[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[November 18, 1993]
[Page 2008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2008]]


Remarks on Departure for Seattle, Washington
November 18, 1993

    Thank you very much. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Mr. 
Vice President.
    Let me just say that I have never been involved in an effort in 
which there were so many diverse people working so hard with so little 
concern for who got the credit after the battle was over.
    I thank all those who were mentioned last night and were mentioned 
today by the Vice President. I will say again that I believe that his 
stunning performance in the debate on the Larry King show played a major 
role in our victory.
    Now that the House has voted for the North American Free Trade 
Agreement, voted for America to continue to compete and win in the 
global economy, I want to say again how grateful I am to the Members who 
voted with us and how deeply I respect the opinions and convictions of 
those who did not and those who supported them.
    It is for us now to make sure that this agreement is speedily passed 
by the United States Senate and then implemented as it was intended to 
be implemented, with the cooperation of both labor and management to 
make sure that it works to the benefit of the United States and to all 
the working people of our country. It is also our responsibility to 
press on until we have the kind of education and training programs we 
need.
    And finally, it is our responsibility to make sure that we make the 
most of this effort in terms of our relationships with our neighbor to 
the south, Mexico, the rest of Latin America, and hopefully with nations 
all across the world who are committed to open and free trade, to 
lowering the barriers that they have to our products and services and to 
working together for more global opportunity, jobs, and growth.
    Last night I called President Salinas, and I told him that the Vice 
President and Chief of Staff McLarty would be available to go to Mexico 
City when NAFTA is ratified by both nations, to meet with him and his 
government for indepth discussions about how best to launch this great 
new era in North American relations. The President gracefully welcomed 
this suggestion and invited the Vice President to travel to Mexico as 
soon as NAFTA is approved by the United States Senate and by the Mexican 
Senate, which is expected to be this Tuesday.
    Now I am leaving for the first ever Asian and Pacific Economic 
Cooperation forum in Seattle with the strength in hand to fight for open 
markets throughout the world. The 15 Asian-Pacific economic partners 
that I will meet are dynamic and powerful traders and competitors. From 
the creative tension between their nations and ours can come an economic 
expansion that will sustain us for years to come. The fastest growing 
part of the world economy is in Asia.
    One thing is clear, by taking the courageous step of opening trade 
in our own hemisphere we have the economic, the political, and the moral 
standing to make the case that that ought to be done throughout the 
world, that America is serious about lowering trade barriers and 
promoting growth in our country and throughout the globe.
    I look forward to this trip and to continuing the fight. I will 
remind you again, as I have said so many times in the past, there is 
simply no evidence that the United States or any other wealthy country 
can grow jobs and increase incomes unless the world economy is growing 
and unless we have more customers for our goods and services. We took a 
long step in the right direction last night, and I intend to take more 
steps on that course in the next few days in the Pacific Northwest.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:28 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.