[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[July 21, 2005]
[Pages 1256-1262]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free
Trade Agreement
July 21, 2005
Thank you all. Sientese. Thank you very much for the warm welcome.
Thank you to the Hispanic Alliance for Free Trade for inviting me here
today. And thanks to the Organization for American States for providing
this fantastic forum.
What a beautiful building. What makes it even more beautiful is that
the Organization of American States promotes democracy and freedom.
There's nothing more beautiful than freedom. And I appreciate
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your commitment to democracy and freedom. And I appreciate the chance to
come to talk about a treaty, CAFTA, that will not only provide more
prosperity in our hemisphere; it's not only a good deal for American
workers and businessowners and farmers, this treaty will help spread
democracy and peace.
Thanks for letting me come by. Raul, thank
you. Muchas gracias. It's good to see you again. Raul is such a strong
leader in the Latino community in my State of Texas that he had the high
honor of having a school named for him. I can't thank you enough for
being the leader you have been. And thank you and Alonzo for inviting me here today and for helping us get the
bill passed.
For those of you who are members of the Hispanic Alliance for Free
Trade, I want to remind you, it's one thing to come and listen to a
President speak; it's another thing to work the Halls of Congress, so
people speak by their votes, people that listen to you in a concrete
way. So thanks for coming. Thanks for being a part of passing CAFTA.
I want to thank the Secretary General, General Insulza. Thank you, sir, for you. I want to thank the Vice
President, Samuel Lewis, of the
Republic of Panama. I appreciate the members of the diplomatic corps who
are here. I particularly want to thank the diplomats from Central
America and the Dominican Republic. I urge you to work the bill. I urge
you to let people know the consequence of passage and the consequences
of failure. It's important for people to understand the stakes.
I want to thank the permanent representatives to the Organization of
American States. I want to thank my friend Ambassador Juan Maisto--Embajador. Thank you, Juan, for being here.
I appreciate the members of my Cabinet who are working hard on this
piece of legislation. We got the Secretary of Agriculture, Mike
Johanns, who is with us. Secretary Carlos
Gutierrez is with us here. Ambassador
Rob Portman, who is the point person
from my administration on this important piece of legislation. They're
working hard; I'm working hard.
I want to thank the people from the United States Congress who've
joined us. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida, I'm glad you're here.
Thanks for coming. Randy Neugebauer from
west Texas; thank you for coming, Randy. Henry
Cuellar, de south Texas, del sur de Tejas; and finally, Charlie
Dent, thanks for coming. I'm proud you all
are here. Thanks for lending your support to this important occasion.
I've made my decision to support this bill because I think it's in the
best interest of the country.
As a matter of fact, I make a lot of decisions as your President. I
made one the other night, when I announced my nomination of Judge John
Roberts to the Supreme Court. I
appreciate so very much the reception he's receiving in the United
States Senate. I want to thank the Senators from both political parties
who are giving Judge Roberts a chance to talk about his heart, to talk
about his philosophy.
He is a person that will make all
Americans proud to be a member of the Supreme Court. He is a--he's got
the experience, wisdom, fairness, and civility to be a really good
judge. He has a profound respect for the rule of law. He respects the
liberties guaranteed in our Constitution to all Americans, from--people
from all walks of life. He'll strictly apply the Constitution. He's not
going to legislate from the bench.
The United States Senate can show our country that it's able to have
a civil debate on this very important nomination, not only a civil
debate but a timely debate. It's important for Judge Roberts to be confirmed by the time the Court reconvenes
in October. I thank the Senate for their action today. I urge the Senate
to do its duty to have a fair, timely hearing and get this good man
confirmed in time for the October reconvening of the Court.
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We'll be talking about our economy and liberty in our neighborhood
here in a minute, but I want to remind you all, want to remind leaders
from our country and of course the leaders from other countries that are
here, that we're living in historic times. And one of the reasons I say
that is we're still at war, see. And it's important for all of us who
love freedom to understand that this is a war being fought against
ideologues that use terror to advance an agenda. This is a war against
killers, coldblooded killers who embrace an ideology of hatred. Their
vision of the world is the opposite of our vision of the world. We
believe in human rights, human dignity, minority rights, and religious
rights. We believe in universal freedoms.
They have a different view of the world. They don't believe in
women's rights. They have usurped a great religion and defined it in
their terms. And if you happen to live in a society in which they're
dominant, like the Taliban was in Afghanistan, and if you don't adhere
to their view of religion, you're punished. They have territorial
designs. They have the desire to use their terrorist techniques to
frighten us. In other words, they understand when they kill in cold
blood, it ends up on our TV screens. And they're trying to shake our
will. And they're trying to create vacuums into which their ideology can
move.
They don't understand our country, though. They don't understand
that when it comes to the defense of universal freedoms, this country
won't be frightened. We will defend ourselves by staying on the offense
against these killers. We will find them overseas so we don't have to
face them here at home. And at the same time, we understand that to
defeat an ideology of hate, you work to spread an ideology of hope. And
there's nothing more hopeful than a system which recognizes the rights
of people, in which government is accountable to the people. And that
system is democracy, based upon universal freedom.
We are laying the foundation for peace for generations to come. As
we fight the terrorists and defend this homeland, we're also working to
make sure this economy is strong and vibrant, and we've got reason for
optimism. The tax relief we delivered is working. This economy of ours
has overcome a lot, and now it's the fastest-growing economy of any
major industrialized nation in the world. Inflation is low. We're well
ahead of reaching our goal to cut our deficit in half by 2009. We've had
25 consecutive months of job gains. The unemployment rate is down to 5
percent. More people are working today in America than ever before in
our Nation's history.
And one of the reasons why is because this administration recognizes
that the way you grow an economy is you stimulate the entrepreneurial
sector. Government doesn't create wealth. Government creates an
environment in which the entrepreneur is willing to take risk. And I'm
pleased to report the entrepreneurial spirit in our Latino communities
across the country is strong, vibrant, and doing well.
We believe in encouraging ownership. The more people own something,
the better off this country will be. We want more people owning their
own business. Because of the vibrancy of our economy, the Hispanic
unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent, down from 8.4 percent 2
years ago. More people are working. More Hispanics own their home than
ever before in our Nation's history, and that's great news for the
American society. SBA loans to Hispanic-owned businesses are up by--
doubled since I took office. In other words, there is a role for
Government to help. But the Hispanic community is an entrepreneurial
community to begin with, and it's responding, and it's really good news
for the country.
Therefore, it doesn't surprise me to learn that many Hispanic
entrepreneurs and businessowners and leaders understand the importance
of expanding trade within our hemisphere. And that is why you have
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come to lend your support to the Central American-Dominican Republic
Free Trade Agreement, and I'm grateful. By eliminating barriers to
exports from our country, CAFTA will help keep the U.S. economy growing.
In other words, this is a jobs program. This will help jobs.
By opening up Central America and the Dominican Republic to U.S.
trade and investment, CAFTA will help those countries develop a better
life for their citizens. That seems to make sense to me. I mean, if
you're living in a neighborhood, you want your neighbors doing well. If
you're a good neighbor, you say, ``Gosh, I hope everybody in the
neighborhood is succeeding.'' And by helping those economies improve,
CAFTA will help the nations strengthen their democracies. And that's in
our national security interest. That's makes us all more secure.
So this bill is more than a trade bill. This bill is a commitment of
freedom-loving nations to advance peace and prosperity throughout the
Western Hemisphere. And that's important for Members of Congress to
understand.
CAFTA begins by ensuring that free trade is fair trade. I mean--you
know, I traveled the country quite extensively in the recent past and
said, ``I'm a free trader.'' But I reminded people in our country, I'm
also for fair trade. It's one thing to advocate free trade. I believe
the Government has a role to make sure that trade is fair for all of us.
In other words, we want people treating us the way we treat them.
It turns out that exports from Central America into the United
States face almost no tariffs. Now, I don't see how a Member of Congress
can go back to his or her district and say this is a good deal for
America, when our exports to Central America face hefty tariffs. In
other words, if you're for free trade you ought to be insisting that the
trade be fair. And the only thing that makes the trade fair to me, seems
like, is to say to our friends in Central America, ``Just treat us the
way we treat you.''
And that's what CAFTA does. It eliminates tariffs on our goods and
services going into Central America. In other words, they treat us the
way we treat them. It levels the playing field, which makes this a good
deal for America's farmers and small-business owners and manufacturers.
Last year, United States businesses exported more than $15 billion
of goods to Central America. Now, when I say ``export goods,'' people
have got to understand that means somebody is more likely to have a job.
It means somebody is producing something that somebody wants in Central
America, which is part of the employment picture in our country. Our
business leaders say that CAFTA would significantly increase exports to
the region. That's why I say this is a job program. As exports go up,
somebody is either more likely to find a job or somebody is more likely
to retain a job.
Take this example--California's Haas Automation Company. It is the
largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States. They strongly
support this piece of legislation. It says that with CAFTA, it expects
to increase sales to Central America tenfold. In other words, they see
business opportunity, which means job opportunity for somebody who's
helping Haas Automation manufacture equipment that somebody in Central
America wants to purchase.
Again, another company example here. It's called Bush Hog. I don't
know why they would have put this example in this speech. [Laughter] I
hope it wasn't named after me. [Laughter] But it is an Alabama company
that makes farm equipment like backhoes and tillers and rotary cutters.
And the folks at Bush Hog say that farmers in Central America would find
their high-quality, made-in-the-United States machinery attractive if
the tariffs on that equipment would be eliminated. So when you hear me
say ``tariff,'' that really means it's pricing our equipment out of the
reach of the market. That's what a tariff does. It's like a tax.
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So the good folks at Bush Hog manufacture something somebody wants
to buy, but it's too pricey, not because of the cost of the product they
produce but because of Government action. And so the purpose of NAFTA
[CAFTA]* is to remove the trade barriers. Now, we've had people look at
this piece of legislation, and the National Association of
Manufacturers, people that represent people who manufacture something
here in America, say that CAFTA would increase our manufacture exports
to the region by a billion dollars, a 7-percent increase. That's good
news for the manufacturing sector of the American economy.
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*White House correction.
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The American Farm Bureau--they represent farmers, needless to say--
estimate that by the time CAFTA is fully implemented, it would increase
U.S. farm exports by as much as $1.5 billion. Let me talk about farming
real quick. We produce more than we consume in the United States. And
therefore, it makes sense for Government policy and for our Secretary of
Agriculture to work to find markets for that which we produce. And if
the products we produce are taxed via tariff, it makes those products
more expensive than need be. And therefore, by reducing tariffs on
agricultural exports from the United States, it opened up markets for
our ranchers and farmers.
The U.S. International Trade Commission says that by passing CAFTA,
we will reduce trade deficit by more than $750 million. So, in other
words, this bill is good for the overall financial picture of the United
States. That's why the United States House of Representatives, next
week, ought to understand the economic wisdom of this bill and open up
the market of 44 million consumers to U.S. businesses, U.S. farms, and
U.S. manufacturers.
CAFTA includes strong enforcement provisions that go further than
previous trade agreements. To protect our textile workers from unfair
competition, CAFTA gives our Customs agents the ability to conduct
surprise visits on Central American factories. It's one way you make
sure trade is fair, you're being treated fairly.
To promote a cleaner environment, CAFTA includes provisions that
will monitor and enforce environmental progress. To ensure that Central
American factories abide by acceptable labor standards, CAFTA insists on
stiff fines for violations. And the United States Government has
committed about $180 million over 5 years to ensure that labor laws are
enforced. CAFTA is a trade agreement that will be enforced, and we've
got the money in the budget to do so.
CAFTA will help the nations of Central America deliver prosperity
and opportunity for their citizens. Let me repeat that. CAFTA is not
only good for us; it's good for their partners. That's a fair deal.
That's what you want. You want an agreement to be balanced and fair. We
want the agreement to be good for us, but we also want the agreement to
be good for our friends. It's a lousy deal if it's a zero-sum deal. This
is a good deal for CAFTA nations.
CAFTA will help nations attract investment they need for their
economies to grow. In other words, with a stable trading agreement with
the United States, it will make it much easier for investment to flow to
our CAFTA friends. And investment means growth and opportunity. That's
what that means.
By reducing tariffs on our products, CAFTA will allow consumers in
their countries to enjoy goods and services at better prices. If a
country doesn't produce a lot of a particular product and they need it
and it's got a tariff on it, it means the consumers pay an additional
price. By reducing tariffs, it means that consumers in the CAFTA nations
will be able to more likely purchase that which they want at a better
price. It seems like to make sense to me that if you lower the cost of
food products coming from the United States
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to CAFTA, that's beneficial for a mom trying to buy food for her child.
This is consumer-friendly in the CAFTA countries.
By lowering tariffs, CAFTA will give Central American businesses
less costly access to high-quality machinery. In other words, it's going
to be beneficial for the small-business owner or the large-business
owner, the person who employs people in the CAFTA country to be able to
buy machinery necessary to stay competitive.
By bringing economic growth--in other words, these are all elements
of creating growth, increasing consumer demand by lowering prices,
increasing investment, make it more likely people will be able to
purchase the equipment they need to stay competitive. All this leads to
more growth, which will help contribute to a vibrant middle class. And
that's what we want in our neighborhood. We want there to be prosperity.
We want people to have a better chance at a better life. It's in our
Nation's advantage that prosperity grow throughout the neighborhood.
Elected leaders of Central America know that by opening up their
nations' markets to competition, they're helping to raise standards for
their own businesses and farmers. In other words, if you protect
industries, it tends to become noncompetitive. It's very important for
our societies to remain productive, and productivity increases happen
because of competition.
By giving their garmentmakers an incentive to use U.S. fabrics and
materials, our partners are creating really a regional partnership that
will help both of us, both the CAFTA nations and the Dominican Republic
and the United States, compete with Asian producers that are using Asian
materials. And that's important for Members of Congress to understand,
that if we want to--this agreement will help us remain competitive with
Asian producers on certain products.
People of Central America have made their choice. They know their
economic future lies in free and fair trade with the United States.
They've said, ``We want to join with the United States.'' And that's
important. When this bill is passed, this country will be sending a
strong message: We want to join with you as well. You want to join with
us in free and fair trade; we want to join with you. And it's that
alliance of interest that will make this neighborhood better. And it's
important for Members of Congress to understand that.
We cannot and should not reject these young democracies. We must
support democracy in our neighborhood. And CAFTA will strengthen
democracies. CAFTA nations a while ago were struggling with dictatorship
and tyranny and civil strife. It wasn't all that long ago that a lot of
our foreign policy was occupied by actions that had been taken by
governments in Central America. Today, I'm more than proud to welcome
democracies to the Oval Office. These are peaceful countries. These are
freedom-loving countries.
The leaders of these nations have made impressive gains toward
establishing--firmly establishing democracy. But these gains cannot be
taken for granted. And that's important for Members of the United States
House of Representatives to understand clearly. Democracy cannot be
taken for granted. We must provide the foundation for democracy through
smart policy. CAFTA's smart policy. It's good trade policy. It makes it
more likely somebody is going to be able to work in America when we pass
CAFTA, but it also helps the neighborhood.
You see, there's no democracy--those new democracies in Central
America still face forces that oppose democratic government. Make no
mistake about it: There are people in our own neighborhood that oppose
democracy; they're trying to separate our friends from the United States
by sewing resentment and anger. People of this region need to see that
democracy produces more than just free elections, that democracy
produces measurable progress in their lives. As the oldest democracy in
this
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hemisphere, we have a moral obligation and a vital interest in helping
the Central American economies and societies succeed. And therefore,
CAFTA needs to be passed.
By strengthening democracy in the region, CAFTA will lead to greater
security and stability. I appreciate so very much the hard work of the
Central American leadership. I've had a chance to visit with these good
folks. As a matter of fact, they've been coming to America quite often,
and I've been going there sometimes. And that's important. That's what
friends do. They strategize. They talk. The American people have got to
understand, we've got friends in the leadership in Central America. And
they're working hard to punish corruption and keep the streets safe.
They're working hard to make sure they have a society that respects
human rights and the rule of law. We're working together to nail the
drug traffickers and terrorists and criminal gangs who feed on
lawlessness and instability.
CAFTA will strengthen those who are taking on the forces of
radicalism and violence in this hemisphere, and it will make our country
more secure. As former Governor of a State that shares a long border
with Mexico, I know first hand the importance of improving ties with our
neighbors. It's really important that we've got strong ties in a
neighborhood in which you live. I understand the importance of removing
trade barriers that make it difficult for our businesses and farmers to
compete.
This bill that the House of Representatives will be voting on next
week is pro-jobs, pro-growth, and pro-democracy. It is important that we
pass this piece of legislation. And I want to thank you all for giving
me a chance to come and talk about its importance. And I encourage you
to keep doing what you're doing, is talking to Members of the United
States Congress and remind them, set aside partisan politics for the
good of the United States of America. It's in our economic interests,
it's in our national security interests that the House of
Representatives join the United States Senate and pass that CAFTA bill,
which I'll proudly sign on behalf of America's workers and small
businesses and those of us who love and cherish democracy.
May God bless you.
Note: The President spoke at 10:12 a.m. at the Organization of American
States. In his remarks, he referred to Raul Yzaguirre, former president
and chief executive officer, National Council of LaRaza; Anne Alonzo,
co-founder, Hispanic Alliance for Free Trade; and Secretary General Jose
Miguel Insulza of the Organization of American States. The Office of the
Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these
remarks.