[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

[[Page 1083]]

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.