    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [January 9, 1999]
    [Pages 28-29]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 9, 1999

        Good morning. I'm speaking to you today from Solidarity House in
    Detroit, Michigan, where for more than half a century the members of the
    United Auto Workers have led the fight to improve the lives of America's
    working families. I've come to America's industrial heartland to talk
    about what we must do to strengthen our workers and manufacturers for
    the 21st century.
        Over the past 6 years, we've created the longest peacetime economic
    expansion in American history, with 17.7 million new jobs, the lowest
    combined unemployment and inflation rate in more than 30 years, the
    highest homeownership ever. Wages are going up at all income levels, and
    finally, the rising tide of our economy is lifting all boats.
        But today and in the years to come, America's prosperity depends
    upon the world's prosperity. In our new global economy, a financial
    crisis half a world away can be felt on factory floors here at home. For
    more than a year, a recession in other countries has forced them to cut
    imports of our goods, from cars to computers to jumbo jets, and to boost
    exports of their own products to our shores. After years of double-digit
    growth, U.S. manufacturing exports have slowed, and that's led to
    thousands of layoffs. These developments cause no small amount of
    concern.
        With millions of American jobs depending on foreign exports, we must
    help manufacturers find new markets and attract new customers for our
    goods overseas. That's why my next balanced budget will include a $108
    million initiative to spur nearly $2 billion in additional U.S. exports,
    which will sustain or create 16,000 high-wage American manufacturing
    jobs.
        We'll begin by boosting our support for our Import-Export Bank,
    which currently finances 10 percent of all U.S. capital equipment
    exports. For every dollar it spends, the bank generates some $16 in
    American exports. By expanding credit, we can foster billions of dollars
    in exports

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    that might have been deferred or canceled due to this financial crisis.
    We'll also expand the Department of Commerce's efforts to help small
    exporters to sell their goods in emerging markets such as China, Latin
    America, and Africa. And we'll help developing countries establish a
    legal and regulatory infrastructure to make it easier for our firms to
    export.
        Most of all, we must ensure that the new global economy works for
    working people. Working families around the world must be able to
    exercise core labor rights, benefits from legal standards for fair pay
    and reasonable hours and safe working conditions, and improve their
    lives through unions, just as generations of Americans have done through
    the UAW. The United States supports the International Labor Organization
    in its efforts to advance core labor rights, rights that are crucial to
    building a strong and stable global economy.
        That's why, in my balanced budget, America will provide, for the
    first time ever, up to $25 million to create a new arm of the
    International Labor Organization, to work with developing countries to
    put in place basic labor protections, safe workplaces, and the right to
    organize, so that workers everywhere can enjoy the advantages of a
    strong social safety net. We hope all countries will adopt and enforce
    the ILO's core labor standards and that developing countries will accept
    the unique assistance of the ILO. And I encourage other nations to join
    us in helping the International Labor Organization and insisting that
    trade and investment agreements reflect these core principles.
        Today, in the rooms and hallways of Solidarity House, you still can
    hear the echoes of the voices of the men and women whose sweat, energy,
    and vision lifted millions into our middle class and transformed America
    into the world's greatest force for peace, prosperity, and freedom. With
    them as our guide and our inspiration, we can and we will harness the
    power of our new global economy to build a bright future for all our
    people in the 21st century.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 2:40 p.m. on January 8 in the
    auditorium at Solidarity House in Detroit, MI, for broadcast at 10:06
    a.m. on January 9. The transcript was made available by the Office of
    the Press Secretary on January 8 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast.