisphere shorn of
    customs houses and jammed with thriving markets. If we can build a
    hemisphere devoted to freedom, one that prefers enterprise to envy,
    we've going to create our own new world order.
        We've worked miracles in one year, and so let us shape a revolution
    in the next because I honestly believe that together, we

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    can make our hemisphere's freedom first and best for all.
        Thank you, and God bless you. And thank you all for coming down here
    on this very hot, but very significant occasion. Thank you.

    [At this point, Secretary Brady and Ambassador Hills signed trade
    agreements with Chile, Nicaragua, and Panama.]

        One half of it done.

    Resignation of Supreme Court Associate Justice Marshall

        Q. Mr. President, have you thought about a successor to Thurgood
    Marshall?
        Q. Mr. President, what do you want in a Marshall successor, sir?
        Q. And how soon? How soon will we have a successor?
        Q. Have you got a successor, Mr. President?
        The President. Now, what was that one question? What was the one
    question?
        Q. Thurgood Marshall, sir. What about a successor to Mr. Marshall?
        The President. Well, it just happened, I mean. But we'll move
    promptly; we'll move very swiftly. I paid my respects to Justice
    Marshall in a statement that we put out. He served his country with
    great distinction. And, you know, it's very pleasant for Barbara and
    me--I knew nothing about this, of course--but he and Mrs. Marshall were
    our guests up at Camp David a while back. And we had a very warm and
    relaxed and entertaining visit. I say entertaining from him, he fired
    off a few jokes for us. And it was very pleasant.
        So, in the personal relationship, we feel sad about this, but he's
    served his country well. And we're going to move----
        Q. Wasn't there some notice at all, sir?
        The President. No, no. This is really the--literally, the first I
    heard when we went up to the Hill.
        Q. What about----
        Q. Will it be a minority?
        Q. Mr. Sununu has issued another apology. What do you have--do you
    have anything to say about?
        The President. I've said all I really care to say about that.
        Q. What qualities will you look for in a replacement?
        Q. What about a replacement, sir? A successor?
        The President. Somebody that believes in the Constitution of the
    United States, as all nine of those Judges do that are on the court now,
    and somebody with experience, obviously, and somebody that will be able
    to serve a while. So, that's it.
        All right. Thank you all.

                        Note: The President spoke at 4:05 p.m. in the Rose
                            Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he
                            referred to Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas
                            F. Brady; U.S. Trade Representative Carla A.
                            Hills; Finance Minister Alejandro Foxley Riesco
                            of Chile; Economy Minister Silvio de Franco of
                            Nicaragua; Commerce Minister Roberto Alfaro of
                            Panama; Secretary of Commerce Robert A.
                            Mosbacher; Secretary of Agriculture Edward R.
                            Madigan; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the
                            President for National Security Affairs; William
                            K. Reilly, Administrator of the Environmental
                            Protection Agency; Michael J. Boskin, Chairman
                            of the Council of Economic Advisers; Lawrence S.
                            Eagleburger, Deputy Secretary of State; John E.
                            Robson, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; Fred
                            M. Zeder, President and Chief Executive Officer
                            of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation;
                            John D. Macomber, President and Chairman of the
                            Export-Import Bank of the United States; Ronald
                            W. Roskens, Administrator of the Agency for
                            International Development; Enrique V. Iglesias,
                            President of the Inter-American Development
                            Bank; Joao Clemente Baena Soares, Secretary
                            General of Organization of American States;
                            David C. Mulford, Under Secretary of the
                            Treasury for International Affairs; President
                            Fernando Collor de Mello of Brazil; Thurgood
                            Marshall, Associate Justice of the Supreme
                            Court, and his wife, Cecilia; and John H.
                            Sununu, Chief of Staff to the President.