    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 21, 1996]
    [Pages 485-486]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Rene Preval of Haiti and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    March 21, 1996

        The President. Let me begin by just saying how very pleased I am to
    welcome President Preval to the White House. This is our first chance to
    have a face-to-face meeting, but we've been in regular contact, and I am
    anxious to have this chance to discuss the future of Haiti.
        I'm very pleased by the events of the last year and a half. Haiti
    has had the first peaceful transfer of power in 200 years, from one
    democratically elected President to another. They've had parliamentary
    elections. The institutions and people who caused so much of the
    problems of the past have been changed, and there is, I think, a new
    atmosphere of hope in the country.
        We know that they have significant challenges, economically and
    otherwise, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to work with
    our friends around the world, Canada and other places, to try to support
    Haiti and to make sure that the great democratic effort they're making
    succeeds.

    Economic Reforms in Haiti

        Q. What kinds of economic reforms, Mr. President, would you like to
    see them pursue at this point?
        The President. Well, I think that we want to see them work out an
    achievable plan of reform to gain the support of the international

    [[Page 486]]

    financial institutions so we can get the investment necessary into Haiti
    to generate private sector jobs and grow the economy. We want to see
    investors going back in there again and giving jobs to the people. We
    have to do what we can to see that the benefits of freedom flow to
    ordinary citizens through an advance in their economic standing.
        Q. Does that effort have to be picked up, in your opinion? Are they
    moving fast enough?
        The President. Well, I want them to do whatever is necessary to
    secure the support of the international financial institutions as soon
    as possible, because I think that is what is necessary to grow the
    economy. And I want the President and the country to succeed, and I
    think bringing some economic benefits down there is going to be critical
    to that. But we want to support them in other ways as well.

    Product Liability Legislation

        Q. Mr. President, do you think that the product liability bill is
    beyond redemption or is there some chance after a veto that it could be
    salvaged?
        The President. I've said all along that there is legislation in this
    area that I would sign. I think that some change is appropriate, and I
    think Senator Rockefeller made a very strong effort there. There were
    some things put in the conference, as you know, which I feel very
    strongly made it worse. But there are some changes that I think are
    relatively modest that could be made that would permit me to sign it. So
    I still have some hope that we'll get a good products liability bill out
    of this Congress.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Haiti

        The President. Welcome. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome
    President Preval here to the White House. We are all excited about his
    visit to the United States and anxious to have a good conversation. I'm
    very proud of the progress that Haiti has made in preserving its freedom
    and liberty and very pleased that when he was inaugurated it marked the
    first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected
    President to another in 200 years.
        Now I want to do what I can to be as supportive in Haiti's efforts
    to preserve freedom and democracy and also to advance economically. I
    want to see the people of Haiti reap the benefits of freedom and
    democracy in terms of new jobs and new opportunities. So we will be
    discussing what we can do to advance that.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:13 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.