    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [November 20, 1993]
    [Pages 2030-2032]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 20, 1993

        Good morning. This week at a time when many Americans are hurting
    from the strains of the tough global economy, our country chose
    courageously to compete and not to retreat. With its vote Wednesday
    night for the North American Free Trade Agreement, the House of
    Representatives sent a message to the world: Yes, the cold war is over,
    but America's leadership for prosperity, security, and freedom
    continues.
        The morning after the NAFTA vote I came to Seattle to convene an
    historic meeting of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
    forum. Passage of NAFTA strengthened my hand with the leaders of the
    Asian-Pacific economies as I worked to make their markets as open to our
    products and services as our market is to theirs.
        The only way to achieve lasting prosperity and real economic
    security for our people is for America to expand our exports by reaching
    out to the world, not retreating from it. In plain language, we've got
    to have more customers for our products and services. But after two
    decades when good paying jobs have been lost and incomes of working
    people have stagnated and

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    Government has done too little to prepare our people for the global
    economy, it's understandable that many middle class Americans are
    anxious about change.
        Three decades after the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, we must again
    embrace his vision of an America that seeks to open markets abroad while
    investing in the skills of our workers and the strength of our
    communities here at home. Our Nation has a solemn obligation to our
    working men and women to make sure that they share in the opportunities
    that expanded trade will produce. That's why we're investing in
    education and training and technology, the competitive edge for our
    working men and women, and why we must do more.
        That's why I propose changing our unemployment system into a
    reemployment system so that our working people will have the security of
    knowing they'll always get the training they need as economic conditions
    change. You know, it used to be that when people lost their job, they
    stayed unemployed for a few weeks, and then they were called back to the
    same old job. Now people are unemployed for longer periods of time and
    usually don't get the same job back. That's why we've got to change this
    unemployment system, and we must give people a lifetime right to
    education and training.
        It's also why we're fighting to provide every American with the
    security of comprehensive health care benefits that can never be taken
    away, so that they can face the fact that even with changing jobs,
    they'll be able to survive and their family's health care will be taken
    care of.
        Our efforts to invest in the strength and skills of our people and
    to expand world trade are part of a coordinated strategy to increase
    American exports, create American jobs, and raise American incomes.
    American workers are the most productive, the best in the world.
        Given a fair chance and a level playing field, we can outinnovate,
    outproduce, and outcompete any people. That's why I support NAFTA. It
    reduces Mexican tariffs on our products, which are currently 2\1/2\
    times higher than our tariffs on theirs. It eases Mexico's requirements
    that many of the products sold there, particularly cars and trucks, must
    be made there. These are some of the reasons why in just 2 years NAFTA
    will create an estimated 200,000 high-wage jobs for workers here at
    home.
        NAFTA is more than a trading block. It's a building block in our
    efforts to assert America's global leadership on behalf of American jobs
    and opportunity. This week in meetings with the leaders from the Asian-
    Pacific area, I'm striving to expand America's access to some of the
    largest and the fastest growing markets in the world. The stakes are
    very high. Asian economies have been growing at 3 times the rate of the
    established industrialized nations. Much of what Asia needs to continue
    its growth are goods and services in which our country has a strong
    competitive position: aircraft, financial services, telecommunications,
    and construction. Already Asia is our largest trading partner, and our
    exports to Asia account for 2.5 million American jobs.
        Increasing our share of this market by just 1 percent would
    translate into some 300,000 new American jobs. And it's my job to help
    create more of those jobs for our working men and women. That's why I'm
    working to put our economic relationship with Japan on a more equitable
    basis and why I'm determined to see China eliminate many of its trade
    barriers to our products and services, as well as expressing our concern
    over human rights and weapons sales.
        Our progress this week is part of our efforts for an even more
    important breakthrough: a worldwide trade agreement by year's end that
    would open more markets for American products and services in over 100
    nations throughout the world. If we achieve an agreement that meets our
    standards, the benefits for the American people will be immense. Over 10
    years the agreement will create hundreds of thousands of American jobs
    and substantially increase the average family's income.
        As we enter this season of hope, let us remember that we live at a
    historic moment. Now that the cold war is over, we must do what America
    did at the end of World War II, invest in ourselves and lead the world
    toward peace and prosperity. Just as we did a half century ago,
    Americans can find common ground in supporting the common good.
        When it comes to preparing our work force for global competition and
    building an American economy that exports our products and not our jobs,
    we must all work together, business and labor, Democrats and
    Republicans, those who have supported NAFTA and those who have opposed
    it.
        Soon our families will be gathering together

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    for Thanksgiving to offer our gratitude to God for life's blessings. For
    all our difficulties, we live in a moment of peace and promise that
    would have gladdened the hearts of generations that came before us and
    justified their faith in the future. The challenges we face today,
    providing our people with the skills and security they need to prevail
    in peaceful competition with citizens all over the world, is one our
    predecessors would have longed to embrace. After this week, I'm even
    more confident that we will embrace that challenge, not evade it.
        Thanks for listening, and a happy Thanksgiving to you and your
    families.

    Note: The address was recorded at 10:10 a.m. on November 18 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November
    20.