[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.