[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 50 (Monday, December 17, 2007)]
[Pages 1588-1591]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks With President Alan Garcia Perez of Peru on Signing the United 
States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

December 14, 2007

    President Bush. Thank you. Thank you, please be seated. Good 
afternoon. Buenas tardes. President Garcia, thank you for being here.
    Peru and the United States are strong partners, and today, we're 
making that partnership even stronger. In a few moments, I'll have the 
honor of signing a bill that approves the vital free trade agreement 
between Peru and the United States. The bill will help increase 
opportunities for workers, ranchers, farmers, and businessmen in both 
our countries.
    I want to thank the many Members of Congress, both in the House and 
the Senate, who came together to get this bill passed. I particularly 
want to thank the Members of Congress who are here today: the ranking 
member of the Ways and Means, Jim McCrery from Louisiana; Wally Herger 
from California; and Kevin Brady from the great State of Texas. 
[Laughter]
    I appreciate members of my Cabinet who have joined us today: the 
Secretary of State, Condi Rice; Hank Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury; 
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez; Ambassador Sue Schwab, USTR; 
former Ambassador--I guess you still call him Ambassador, but he used to 
work for us--Rob Portman is here as well. [Laughter] And the reason the 
members of the Cabinet are here is because this administration is firmly 
committed to free and fair trade. We believe it's in the interest of the 
United States.
    I want to thank John Walters as well, who is with us today. He's a 
member of the Cabinet--there he is. I want to thank Chuck Connor, Acting 
Secretary of the Agriculture; Steve Preston, U.S. Business 
Administration.
    I welcome our Peruvian guests. I thank the Ambassadors from 
countries in our neighborhood; I'm glad you're here--Ambassadors from El 
Salvador, Honduras, Chile, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Dominican 
Republic. I thank the Ambassadors and other representatives from 
countries who have pending free trade agreements before the United 
States Congress: the Ambassador from Colombia, Panama, and as well the 
Republic of Korea.
    I thank those from the--who care about trade, who've joined us 
today. I appreciate your hard work on getting these agreements signed 
and ratified. And you know what I know, that when we extend trade, when 
we expand trade, America advances our deepest values as well as our 
economic interests. Opening markets has helped expand democracy. 
Openings markets helps expand and strengthen the rule of law. And 
opening markets helps lift millions out of poverty.
    Open markets contribute to America's prosperity. Exports now account 
for a larger percentage of our GDP than at any other time in our 
history, which means that trade

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is a key driver for economic growth. Exports support higher paying jobs 
for our workers. This week, we learned that over the 12 months ending in 
October, U.S. exports increased by 13 percent.
    The bill I signed today advances free and fair trade with one of the 
fastest growing economies in the Western Hemisphere. Last year, Peru's 
economy expanded by more than 7\1/2\ percent, and I congratulate the 
President--wish he'd lend us a couple of percent. [Laughter] It's 
impossible to do. But trade will help growth. It will help the U.S. 
grow, and it will help Peru grow. Over the past 3 years, trade between 
our two nations has more than doubled to nearly $9 billion. With this 
free trade agreement, we will expand our trade even more and create new 
opportunities for citizens in both countries.
    The agreement creates new opportunities here in the United States. 
Once implemented, it will immediately eliminate duties on about 80 
percent of U.S. consumer and industrial goods sold in Peru. It will 
eliminate all remaining duties within 10 years. Once implemented, the 
agreement will also immediately eliminate duties on more than two-thirds 
of U.S. agricultural exports to Peru and eliminate most of the remaining 
duties over the following 5 to 15 years.
    This agreement will also create new opportunities for the people of 
Peru. This is good for the people of Peru. After all, the agreement 
locks in access for Peruvian businesses, small-business owners, and 
agricultural folks to the largest market in the world. With more U.S. 
products available in their country, Peruvians will benefit from more 
choices and more lower prices--or better prices. The more a consumer has 
to choose from, the better off that consumer will be. Opening up markets 
to U.S. goods and services will help the Peruvian consumer by removing 
barriers to U.S. services and investment.
    The agreement will help create a secure, predictable legal framework 
that will help attract U.S. investors. The Peruvian people understand 
that expanding trade with the United States will improve their lives; 
that's what they understand. And so their representatives in the 
legislature approved this agreement by an overwhelming margin. And by 
his presence today, President Garcia is showing our common commitment to 
a hemisphere that grows in liberty and opportunity for all.
    I want to thank the Congress for passing this bill. They passed it 
with broad, bipartisan support. Earlier this year, my administration and 
Congress came together on a bipartisan approach to free trade 
agreements. Under this approach, we included enforceable labor and 
environmental provisions in our pending free trade agreements. This is 
the approach we applied to our agreement with Peru, and this agreement 
shows the American people that Congress and the administration can work 
together--and are working together--in following a bipartisan way 
forward on trade.
    I urge Members of Congress to continue on this path as they consider 
agreements with two other important partners in the region, Colombia and 
Panama. Across our hemisphere, people are watching what the Congress 
will do. They're watching to see what this Congress will do when it 
comes to how we treat our friends. They're watching carefully the 
actions of the Congress in regards to the free trade agreements with 
Colombia and Panama. The champions of false populism will use any 
failure to approve these trade agreements as evidence that America will 
never treat other democracies in the region as full partners.
    Those who espouse the language of false populism will use failure of 
these trade agreements as a way of showing America doesn't--isn't 
committed to our friends in the hemisphere. It is vital that Congress 
send a strong message that the United States of America is committed to 
advancing freedom and prosperity in our neighborhood and approve these 
agreements with strong, bipartisan majorities.
    Congress also needs to move forward with a bill to implement a free 
trade agreement with one of our most important partners in the Far East, 
South Korea. This agreement will create jobs and opportunity on both 
sides of the Pacific. It will strengthen a democratic ally. I urge 
Congress to act quickly and send this good bill to my desk.
    As we work with Congress to approve trade legislation, we're also 
working to break down barriers to trade and investment at the

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global level. The best way to do so is through the Doha round of trade 
talks. A successful Doha round would open up markets for America's goods 
and crops and services. Doha also represents an historic opportunity to 
help lift millions of people out of poverty and despair. It's in our 
national interest to do so. It's in our moral interest to do so. My 
administration will continue to work to bring the Doha round of trade 
negotiations to a successful conclusion.
    By advancing free and fair trade, we strengthen ties with our 
friends; we help democracies build a better life for their citizens; and 
we show that so long as the rules are fair, American workers can compete 
with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
    Mr. President, I welcome you here to this important gathering. I ask 
you to give some words to the people of your country and our country. 
And after you finish speaking, it will be my honor to sign the United 
States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act.
    Welcome, Mr. President.
    President Garcia. Thank you. It's a great day for Peru; for the 
friendship between Peru and the United States. It's a great day for 
democracy and social justice and freedom. On the contrary, it's a bad 
day for the authoritarianism and those who against the democracy and 
free trade.
    Your Excellency and dear friends, now that the implementation bill 
for the trade promotion agreement between the U.S. and Peru has been 
signed, I would like to thank the American people and the U.S. Congress. 
And especially I wish to express my sincere recognition to Your 
Excellency, the great supporter of the treaty and a true--a real, true 
ally and friend of the Peruvian people.
    Today, the challenges to our societies are the consolidation of 
freedom, democracy, social justice, and peace, as well as the promotion 
of scientific and cultural development. The information and 
communication revolution allows countries to reach these goals and 
strengthen the links between our peoples by tearing down boulders and 
consolidating the foundations of human culture based in tolerance and 
respect to each other. Free trade agreements and world fora are 
important tools for these endeavors. More investment and more trade, as 
well as social policies, will contribute to eradicate poverty, protect 
the environment, and reduce and control migrations throughout the world.
    Your Excellency, this is a crucial opportunity to consolidate 
hemispheric relations. The ties between the U.S. and Latin America has 
been blocked by misunderstandings, but they are also full of great 
prospects for reaching democracy and consensus.
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt Good Neighbor Policy and John F. Kennedy 
Alliance for Progress come to my mind in this moment. Those initiatives 
were designed to contribute to a firm relationship between our peoples 
based on justice and development. Unfortunately, those were lost 
opportunities.
    Today, I think, begins a new era. The free trade area of the 
Americas and the free trade agreements in the hemisphere open a third 
opportunity we must not squander. The treaty with Peru has been studied 
and discussed at length--first with your administration; then it has 
been enhanced in the dialog with the U.S. Congress, which lead to an 
extension for the environment and on labor chapters, which will favor 
the poor, the population in the Andes, and their small enterprises.
    Other Latin America countries should also benefit from the great 
American market and the investment opportunities. In that regard, 
Colombia is a country with great challenges ahead. The hurdles that are 
claimed to delay the agreement with Colombia will be swiftly solved if 
the treaty is approved, creating more jobs and investment and 
development.
    I take upon myself the Latin American responsibility to request Your 
Excellency and the U.S. Congress to pass this agreement as soon as 
possible.
    This treaty will contribute to our fight against narcotraffic and 
global terrorism. This would be critical to reaffirm democracy, freedom, 
investment, and prosperity for the Colombian people that I love very 
much. The same could be said about Panama.
    Let me finish, Your Excellency, reaffirming that we both are 
committed to peace and against nuclear proliferation that may threaten 
the future of our children. We both fight for freedom and democracy. 
Your Excellency, you should be sure, as well as the Members of the 
Congress and the American

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people, that in Peru this treaty would not exclude the poorest of the 
Peruvian workers. On the contrary, using the words of the great Abraham 
Lincoln, it will be a free trade agreement of the people, by the people, 
and for the people.
    Thank you very much.

[At this point, President Bush signed the bill.]

    President Bush. Thank you all for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 1:52 p.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to 
former Office of Management and Budget Director Robert J. Portman; El 
Salvador's Ambassador to the U.S. Rene Antonio Leon Rodriguez; 
Honduras's Ambassador to the U.S. Roberto Flores Bermudez; Chile's 
Ambassador to the U.S. Mariano Fernandez; Mexico's Ambassador to the 
U.S. Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana; Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. 
Michael Wilson; Guatemala's Ambassador to the U.S. Guillermo Castillo; 
the Dominican Republic's Ambassador to the U.S. Flavio Dario Espinal 
Jacobo; Colombia's Ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco Isakson; 
Panama's Ambassador to the U.S. Federico Antonio Humbert Arias; and 
South Korea's Ambassador to the U.S. Lee Tae-sik. H.R. 3688, approved 
December 14, was assigned Public Law 110-138. The Office of the Press 
Secretary released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.