[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[March 30, 2001]
[Pages 349-351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Fernando Henrique 
Cardoso of Brazil and an Exchange 
With Reporters
March 30, 2001

    President Bush. Thank you all for coming. It's my honor to welcome 
our friend from Brazil. Mr. President, we are honored--we're honored to 
have you here. We've got a lot in common. Brazil is a vast nation. It's 
a democracy. It's a country with a huge economic potential. It's a 
Government run by a good man.
    We've had a good, frank discussion about a lot of subjects. There's 
no question in my mind that we'll have good relations over the next 
years. And there's no question in my mind that as we cooperate together, 
the people of both our countries will benefit.
    We've discussed a lot of topics, including trade. We've agreed to 
work closely together to see if we can't come up with a way for our 
nations to continue to interface with each other. This country invests a 
lot of money in Brazil, because Brazil's a safe place to invest money. 
And we're going to keep it that way, keep our relationship strong.
    So Mr. President, welcome, glad to have you here.
    President Cardoso. Thank you very much, sir. Let me say that I am 
very glad to be here, be with you. I knew your father. Now I'm very glad 
to see the way you are. As I said yesterday, I will put--take out my 
glasses to see your eyes, because you said that you would like to see my 
eyes directly.
    President Bush. That's right. [Laughter]
    President Cardoso. I must say that it was a very pleasant 
conversation about several issues. And I do agree with you, sir, on the 
sense that Brazil and the United States have to be close and close not 
just in terms of trade but in terms of the hemisphere in general, in 
terms of security, in terms of democracy. We have shared values; so why 
not work together?

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    And also because we know our responsibilities across the world. We 
know that the world is uneven, and it's necessary to work--to do a lot 
of things to offer more perspective to the world, to the hemisphere, to 
Africa and other parts. And the United States and Brazil can work 
together. We will work together.
    I also see that you are a very informal kind of people, as I am, so 
I am very glad.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    President Cardoso. If you allow me now, I speak a little bit in 
Portuguese because there are lots of Brazilians over there.

[At this point, President Cardoso spoke in Portuguese, and a translation 
was not provided.]

    President Bush. We'll have one question from the American press, one 
question from the Brazilian press, and then everybody can go home for 
the weekend.

Slobodan Milosevic

    Q. Mr. President, there seems to be an effort underway in Belgrade 
to arrest Mr. Milosevic. Does the United States support this? Will the 
United States contribute in any way to getting it done? What do you 
think should happen to him?
    President Bush. Well, we've always said that Mr. Milosevic ought to 
be brought to justice. I had a visit with the Secretary of State about this very matter. We're watching it very 
carefully. We will cooperate in any way that we're asked to do so.

Brazil-U.S. Trade

    Q. Mr. President, in terms of trade, have you, Mr. President, 
President Cardoso and President Bush, have you been able--do you think 
that you are going to be able to bridge the differences between the two 
countries? Are you ready as free traders to fight the protectionists in 
each of your respective countries?
    President Bush. Absolutely, we can work together. We had a very good 
discussion about trade. The President and I have made a decision that 
we'll work closely to iron out any differences that may exist. 
Obviously, each of us have got different issues that we have to deal 
with within our own borders. I'm mindful of that; so is the President. 
But the thing that's important is the spirit of cooperation. There are 
no differences when it comes to the desire to cooperate. I'm confident 
we'll have a very fruitful relationship. It's in our Nation's best 
interests that we have close relations with Brazil.
    For those of you who have never heard me say this, good relations in 
our neighborhood is not going to be an afterthought for our foreign 
policy in America. The best foreign policy starts with making sure that 
relations in our own hemisphere are very positive. And the fact that the 
President would come here to Washington and have a fruitful dialog with 
me is an indication that not only are we interested but so is the 
President. For that, I'm very grateful.
    President Cardoso. That's true. I do agree with the President. I 
believe that--we have, of course, from time to time, some difference. 
That's normal between nations. Yesterday the President said, American--
to be American first. Well, I would say the same, to be Brazil first. 
That's normal. But then let's see how to cooperate.
    And the point is that regarding trade--you asked what about trade--
our problems are going--are being discussed in several meetings. We have 
been making progress toward a more free trade. Of course we're going to 
have to take into account the situation in Brazil, Brazilians' 
interests, and we'll have to see how to solve, eventually, what can be a 
conflict of interest, but very localized interest, very specific 
interest. We cannot generalize as if American and Brazil will clash.
    No, by being one point to have the difference. So let's try to work 
together to solve the difference. That's the way.

Note: The President spoke at 2:15 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his

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remarks, he referred to former President Slobodan Milosevic of the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.