[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 17 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Pages 640-642]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Summit of the Americas Working Session in Quebec

April 21, 2001

    Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Amigo y amigos, it's an honor to be 
here. First, Mr. Prime Minister, I want to thank you for your warm 
hospitality, and I want to thank all those folks in your government who 
have worked hard to make this conference a success. My fellow Presidents 
and Prime Ministers and leaders of our hemisphere's 34 democracies, it 
is a great honor to be here.
    We have a great vision before us, a fully democratic hemisphere 
bound together by goodwill and free trade. That's a tall order. It is a 
chance of a lifetime. It is a responsibility we all share.
    Quebec City is a fitting place for us to begin. Many of the great 
cultures that have shaped our hemisphere converge in this city. Before 
Champlain ever sailed the St. Lawrence he sailed the Caribbean, visiting 
Mexico and Colombia, Puerto Rico and Panama. As a matter of fact, he was 
one of the first to propose a canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific so 
that trade may prosper. During the 400 years since Champlain's travels, 
our hemisphere, united by geography, has too often--too often--been 
separated by history of rivalry and resentment.
    But we have entered a new era. The interests of my nation, of all 
our nations, are served by strong, healthy democratic neighbors, and are 
served best by lasting friendships in our own neighborhood.
    My country, more than ever, feels the ties of kinship, commerce, and 
culture that unite us. And I'm proud to have the privilege so early in 
my administration to meet with all the leaders of this hemisphere's 
democratic countries.
    Our task is to take the vital principles shaped at Miami and 
Santiago and translate them into actions that directly benefit the 
people we answer to. I'm here to offer my own ideas. I'm here to learn 
and to listen from voices--to those inside this hall and to those 
outside this hall who want to join us in constructive dialog.
    The single most important thing we will do here is to reaffirm that 
this summit is a gathering of, by, and for democracies, and only 
democracies. Today, freedom embraces the entire hemisphere, except for 
one country. And we look forward to the day when all this hemisphere's 
peoples will know the benefits and dignity of freedom. Jose Marti said 
it best: La libertad no es nogociable.
    We also understand that democracy is a journey, not a destination. 
Each nation here,

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including the United States, must work to make freedom succeed. 
Elections are the foundation of democracy, but nations need to build on 
this foundation with other building blocks such as a strong judiciary, 
freedom to speak and write as you wish, efficient banking and social 
services, quality schools, secure ownership of land, the ability to 
start and own a business. We must strengthen this architecture of 
democracy for the benefit of all our people.
    This is the spirit behind the American Fellows exchange program that 
I announce here today. This program will sponsor one-year exchanges of 
outstanding civil servants among nations throughout the Americas. We'll 
also provide resources to help reform and modernize judicial 
institutions, protect basic human rights, root out corruption and other 
threats to the institutions that sustain freedom.
    Our hemisphere's support for democracy and freedom is principled, 
but it is also pragmatic. Freedom is not only a right, it is also our 
best weapon against tyranny and poverty. Some complain that despite our 
democratic gains, there is still too much poverty in equality. Some even 
say that things are getting worse, not better. For too many, this may be 
true. But the solution does not lie in statism or protectionism. The 
solution lies in more freedom.
    And that is why we seek freedom not only for people living within 
our borders but also for commerce moving across our borders. Free and 
open trade creates new jobs and new income. It lifts the lives of all 
our people, applying the power of markets to the needs of the poor. It 
spurs the process of economic and legal reform. And open trade 
reinforces the habit of liberty that sustains democracy over the long 
haul.
    The United States will work for open trade at every opportunity. We 
will seek bilateral free trade agreements with friends and partners, 
such as the one we aim to complete this year with Chile. We will work 
for open trade globally through negotiations in the World Trade 
Organization. And here in the Americas, we will work hard to build an 
entire hemisphere that trades in freedom.
    The history of our times is clear: Progress is found in pluralism; 
modernization is found in markets. Free enterprise requires liberty and 
enlarges liberty. Our commitment to open trade must be matched by a 
strong commitment to protecting our environment and improving labor 
standards.
    Yet, these concerns must not be an excuse for self-defeating 
protectionism. We know from NAFTA that open trade works. Since 1994, 
total trade among Canada and Mexico and the United States has more than 
doubled. NAFTA has given consumers in all three nations more choices at 
lower prices. And it has created high quality, high--good wage jobs from 
the Yukon to the Yucatan.
    The time has come to extend the benefits of free trade to all our 
peoples and to achieve a free trade agreement for the entire hemisphere. 
Our challenge is to energize our negotiations on a Free Trade Area for 
the Americas so that they can be completed no later than the year 2005.
    In my first speech to our Congress, I made clear that achieving U.S. 
trade promotion authority was among my top priorities. I reinforced that 
message just 2 weeks ago, when I met to discuss trade issues with 
congressional leaders. When I return to Washington, I will put forward a 
set of principles that will be the framework for more intense 
consultations with Congress. I'm committed to attaining trade promotion 
authority before the end of the year. I'm confident that I will get it. 
Partnership in trade is fundamental to the hemisphere's well-being. But 
we know it is not, by itself, sufficient to guarantee the quality of 
life we seek for ourselves and for our children.
    Too many people in our hemisphere grow, sell, and use illegal drugs. 
I want to make this clear: The United States is responsible to fight 
demand for drugs within our own borders. We have a serious obligation to 
do so. And we will expand our efforts, with meaningful resources, to 
work with producer and transit countries to fortify their democratic 
institutions, to promote sustainable development, and to fight the 
supply of drugs at the source. This is a message I carried yesterday to 
the leaders of the Andean countries. The United States so appreciates 
the difficult challenge they face in fighting drugs and stands ready to 
be a consistent and true partner.

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    We're also committed to deepening our cooperation throughout the 
hemisphere in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS, responding to natural 
disasters, and making sure the benefits of globalization are felt in 
even the smallest of economies. These goals are at the heart of the 
Third Border Initiative that we have launched with the countries of the 
Caribbean.
    We're committed to protecting the hemisphere's natural resources. 
That's why I'm committed to using the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 
to help countries redirect debt repayments toward local projects that 
will protect biodiversity and tropical forests. As the program 
demonstrates success, I'm prepared to work with Congress to boost the 
funding.
    We're committed to making education a center piece of our economic 
agenda because learning and literacy are the foundations for development 
and democracy. The United States will sponsor the creation of 
Hemispheric Centers for Teacher Excellence. These centers will provide 
teacher training for improving literacy and basic education, both in 
person and over the Internet.
    And finally, we will sponsor the creation of the new Latin E-
Business Fellowship Program. This will give young professionals from 
throughout the Americas the opportunity to learn about information 
technology by spending time with United States companies. It will 
empower them with the skills and background to bring the benefits of 
these technologies to their own societies.
    On the day I became President I talked of liberty as a seed upon the 
wind taking root in many nations. For over two decades, our hemisphere 
has been fertile ground for freedom. So many men and women have left the 
shadow of oppression and fear. And for coming so far, this is not the 
time to grow timid or weary. Freedom is still our best weapon against 
tyranny and want. In so many places in this hemisphere liberty has been 
won. Now the blessings of liberty must be extended to every life.
    When we reach this goal by our unified efforts, we will inspire the 
world by our example. Together, let us go forward to build an age of 
prosperity in a hemisphere of liberty. Together, let us use this Summit 
of the Americas to launch the century of the Americas.
    Juntos podemos. Juntos lo haremos. God bless the Americas, and God 
bless her people.

Note: The President spoke at 9:15 a.m. in the ballroom at the Hilton 
Quebec. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Jean Chretien of 
Canada. The President also referred to the Tropical Forest Conservation 
Act of 1998, Public Law No. 105-214.