    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 29, 1993]
    [Page 953]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 953]]

    Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With President Carlos Saul
    Menem of Argentina
    June 29, 1993

    President's Approval Rating

        Q. How do you like your new popularity as a result of the attack on
    Baghdad?
        The President. I think there's a lot of evidence that people are
    learning more about the specifics of the economic program again, too. I
    think that's a lot of it.
        Q. Do you really think that's it?
        The President. Absolutely, I do.

    Iraq

        Q. There were new threats from Iraqi officials this morning, threat
    of retaliation. Are you concerned about that, Mr. President?
        The President. Well, we'll deal with those as they arise.

    Haiti

        Q. Are you going to discuss the Haitian situation with Mr. Menem?
        The President. Absolutely, I will. I want to get his ideas.
    President Menem has been a real force for democracy and for human rights
    in our hemisphere. Argentina was extremely helpful in playing a
    leadership role in the recent Guatemalan crisis. And I want to know what
    he thinks about Haiti and what we might do.
        Q. Are you going to sell him Skyhawks, 36 Skyhawks?

    Economic Indicators

        Q. [Inaudible]--sir, last month after you took great pains to attach
    the jump to your economic program.
        The President. They won't be up every month. But the economy in our
    country will have great difficulty in totally recovering in any short
    period of time from the traumas of the last 10 to 12 to 15 years. But I
    think that it's clear that if we can bring our deficit down, keep our
    interest rates down, we can get growth up. It's also true that we have
    to try to work with our trading partners to get growth up. And I might
    just mention Argentina. Our exports to Argentina have tripled in the
    last 4 years. That's the sort of thing we're trying to work on with
    other countries around the world. And it's not going to be easier quick.
    We're basically restructuring the American economy at a time when the
    whole world is in a rebuilding process. But I'm hopeful.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Argentina

        Q. Mr. Clinton, can you tell us what you want to achieve with this
    visit?
        The President. Well, first of all, I want to just get to know
    President Menem a little better. He is the first Latin American leader I
    have received here at the White House. I admire very much the program of
    economic reform that Argentina has pursued under his leadership, their
    respect for human rights, their support for democracy. I was especially
    grateful for the position taken in the recent issue with Guatemala. And
    there are lots of things we have to talk about.
        Q. Mr. President, do you agree that Argentina is leading Latin
    America?
        The President. Do I believe Argentina's a leader in Latin America?
    Absolutely. I hope that we can explore stronger and broader trade
    relations. I hope that we can continue to work together on the problems
    in the hemisphere. I'm going to ask President Menem for his views on the
    situation in Haiti, for example, where I very much want to see democracy
    restored. And I wanted him to come here and to be the first Latin
    American leader to come because of the remarkable, some would say
    astonishing, progress in Argentina in the last couple of years.

    Note: The exchange began at 11:35 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    exchange.