    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [November 17, 1993]
    [Pages 2005-2007]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the House of Representatives Action on the North American
    Free Trade Agreement and an Exchange With Reporters
    November 17, 1993

        The President. Thank you very much. Just a few minutes ago the House
    of Representatives voted to approve the North American Free Trade
    Agreement. NAFTA will expand our exports, create new jobs, and help us
    reassert America's leadership in the global economy. This agreement is
    in the deep self-interest of the United States. It will help make
    working Americans, the world's most productive workers, winners in the
    world economy.
        I want to thank the lawmakers of both parties who gave their support
    to NAFTA. Many of them, as everyone knows, showed real courage in voting
    their consciences and what they knew to be in the best interest for
    their Nation. I want to thank all the citizens who worked so hard for
    this, the business leaders, especially the small business leaders, the
    spokespersons for the NAFTA fight, including Lee Iacocca who's here with
    us tonight.
        I want to say a special word of thanks to the members of the Cabinet
    who labored so hard and long, especially Mickey Kantor, our Trade
    Ambassador, for his tireless effort on the side agreements and to lobby
    this through, and the Secretary of the Treasury, who is a native of
    south Texas and who understands so clearly why this is in our interests.
    And I want to say a special word of thanks to Vice President Gore for
    bringing home the message to the American people in his superb debate
    performance.
        Tonight's vote is a defining moment for our Nation. At a time when
    many of our people are hurting from the strains of this tough global
    economy, we chose to compete, not to retreat, to lead a new world
    economy, to lead as America has done so often in the past. The debate
    over NAFTA has been contentious. Men and women of good will raised
    strong arguments for and against this agreement. But every participant
    in this debate wanted the same things: more jobs, more security, more
    opportunity for every American. And so do I.
        I thank those who worked with us. I thank especially the people who
    organized the grassroots effort in our behalf, Bill Daley and former
    Congressman Bill Frenzel. I also thank the passionate defenders of the
    working people who oppose NAFTA for exercising their right to speak out.
    And they were right to speak out

    [[Page 2006]]

    against economic conditions which have produced too few jobs and
    stagnant incomes, as well as inadequate strategies for retraining our
    workers and investing in our people and our places that need them. They
    fought hard, and they have my respect.
        But in an economy where competition is global and change is the only
    constant, we simply cannot advance the security of American workers by
    building walls of protection around our economy or by pretending that
    global competition isn't there. Our only choice is to take this new
    world head on, to compete, and to win. That's why it's so important that
    we pass NAFTA, and I hope the Senate will complete the process in the
    next few days.
        By eliminating Mexico's tariffs and restrictive rules we'll be able
    to export more cars, more computers, and other products and keep more
    American workers on the job here at home. NAFTA will raise environmental
    and labor standards in Mexico. And I want to ask tonight labor and
    management to work together with our administration to ensure that the
    labor and environmental provisions of NAFTA are honored. We must make
    sure that this pact works to America's advantage.
        NAFTA is a big step, but just the first step in our effort to expand
    trade and spark an economic revival here and around the world. One
    legitimate point that the opponents of NAFTA made is that we will do
    even better in the global economy if we have a training system and a
    retraining system and a job placement system for our workers worthy of
    the challenges they face. We simply must guarantee our workers the
    training and education they need to compete in the global marketplace.
    And I call on the coalition that passed NAFTA to help me early next year
    present to the Congress and pass a world-class reemployment system that
    will give our working people the security of knowing that they'll be
    able always to get the training they need as economic conditions change.
        We must also provide our citizens with other things, with health
    care that can never be taken away, with increased investment in people
    and places and jobs. And we must continue the fight to lower foreign
    trade barriers which slow economic growth here in the United States and
    around the world.
        Tomorrow I go to Seattle to meet with the leaders of 15 Asian
    Pacific economies. I will ask them to work toward more open markets for
    our products. When I return, I'll reach out to the other market-oriented
    democracies of Latin America, to ask them to join in this great American
    pact that I believe offers so much hope to our future. And next month we
    will urge our European and Asian competitors to complete work on the
    worldwide trade agreement that can literally create hundreds of
    thousands of jobs here in the United States as we open markets all
    across the globe.
        We've faced choices before like the one we faced tonight, whether to
    turn inward or turn outward. After World War I, the United States turned
    inward and built walls of protection around our economy. The result was
    a depression and ultimately another world war. After the Second World
    War, we made a very different choice. We turned outward. We built a
    system of expanded trade and collective security. We rebuilt the
    economies of our former foes and in the process created the great
    American middle class.
        Tonight, with the cold war over, our Nation is facing that choice
    again. And tonight I am proud to say, we have not flinched. Tonight the
    leaders of both parties found common ground in supporting the common
    good. We voted for the future tonight. We once again showed our
    strength. We once again showed our self-confidence, even in this
    difficult time. Our people are winners. And I believe we showed tonight
    we are ready together to compete and win and to shape the world of the
    21st century.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. President, how are you going to make up with the Democratic
    leaders who fought this trade agreement so vociferously?
        The President. Well, I thought what they all said tonight was a very
    good signal. At the end of that debate I was deeply moved by the efforts
    that people on both sides of the issue made to reach out to each other
    and to say that we have to make this work now, we have to go forward
    now, we have to build our economy. And I think you will see that
    happening. I think you will see a greater sense of unity and commitment
    to have the kind of job training programs we need, to have the kind of
    investment strategies we need to keep forcing these trade barriers down
    abroad.
        And I must say, too, I hope we'll see in the future some more of
    this bipartisan effort to build economic security for Americans, because

    [[Page 2007]]

    a lot of our national security in the future is going to be involved
    with rebuilding our economic strength from the grassroots up. And that's
    a very hopeful part of this debate.
        Q. What about the relationship with organized labor, sir?
        The President. Well, one of the things I learned, again, in this
    fight is that they have an enormous amount of energy and ability to
    organize and ability to channel the passions and feelings of their
    workers. You know, when you think about it, we had the White House, the
    leaders of both parties, an enormous amount of support, and we had to
    come from a long way back to win this fight because of the work they did
    largely. And what I want to do is to ask them to join me now, as I said
    tonight, in making sure that the labor and environmental agreements are
    honored, in going on to the health care battle, in going on to other
    economic battles, and in making sure we give our working people the kind
    of education and training programs they need to compete in this
    different and very competitive global economy.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:03 p.m. in the Grand Foyer at the White
    House.