[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
[February 5, 1993]
[Pages 52-53]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 52]]


Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Brian 
Mulroney of Canada
February 5, 1993

    The President. Hi, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International].
    Q. Hi.
    Prime Minister Mulroney. Hi, Helen. How are you?

Unemployment

    Q. What's your reaction to the unemployment numbers, Mr. President?
    The President. Better, but still too high: you know, at the trough 
of the recession, unemployment was 6.8 percent, lower than it is now. 
And now we've had 14 months over 7 percent, and I hope it's going down. 
But until we get it way down, there will still be a lot of unused 
capacity in the country and a lot of idle people.

Bosnia

    Q. Are you going to have a statement soon on Bosnia, Mr. President?
    The President. Well, Mr. Christopher is working on it, and we're 
working on it. I've spent a good deal of time on it in the last 2 weeks. 
But I don't have anything to say yet. It's a very difficult problem, I'm 
very concerned about it, and I have spent a good deal of time on it. 
When I have something to say, I will.
    Q. Will that be a topic for this meeting, sir?
    The President. We're going to talk about a lot of things. We don't 
have a typed agenda.
    Q. This isn't the first time you've met, is it?
    The President. Yes, but we've talked before several times.
    Q. On the phone, but not----
    The President. This is our first meeting.
    Prime Minister Mulroney. And you were probably mentioned in those 
conversations. [Laughter]

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

Trade

    Q. Prime Minister, will you be seeking some assurances against the 
winds of protectionism in Congress you mentioned yesterday?
    Prime Minister Mulroney. Yes, I will. I think that any time 
protectionism takes hold in the United States or Canada or elsewhere, 
it's bad for prosperity. It cripples growth everywhere. And so the 
President's a free trader, and so am I. And so I expect that we'll 
resolve the difficulties that we have, not in today's meeting but over a 
period of time. And so I look forward to the meeting. I have been very 
encouraged by my earlier telephone conversations with the President in 
regard to trade and other matters.

[At this point, a question was asked and answered in French, and a 
translation was not provided.]

    Q. Mr. President, what do you think about the free trade of Canada? 
Is it important for U.S., do you think?
    The President. I think it's very important for both of us. And I 
think it will have real benefits over the long run. As a Governor, I was 
one of those who took responsibility for trying to lobby the original 
agreement through the Congress here. And I hope we can complete the 
North American Free Trade Agreement, bringing in Mexico, making some 
changes that I think will be good for the Mexicans and good for the 
Canadians and the Americans.
    But I think that if you just look at the last 50 years, the only way 
you can have growth within advanced countries over the long run is to 
have global growth. The only way you can have global growth is to expand 
trade.
    This is a difficult time. Europe is in distress economically. Japan 
is having some difficulties. And of course, there will always be 
discussions among us about whether the rules of trade are fair or not. 
But our goal must continue to be the opening of trade and the increase 
in volume of trade.
    Q. So do you want to reassure Canadians? Because there's a little 
fear in Canada about U.S. protectionism.
    The President. Oh, I think Canada is our most important trading 
partner. I hope that we can do some things that will improve the economy 
of Canada. I'm very concerned that--our economy has started to pick up 
now. And normally when it does, Canada follows behind just by a few 
months. I want some of that growth to

[[Page 53]]

come back into Canada now.
    One of the reasons I want to try to generate more jobs here is I 
think that would create more jobs in Canada. The more people we have 
with incomes and the more consumers we will have, the more economic 
impact we'll be able to have in Canada to bring that unemployment down 
there.
    Q. What are the problems, if any, in the relationship?
    The President. Well, let me say, this is our first conversation face 
to face. I don't want to dwell on the problems. The opportunities 
overwhelm the problems. And I'm sure we'll work through the problems.
    Prime Minister Mulroney. Maybe I could just say, Mr. President, in 
regard to that, that our total trade, all in, is in Canadian dollars 
about $275 billion a year. It dwarfs anything that the United States has 
anywhere in the world. But more importantly, at the end of the year when 
you factor everything in, from interest payments to dividends, our trade 
is in rough balance. It is extraordinary that the largest trading 
relationship between two nations in history is in rough balance at the 
end of the year, which means that with the imperfections that we have, 
that we've got a pretty good system that is self-governing. And from 
time to time, the President and the Prime Minister of Canada have to 
intervene to make sure that this really remarkably productive 
relationship with both countries is preserved and strengthened.
    That's what President Clinton did. He was selling the free trade 
agreement when he was Governor of Arkansas throughout the United States. 
So I'm very encouraged by his attitudes and his record in regard to 
developing world trade.

Note: The exchange began at 11:38 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House.