    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1997]
    [Pages 1495-1496]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Fast-Track Trade Legislation
    November 4, 1997

        This week Congress has the opportunity to renew decades of
    partnership between the Congress and the President in building America's
    economic future and security through trade.
        That partnership has been a key component of this Nation's
    successful economic strategy, which has given America its strongest
    economy in a generation and helped build this country into the world's
    greatest trading nation. By working together for over 60 years, Congress
    and the President have provided a foundation for prosperity at home
    while bolstering democracy, security, and living standards around the
    world.
        Our predecessors learned the bitter lessons of protectionism
    firsthand during the Great Depression and wisely set the world on a path
    toward mutual prosperity. Today, with our economy and our workers,
    farmers, and firms the envy of the world, America can lead from
    strength. In a world where economic activity in one corner of the globe
    can affect economic activity in every other, America's leadership in
    international trade is more vital than ever.
        Over the past 5 years, American exports have helped power and
    sustain a U.S. economy of unparalleled productivity, strength, and
    vitality. From year to year, we have added hundreds of thousands of
    high-wage, high-productivity jobs in our dynamic export industries.
        Our challenge today, and for our children, is to sustain that growth
    and our standard of living well into the next century, while promoting
    worker rights and environmental protection at home and abroad. To secure
    our economic future, we must take advantage of quickly expanding market
    opportunities around the globe that are available for America's workers
    and firms--if we seize them. Some 96 percent of the world's consumers
    live outside our borders.
        Here at home, we have the world's most open and competitive
    marketplace. Americans thrive on fair competition, as the sustained
    growth in our economy has shown. But in some foreign countries,
    particularly in the new, emerging marketplaces around the world,
    American products and services are not given a chance to compete. Now is
    the time for us to unlock those markets and make them as open to fair
    competition as our own.
        Legislation is pending before the Congress this week that will allow
    us to do that, while addressing important labor and environmental
    concerns. It makes Congress a vital partner in shaping our trade
    strategies and strengthens the hand of our negotiators. It tells our
    trading partners that America is united at the negotiating

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    table in securing the best possible market opportunities for our firms,
    farmers, and workers.
        American leadership has helped prompt tremendous progress towards
    democracy, stability, and economic security in our hemisphere and around
    the world. Our sustained efforts to bring about fair and open trade
    worldwide have been a major reason for our success.
        I am committed to pursuing not only more open markets for our
    companies and working people but more open societies that encourage
    respect for core labor standards and for the environment. To accomplish
    those goals, to build on our strength, and to sustain American
    leadership over the years to come, Congress must join me in a
    partnership for the future.