[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-


[[Page 2063]]

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.