[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[September 3, 2003]
[Pages 1081-1083]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for Legislation to Implement the Chile
and Singapore Free Trade Agreements
September 3, 2003
Good afternoon. Thanks for coming. I'm honored to welcome you to the
White House, and I'm pleased that you could join us today as the United
States takes an important step to promote economic growth, to bring
lower prices to American consumers, and to generate high-wage jobs for
American workers.
With the agreements I sign today, America's economic relationships
with Chile and Singapore will be based on free trade, and we will be
bound even closer to two of our good friends. The benefits will flow to
all our countries. And by these agreements, we are moving toward a great
goal, a world that trades in freedom in the Western Hemisphere, in Asia,
and beyond. I want to thank all those who worked so hard to complete
these agreements. I commend the Members of the Congress for moving
quickly to approve this implementing legislation.
I'm pleased to be joined by members of my Cabinet who have worked
hard on these agreements and are working hard on future agreements to be
passed. Secretary of State Powell is doing a
fabulous job on behalf of the American people, Secretary Ann
Veneman of the Department of Agriculture,
Secretary Don Evans, Department of Commerce,
and our Trade Representative, Bob Zoellick.
I also appreciate the Members of Congress who are up here with me
today, Senators Hatch and Baucus; as well as Chairman Bill Thomas, David Dreier, and Phil
Crane from the House of
Representatives, good, strong Members of the Senate and the House who
have worked closely with this administration to create an environment
for economic growth and high-wage jobs through free trade.
I also welcome other Members of the Senate and the House who are
with us today. Thank you all for coming. The stage just wasn't big
enough for you. [Laughter]
I appreciate Ambassador Bianchi from
Chile and also Ambassador Heng Chee Chan from
Singapore. I appreciate you all coming. I want to thank the
representatives of the business community who are here with us today.
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We support free trade in America because it is vital to the creation
of jobs. It's vital to the success of our economy. Exports accounted for
roughly one quarter--one quarter--of our economy's growth in the 1990s.
Jobs and exporting plants pay wages that average up to 18 percent
more than jobs in nonexporting plants. Over the past decade, NAFTA and
the Uruguay Round have raised the standards of living of the average
American family of four by up to $2,000 a year. Free trade is important
for the American citizen. The continued advance of free trade is
essential to this Nation's prosperity.
The United States also supports free trade because a world that
trades in freedom will grow in prosperity and in security. For
developing nations, free trade tied to economic reform has helped to
lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. The growth of
economic freedom and ownership in developing countries creates the
habits of liberty and creates the pressure for democracy and political
reform. Economic integration through trade can also foster political
cooperation by promoting peace between nations. As free trade expands
across the Earth, the realm of human freedom expands with it.
When Congress passed trade promotion authority last year, I promised
to use that tool aggressively to open up new markets for American
exporters and to help create high-paying jobs for American workers, and
we moved. I want to thank Ambassador Zoellick and his team from all across our administration for
getting to work right away, and we've seen results.
The free trade agreement with Chile is our first ever with a South
American country. The agreement will benefit many American industries,
including agriculture and construction equipment, autos and auto parts,
computers, medical equipment, paper products, and financial services.
American-made heavy machinery, such as a motor grader, costs $11,220
more in Chile because of extra tariffs. If that machinery were made in
Canada or the European Union, it would carry no tariff. Our trade
agreement with Chile will eliminate these kinds of tariffs, and our
manufacturers will be able to compete on a level playing field. And as
we sell that heavy equipment into Chile, somebody is more likely to find
work in America in a good, high-paying job.
The agreement with Chile also includes new protections for
intellectual property, a secure legal framework for U.S. investors, and
strong provisions for protecting labor and the environment. For decades,
Chile has proven the power of open trade and sound policies. It has
become one of the strongest economies in the developing world. By
establishing free trade with the world's largest economy, Chile will
have the opportunity to advance even further and to help make the entire
region more prosperous.
The agreement between the United States and Singapore is also
historic, the first between the United States and an Asia-Pacific
country. Singapore is already America's 12th-largest trading partner and
imports a full range of American products, from machine parts and
computers to agricultural products. This agreement will increase access
to Singapore's dynamic markets for America's exporters and service
providers and investors. The agreement contains state-of-the-art
protections for Internet commerce and intellectual property that will
help drive growth and innovation in our technology sectors. There are
also strong labor and environmental protections in our agreement with
Singapore.
I signed this legislation today fully expecting to sign many more
free trade agreements. We're now negotiating with Australia and Morocco,
five nations in Central America, and the Southern African Customs Union.
Soon we will begin negotiations with Bahrain and the Dominican Republic.
We're working with 33 other nations in our hemisphere to create the Free
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Trade Area of the Americas. We're encouraging the free flow of commerce
and investment among our partners in APEC and ASEAN and hope to build on
the success of our trade agreements with Jordan and Israel by
establishing a U.S.-Middle East free trade area within a decade to
create new opportunity and new hope in a region that needs both.
The greatest gains from world trade will come from completing the
World Trade Organization's global negotiations. We made good progress
since the negotiations started nearly 2 years ago, and WTO members can
build on this progress next week in Cancun, Mexico. Completing the
global negotiations by the 2005 deadline is essential, because opening
global markets is a pathway to economic success for rich and poor
nations alike. The spread of free trade reflects this Nation's
convictions. We believe in the dignity of every human being. We believe
in freedom.
Free trade also serves the interests of the United States. It serves
in the interest of our workers. We will benefit from more trading
partners around the world. We want our partners to grow in wealth. We
want them to grow in freedom. Chile and Singapore are examples of
economic liberty and demonstrate the great promise of trade. I'm honored
to sign into law these two pieces of legislation implementing our free
trade agreements with our friends Chile and Singapore.
Note: The President spoke at 2:25 p.m. in the East Room at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Chile's Ambassador, Andres
Bianchi; and Singapore's Ambassador, Heng Chee Chan. H.R. 2738, the
United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, approved
September 3, was assigned Public Law No. 108-77. H.R. 2739, the United
States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, also approved
September 3, was assigned Public Law No. 108-78. The Office of the Press
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.