    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [November 11, 1994]
    [Pages 2062-2063]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Asian-Pacific Trip
    November 11, 1994

        The President. Good morning. I want to speak with you for just a few
    moments before I leave on this trip to the Philippines and Indonesia.
    From the beginning of our administration, we have worked to build
    greater security for America, to spread prosperity and democracy around
    the globe, and to usher in a new age of open markets. We are tearing
    down the old walls which have existed for so long between domestic and
    foreign policy in our country, forging a strong recovery here at home by
    expanding opportunities for Americans around the world.
        We are pursuing this strategy because it is clearly in the best
    interest of our people, and it offers the best opportunity for them to
    acquire the kind of security for their families that so many millions of
    Americans are still struggling to achieve. The ultimate goal is to
    produce a strong America, a strong America in terms of national security
    and national defense but also in terms of stronger families, better
    education, more high-wage jobs, and safer streets. Strong at home and
    strong abroad: two sides of the same coin.
        The United States is in a better economic position than any other
    nation in the world today to compete and win in the global economy. Our
    work force is the most productive in the world. Our economy has produced
    5 million jobs and more in the last 22 months. And finally, this year,
    high-wage jobs are coming back into this economy, more new high-wage
    jobs this year than in the previous 5 years combined.
        But it is not enough. Too many Americans, millions and millions of
    them, still find the present and the future uncertain and unsettling:
    stagnant wages, benefits at risk, an uncertainty in the future about
    their jobs. We simply must turn insecurity about our future into
    confidence. The American people do best when they are confident, outward
    looking, and working together.
        This strategy must include breaking down trade barriers, opening
    markets, and increasing our exports because export-related jobs pay
    significantly more on the average than those which are not related to
    exports.
        In the coming weeks, we will have the opportunity to put into place
    three crucial building blocks of this strategy by working with Congress
    to pass the GATT agreement, by strengthening our ties to the dynamic
    economies of the Asian-Pacific region, and by continuing to forge a
    partnership for peace and prosperity here in our own hemisphere. For
    decades, we have concentrated our international economic efforts on the
    mature and strong economies of Europe and Japan. They will remain our
    close allies, our key competitors, our critical markets.
        But the new century demands a new strategy, and that is where this
    trip fits into the picture. Last year in Seattle, I brought together 14
    leaders of the economies of the Asian-Pacific cooperation council. They
    met for the first time, and there we arrived at a common vision of a new
    and more open Asian-Pacific community. Next week in Jakarta, I hope the
    leaders will embrace a common direction toward that vision, setting a
    goal for free and open trade among all our countries and agreeing on a
    process to get there.
        In my visit to the Philippines and my meetings in Jakarta, I will
    also stress our continuing commitment to promote security and democracy
    throughout Asia and the Pacific region. We'll discuss how to strengthen
    important bilateral relationships, create stronger regional security
    structures, how to rapidly and effectively implement the agreement for a
    nonnuclear Korean Peninsula. No problem is more important to the United
    States and its allies than stopping the proliferation of nuclear
    materials and weap-

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    ons in general and specifically ending North Korea's nuclear program. I
    will also use these meetings to talk about the advance of human rights,
    worker rights, and democratic values. We must continue to pursue this
    path with patience, persistence, and determination.
        Two other crucial events will follow this trip to Asia: the Summit
    of the Americas in Miami, with 33 other democratically elected leaders
    in the Caribbean and Latin America, and the congressional vote on GATT.
    GATT is the largest and most advantageous trade agreement in our
    history. The congressional vote will be a defining decision for our
    economy and our working people well into the next century. I believe
    both parties will come together to vote for open markets, free and fair
    trade, and most importantly, more high- wage jobs for the American
    people.
        This week the American people told us, all of us here in Washington,
    to work together, to put politics aside to create a stronger, a more
    secure America. This trip to Asia and the other events of the next 6
    weeks give us a unique opportunity to join hands and do just that. By
    reaching across oceans and borders, we can help to build peace and
    prosperity around the world and more security and prosperity for our own
    people here at home.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. President, how would you describe the prospects for GATT to
    the Asian leaders?
        The President. Good.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:25 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.