    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 23, 2002]
    [Pages 483-484]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 23, 2002

        Good morning. This week I'm traveling in Latin America, visiting
    three strong American allies--Mexico, Peru, and El Salvador--to reaffirm
    the central importance I place on American relations with the rest of
    our hemisphere.
        Our country's future is closely tied to the success and security of
    our closest neighbors. Problems like drug trade and poverty produce
    terrible consequences for all our countries, and prosperity in our
    hemisphere will produce profound benefits for all our countries. The
    United States is strongly committed to helping build an entire
    hemisphere that lives in liberty and trades in freedom.
        The NAFTA trade agreement is a model for the world. NAFTA has
    created jobs and lifted lives in Mexico and Canada and the United
    States. During NAFTA's first 7 years, 15 million jobs were created in
    the United States. Our trade with Mexico now averages more than $650
    million a day. And that's why our border is one of the busiest in the
    world, and keeping trade and traffic moving freely is essential to
    America and American jobs.
        Yet, we must also prevent our terrorist enemies from using the
    openness of our society against us. Even our welcoming country must be
    able to shut its doors to terrorists and drugs and weapons at our own
    borders. So America, working closely with Canada and Mexico, has set a
    goal: We are working for a common border that is open to commerce and
    legitimate travel and closed to drug trafficking and terror. We want to
    speed the movement of legal goods and people across the border and stop
    the illegal movement of goods and people. And we will use the most up-
    to-date technology to achieve this goal.
        This week I saw some of that technology at work on a visit to a
    border near El Paso, Texas. X-ray machines are being used to thoroughly
    screen cargo more efficiently than ever before.
        During my visit to Mexico, President Fox and
    I announced an agreement to move toward a smart border between our
    countries. Through close cooperation and advanced technology, we'll make
    our shared border more open and more secure. We'll work with the Mexican
    Government to identify individuals who pose threats to North America
    before they arrive here. We will share technology to inspect traffic on
    cross-border rail lines and at major ports of entry. We will make sure
    that people with legitimate business who travel regularly across the
    border can cross easily, so border authorities can focus on greater

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    risks. And we will share information more quickly and efficiently with
    our Mexican friends.
        America's border with Mexico is a region of tremendous economic
    vitality, and that must not change. Both our nations benefit from close
    ties of family and culture and commerce. Our new approach to
    strengthened border security will preserve that openness and increase
    the safety of our country. America will defend ourselves against new
    threats at the same time that we build closer relationships with our
    neighbors.
        Thank you all for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:04 p.m. on March 20 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 23. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    March 22 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.