[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[July 9, 1994]
[Pages 1223-1224]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1223]]


The President's Radio Address
July 9, 1994

    Good morning. I'm speaking to you from the seaside city of Naples, 
Italy, where the leaders of the Group of Seven major industrial 
countries have gathered for our annual meeting.
    What my trip to Naples this week, as well as to Latvia, Poland, and 
Germany, is all about is dealing with three concerns that, for better or 
worse, will determine whether we have a peaceful and prosperous future.
    In Eastern Europe, we addressed concerns raised by the breakup of 
the Soviet empire and the need to continue to strengthen democracy and 
economic growth there, to work until we have a united Europe, a strong 
trading partner, and a partner for peace.
    In negotiations with North Korea that began yesterday in Geneva and 
in my first meeting here with Japan's new Prime Minister, we are 
addressing another challenge: the threat posed by nuclear proliferation 
and the need to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
    Now, this weekend, I'm meeting with other world leaders to act on 
what is in many ways the most important purpose of the trip. I'm here to 
keep our economic recovery going by promoting economic growth throughout 
the world. What happens here affects every American. More than ever, 
what happens in the international economy has a direct impact on our 
jobs, our incomes, and our prospects.
    This morning I want to talk with you about the economy, what we've 
done, how well it's worked, and how America is in a position to lead the 
world.
    This is a time of rapid, often remarkable change. Especially when it 
comes to the emergence of a truly global marketplace that has opened 
enormous opportunities. But for a decade, in the face of this change, 
our leaders mismanaged the economy, walked away from a lot of our 
challenges, let the deficit explode, and didn't produce enough jobs. And 
of course, America's middle class fell behind.
    Now after years of drift we're pursuing an aggressive strategy for 
renewal. We began by putting our own economic house in order. We enacted 
the biggest deficit cut in our history including $255 billion in 
specific spending cuts. Our deficit is now going down for 3 years in a 
row for the first time since Harry Truman was President.
    We're expanding exports through trade agreements that tear down 
foreign barriers to our products and services. And we're creating a 
world-class education and job training system so that every American has 
the ability and confidence to compete. From the first day of preschool 
to the first day on the job to the last day before retirement, you 
should know that whatever the world brings, you and your children will 
be prepared.
    Our strategy is working. Our economy is coming back. Just yesterday 
we received some very good news. Since I took office, our economy has 
produced over 3.8 million jobs, 94 percent of them in the private 
sector. Just last month, the economy brought us 380,000 new jobs. 
Unemployment has fallen by more than 1.5 percentage points since I took 
office and inflation is the lowest in two decades. We have to do more, 
but this is a very good start.
    This news is especially significant as I meet with our trading 
partners this weekend. America's economic growth is helping to pull the 
rest of the world out of recession. Our workers and businesses, while 
accounting for about 40 percent of the overall income of the G-7 
countries, produced three-quarters of the growth in the G-7 nations last 
year and nearly 100 percent of the new jobs. We have the authority to 
speak and the credibility to be heard.
    In Naples, I'm urging our partners to do everything we can to keep 
the growth going and the new jobs coming. I want these countries and our 
Congress to ratify the GATT world trade agreement and to do it this 
year. Ratifying GATT will mean some half a million jobs and billions of 
dollars in exports for the United States. And because these meetings 
should be about more than high finance, I also want us to begin to focus 
hard on the training, education, and skills of our working people and 
what they'll need to compete and win and to bring us prosperity in the 
21st century.
    Before coming to Naples, I visited Latvia and Poland, countries that 
are breathing the fresh air of freedom. I wish every American could have 
been with me as 40,000 people filled Free-


[[Page 1224]]

dom Square in Riga, Latvia, waving American flags and looking to us with 
hope and admiration. We should see ourselves as they see us, a nation of 
doers, of optimists, a nation with a future, leading the world to a 
future of peace and prosperity.
    Visiting Eastern Europe reminds us of the remarkable changes that we 
must deal with every day. The global economy has the power to remake our 
lives for the better, if we make those changes work for our people. If 
we move forward with our successful strategy for economic growth, we'll 
do just that.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 4:02 p.m. on July 8 in the Hotel 
Vesuvio in Naples, Italy, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 9.