    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [November 15, 1993]
    [Pages 1995-1997]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on NAFTA to Small Business Leaders
    November 15, 1993

        The President. Thank you very much. When Manny and Rick were talking
    I leaned over to Bill Daley, and I said, ``You know, these guys are
    really good. We need to put them on the stump.''
        I want to thank you all for being here today. And before I make any
    more remarks, there are a couple of people I would like to introduce who
    have not yet been introduced. First of all, I think all of America has
    seen that our administration has pursued the ratification of this
    agreement in the Congress on a strictly bipartisan basis on the theory
    that it was in the best interest of America and the American economy and

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    that after all that we've been through in the last 15 or 20 years,
    adjusting to the global economy, all the ups and downs, it's an
    important part of our national security to have a sensible global
    economic policy.
        When we organized this campaign I asked Bill Daley to come in from
    Chicago. And then we were very fortunate to have the services of his
    Republican counterpart, the former leader of the Republican Party in the
    House of Representatives on the issue of trade, Congressman Bill Frenzel
    from Minnesota. And he's over here, so I wanted to introduce him. Thank
    you.
        I also want to introduce another person who is a longtime friend of
    mine and in more ways than one responsible for my being here today, with
    this introduction. If you look at the opposition to NAFTA, much of it is
    coming from people who are involved in the manufacturing sector of our
    economy, who justifiably note that the percentage of our work force in
    manufacturing has declined and that wages have been more or less
    stagnant for a long time. Some say that the answer to that is to keep
    the barriers high here and not worry about lowering the barriers
    elsewhere. That has never worked for any country ever in the entire
    history of global economics. The State in this country that has the
    highest percentage of its work force in manufacturing by far is North
    Carolina. And the Governor of North Carolina is here today with us and a
    strong supporter of NAFTA, my friend Governor Jim Hunt. Please welcome
    him.
        We wanted to meet here today in this marvelous museum not to focus
    on the past but to make a point about our past. If you look around at
    all these different displays, all the exhibits, you see that the one
    constant in American economic history has been change. The reason we
    have been able to build a dominant economy is that we have been at the
    forefront of innovation in new products, new services, new technologies,
    new production techniques, new management techniques, new sales
    techniques.
        We know now that a lot of what we have seen in the last 20 years in
    terms of competition from around the world is the direct result of our
    success in, first, winning the Second World War; secondly, rebuilding
    our former foes in Germany and Japan; thirdly, supporting a global
    trading system so that everybody could have the benefit of capitalism
    and free enterprise; and fourthly, the fact that there are a lot of
    other people in the world who are smart and work hard and do things
    well, too, so that the arena of competition has gotten much bigger.
        In that connection, however, it cannot be denied that for all of the
    difficulties we've had in the last several years, we've had astonishing
    growth in productivity in many sectors of our economy. Every single
    analysis still says we have the most productive workers in the world.
    And it is clear that if we can expand our customer base, we'll be able
    to solidify job gains and income increases. There is no way any wealthy
    country in this world can increase jobs and incomes without increasing
    the number of people who buy that nation's products and services. There
    is simply no other way to do it, just like there's no way you can
    increase your business unless people buy more of whatever it is you're
    selling. It is the same for a nation.
        I understand well why there are so many people in this country today
    who are skeptical about any change because they feel so burned by the
    economic problems of the last 10 to 15 years. I understand that. But if
    ever a group of Americans understood the risk of competition and change,
    it is the small business community. If there is one sector of our
    economy that sort of lays it on the line every day, it is the small
    business community. If you look at the incredible churning of the number
    of small businesses in America today, the number that are created and
    the number that don't make it, if any group of Americans could come to
    the Nation's Capital and say, hey, we can't stand any more insecurity,
    it would be you, right?
        Audience members. Right!
        The President. So why is the small business community in America
    overwhelmingly in support of NAFTA? Because you understand also the only
    way to sell more is to have more customers, and the only way to succeed
    is to compete and win. And you know something that everyone in America
    has to learn: that we cannot run from the forces of competition. We have
    to face them and overcome them and continue to change and grow.
        That is what America has always done. That is the meaning of this
    exhibit. If you look around, you see in this exhibit the history of the
    accumulated lives of innovative, creative entrepreneurs, the people who
    paved the way for all of you to be here today. And on Wednesday, we are
    going to see the United States Congress pass a vote which will either be
    in the great

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    tradition of all those who put their products in this museum and all you
    who come to this Nation's Capital, or will be the exception to the rule
    but one for which there is some evidence that maybe we just will turn
    away one more time.
        Every time we have done that, this country has gotten burned. Every
    time. And all the people who are against it say, ``Well, there's
    something different about this. This is worse, or this is different, or
    whatever.'' I say to them, if we don't adopt this we will never know how
    good it can be. If all the naysayers turn out to be wrong, the treaty
    gives us a right to withdraw in 6 months. Why don't we just wait and see
    whether we're right or they're right?
        You know we're right. You know it because it is consistent with your
    own life experience. And the argument that is being made here, that we
    shouldn't even try, we should give up before we engage, is really very,
    very bad for our country and ignores the enormous productivity gains
    that have been achieved by Americans in the last several years. We are
    now in a position to take advantage of our productivity gains. But all
    of you know what productivity is, it's the same number of people
    producing more, or fewer people producing more. So now, if you want to
    have more jobs and more incomes, we have to have more people to sell to.
    It is clear and self-evident.
        I want you to contact these Members of Congress in the next 2 days
    and make the case I just made about insecurity. If any group of people
    in America understands how change can take you away overnight, it is the
    small business community. You are for this because you know you cannot
    repeal the laws of change, you cannot run away from them. And the
    competitive system in America with winners and losers has produced far
    more winners than losers over the last 200 years, far more winners than
    losers. And this will produce more winners than losers. This is the way
    to grow the American economy. You understand it, and we need you.
        One of our Nation's strongest advocates for small business, also
    from North Carolina, is the Director of the Small Business
    Administration, Erskine Bowles. And I predict he will go down in history
    as one of the most popular members of our administration because he's
    the first SBA Director in a long time who's made a living creating small
    businesses. That's what he's done for 20 years, helped people start
    small businesses, helped them expand, helped them sell their products
    overseas, helped them pierce foreign markets in the private sector. And
    he is a terrific advocate for NAFTA.
        We were talking the other day about this and it's how I obviously,
    as you might imagine, since I'm now on my fourth or fifth or sixth
    conversation with some of these Members of Congress about this issue, I
    keep trying to think of the argument that can be made. So I implore you
    again, I don't want to sound like a broken record, but talk to the
    Members of Congress. Tell them you know all about insecurity, but you
    know that we can compete and win if we have enough customers to sell to.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:20 a.m. at the Smithsonian Museum of
    American History. In his remarks, he referred to Manuel Silva, founder,
    Pan American Engineering, and Richard Harris, president, Pulsair, Inc.