[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 11 (Monday, March 24, 2008)]
[Pages 393-398]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Jacksonville Port Authority in Jacksonville, Florida

March 18, 2008

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for the warm welcome. 
It's nice to be back in J-ville. It's an interesting place to come, 
isn't it? I've been in your stadium. I've been in your church. I've 
never been on the docks. But if you're interested in trying to figure 
out one of the reasons why this is one of America's most vibrant cities, 
you got to come to the docks.
    And I want to explain why these docks are important to not only the 
citizens of Jacksonville but also why what happens here is important to 
the overall economy in the United States.
    Before I do, I do want to thank Senor Morales. Thank you for your 
leading here as the chairman of the Jacksonville Port Authority. Thanks 
for being the kind of American we love, somebody who comes from abroad, 
recognizes the great blessings of the United States of America, and 
contributes mightily to our success.
    I appreciate the executive director, Rick Ferrin. I've just had an 
interesting tour of this facility by Magnus Lindeback, Captain Magnus 
Lindeback. [Applause] Magnus, it sounds like some of them have heard of 
you around here. [Laughter] I'm going to talk about Magnus a little 
later on. He's a fellow who came to America with a dream and now employs 
a lot of good, hard-working folks because of goods that are shipped from 
here to other parts of the world and for goods that are shipped from 
other parts of the world to here. See, everybody here is working as a 
result of trade--trade that happens and occurs right here on these 
docks.
    The Governor of the great State of Florida, Charlie Crist, has 
joined us. Mr. Governor, proud you're here. Thanks for taking time. Two 
Members from the United States Congress have come--this must be a 
special occasion--[laughter]--Ander Crenshaw, Congressman from this 
district, doing a find job, and Congresswoman Corrine Brown. Madam 
Congresswoman, we're proud you're here.
    Daniel Davis, president of the Jacksonville City Council, appreciate 
you coming. A lot of other State and local officials, port authority 
employees, Coastal Maritime employees, thanks for greeting me here. 
Appreciate you coming.
    One thing is for certain: This is a challenging time for our 
economy. You know that; I know that; a lot of Americans understand that. 
In the short run, the strains on the economy have been caused by the 
turmoil in the housing market, which has required focused and decisive 
action. And that's exactly what the Federal Government's doing.
    There are problems, but the key is to recognize problems and to act 
early, which we have done. For example, we brought together what's 
called the HOPE NOW Alliance. It's a private sector group that is 
helping large numbers of homeowners refinance their mortgages. We want 
to help people stay in their homes. And millions of people are going to 
be affected by this program. And it makes sense to help some person who 
is creditworthy find the capacity and understand where to refinance. The 
more people

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live in their homes, the better off America is. But no question, there's 
been a oversupply of housing, and it's going to take time to work 
through this oversupply.
    We also worked with Congress--and I want to thank the Members of 
Congress--to pass a bipartisan economic growth package. That's 
Washington-speak for, you're fixing to receive some money. By the way, 
it's your money to begin with. [Laughter] But in the second week of May, 
there is a substantial amount of money being returned to people in the 
hopes of encouraging increased consumption. There's also incentives in 
this piece of legislation passed by both Republicans and Democrats that 
will encourage small and large businesses to invest. And when businesses 
invest, as Magnus will tell you, it makes it easier to give people work. 
Investment equals jobs.
    And so in the second week of May, checks will be coming. And the 
experts tell me this is going to help with the economic vitality of the 
country. After all, it's over $150 billion that is going to be 
distributed. The plan was voted on; I signed it into law, but it hadn't 
been put completely into effect yet.
    Our financial markets have also been subjected to stress. And the 
Federal Reserve and the Treasury acted swiftly to promote stability in 
our financial markets at a crucial time. It was action that was 
necessary, and I appreciate the leadership of Chairman Bernanke and 
Secretary Paulson. And they'll continue to closely monitor the markets 
in the financial sector. And the point I want to make to you is, if 
there needs to be further action, we'll take it, in a way that does not 
damage the long-term health of our economy.
    In the long run, Americans ought to have confidence in our economy. 
I mean, there are some anchors that promote long-term--that should 
promote long-term confidence. Let me give you a few. First of all, the 
unemployment rate is relatively low. We've got a low unemployment rate 
here in Florida, low in most parts of the country. We're an innovative 
society with a flexible economy. But there's a lot of research and 
development being spent here in America. There are new technologies 
being developed. Productivity is on the rise. We have a strong 
agricultural sector. The small-business sector is vibrant. And people 
are investing in the United States. And so I understand there's short-
term difficulty, but I want people to understand that in the long term, 
we're going to be just fine. People will still be able to work.
    You know, one of the interesting signs of strength is that we're the 
world's leading exporter of goods and services. I'm not saying we're 
second place or third place; we're the world's leading exporter. And 
that's positive, particularly if you're somebody whose job depends upon 
trade.
    Now, we're in the middle of a debate here about trade, whether it's 
good or not. Well, anybody wondering about the stakes in the trade 
debate ought to come right here to Jacksonville, Florida, to the docks 
to see whether or not trade makes sense. According to the most recent 
data, you move more than 8 million tons of cargo each year. This cargo 
doesn't move itself. Somebody has to move it from port to port.
    I'm sitting in--standing in front of people that are all part of the 
process, good, hard-working Americans that are putting food on the table 
for their families because of trade. You handle most--more than--more 
automobiles than any American port. I don't know if the people of 
Jacksonville understand that, but think about that. More automobiles are 
handled at this port than anywhere in the United States of America. You 
help support more than 45,000 jobs. This port serves as a vital 
commercial and strategic link to our neighborhood, to our neighbors in 
Latin America and the Caribbean.
    Opening trade has been one of the high priorities of my Presidency. 
See, I believe trade leads to good jobs. I believe trade is in our 
interests. When I took office, America had free trade agreements in 
force with three countries. Today, we have agreements in force with 14 
countries. And there are three more agreements pending this year: 
Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. All three of these agreements are 
important, and the one with Colombia is especially urgent. And I want to 
spend a little time talking about the free trade agreement with Colombia 
and what it means for our national security and what it means for your 
job security.

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    We have worked closely with leaders in Congress to seek a path to 
bring the Colombia agreement up for approval. And we've got a good model 
to go on. Last year, we worked out a bipartisan approach on a bill 
implementing a good free trade agreement with Peru, and it was a good 
bill. And it was one of those bills where people, when they stepped back 
from politics, realized it made good sense and overwhelmingly approved 
it. Both Republicans and Democrats voted for that, two of whom happen to 
be sitting right here.
    The Colombia agreement is almost identical to the agreement with 
Peru, except that the Colombia agreement has even greater economic 
potential because Colombia has a larger GDP and even greater national 
security importance because of Colombia's strategic location. The lesson 
is clear: If Congress can find a way to vote on and improve the Peru 
agreement, there's no reason it can't do the same for Colombia.
    Now, why is it important? Before I get to the importance, I do want 
to tell you the time is urgent. There must be a vote on Colombia this 
year. And this agreement is too important to be delayed any longer. So I 
am reiterating my call on leaders in Congress to act with urgency. I ask 
members of both parties to ensure that politics do not get in the way of 
a vital priority for our Nation and, frankly, a vote that will help 
people who are working here on the docks. You can think in terms of 
national security interests, but if that doesn't interest you, think 
about terms of helping folks just like this make a living.
    Let me talk a little bit about the national security implications 
from this vote. In Colombia, President Uribe is waging an active battle 
against terrorists who are seeking to overthrow his nation's democracy. 
This terrorist network is known as FARC. It pursues Marxist objectives 
through bombing, hostage-taking, and assassination. Much of its funding 
is derived from drug trafficking. Attacks by the FARC have killed or 
injured more than 1,000 civilians since 2003. These are brutal people, 
and they're ruthless people. And they'll use all kinds of means to 
achieve their objectives. FARC terrorists have held three American 
citizens hostage in jungle camps for more than 5 years, making them the 
longest held American hostages anywhere in the world.
    The challenge posed by these terrorists is compounded by the 
hostility and aggression of some of Colombia's neighbors. The regime in 
Caracas has railed against America, has forged an alliance with 
Communist Cuba, has met with FARC leaders in Venezuela, has deployed 
troops to the Colombian border. In the process, regime leaders have 
squandered their oil wealth and left their people to face food 
shortages.
    Recently when Colombian forces killed one of the FARC's most senior 
leaders, they discovered computer files that suggest even closer ties 
between Venezuela's regime and FARC terrorists than we previously knew. 
Colombia officials are investigating the ties, but this much should be 
clear: The United States strongly supports, strongly stands with 
Colombia in its fight against the terrorists and drug lords.
    President Uribe has remained focused on strengthening Colombia's 
democracy. Over the past 6 years, kidnapings, terrorist attacks, and 
murders of labor activists have all dropped by more than 75 percent. 
Police are on the streets. Tens of thousands of paramilitary fighters 
have been demobilized. And Colombia's murder rate has fallen 
substantially.
    At the same time, Colombia's economy has shown strong growth. 
Poverty and unemployment have declined. Trade and investment have 
increased substantially. That's what we want. We want less violence in 
our neighborhood and more prosperity in our neighborhood. We want our 
neighbors to be prosperous.
    President Uribe has been an unshakeable partner for the United 
States. He's answered to hundreds of requests to extradite criminals to 
our country. And with the assistance from Plan Colombia, a program first 
supported by President Bill Clinton and continued under my 
administration, he's cracked down on drug trafficking. He constantly 
speaks out against anti-Americanism. By any measure, he has been one of 
our most reliable and effective allies. And this trade agreement is the 
way to signal our strong support for President Uribe. It's the way to 
help this country develop more momentum toward peace.

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    Despite the record of success, some in Congress claim Colombia needs 
to do more before a treat agreement--the trade agreement can be 
approved. But this is unrealistic, and it is unfair. If Members of 
Congress truly want Colombia to make further progress, then it makes no 
sense to block the very measure that would make progress more likely.
    Our fellow citizens have got to know that across the hemisphere and 
across the globe, people are waiting to see what the Members of Congress 
will do. In other words, this isn't just one of these isolated votes 
that gets no attention outside of Washington. This is a vote that is 
being observed very carefully by people across the world. Voices from 
near and far are urging Congress to make the right decision. Members of 
Congress from both parties travel to Colombia. They have seen firsthand 
the progress that President Uribe is making. Business leaders from many 
backgrounds, along with current and former Senators, Congressmens, 
mayors, diplomats, National Security Council people, Cabinet members 
from both parties--I emphasize, from both parties--support this 
agreement.
    In other words, it's just not me talking. There's a lot of people 
who understand the importance of this agreement. Our allies have made 
their position clear. I want the Members of Congress to hear what the 
Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, said. He said: ``If the U.S. 
turns its back on its friends in Colombia, this will set back our cause 
far more than any Latin American dictator can hope to achieve.'' Those 
are wise words and words worth listening to. Congress needs to listen to 
the voices, and they need to pass this important piece of legislation.
    The national security benefits are only part of the cause for this 
agreement. Both our economies stand to gain as well. Today, virtually 
all exports from Colombia enter our country duty free. And yet many U.S. 
exports going to Colombia face heavy tariffs. Goods coming from 
Colombia, duty free; our goods going to Colombia get taxed. That doesn't 
seem fair to me. I know the folks here understand that if you reduce 
tariffs, it's more likely we'll send more goods. Doesn't it make sense 
for Congress to say to Colombia, treat America the way we treat you, 
which is precisely what this trade deal does?
    A banana grown in Colombia enters the United States duty free. An 
apple grown in Pennsylvania or an orange grown in Florida is subject to 
a 15-percent tariff when it's exported to Colombia. Doesn't it make 
sense for the Federal Government to try to eliminate that tariff? I 
think it does. If you're growing oranges, it does. If you're growing 
apples, it does. And if you're shipping goods and services--or goods 
from this port to Colombia, it makes sense to make it easier to ship 
more goods.
    That's why I talk about level the playing field. They estimate this 
will help 9,000 U.S. companies export to Colombia, most of which are 
small and midsized companies. Level the playing field is going to help 
hundreds of thousands of employees who work at these companies. And 
level the playing field will create new opportunities for exporters and 
dock workers who ship heavy machinery and glass and chemicals and 
electronics and paper and other products to Colombia from this port--
people just like the folks seated right here.
    Earlier today I had a chance to tour this company with Magnus 
Lindeback, Captain Magnus Lindeback. The man is living the American 
Dream. You talk to Magnus, he's about as proud an American as you can 
find. He might not have been born here, but he loves it here. And he 
loves the people that work with him, and he's very proud of the fact 
that this company has grown from 2 employees to over 250. And he cares 
about each and every employee.
    And here's why the Colombia free trade agreement matters to a--are 
you small or midsize? I'd call you--oh, midsize. You say small; I say 
midsize. Okay, small. [Laughter] Here's why it matters to a small-sized/
midsized company like Coastal Maritime. [Laughter] Coastal Maritime--
about a quarter of its cargo goes to Colombia. So in other words, if 
you're somebody wondering whether you're going to have a job and a 
fellow comes along and says, ``Would you like to be able to sell more 
goods to Colombia? After all, a quarter of your revenues go to 
Colombia,'' I think the answer ought to be, yes, we want to be able to 
access more of

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Colombia. We're good at what we're doing now.
    They send, by the way, mining equipment, bulldozers, and cranes. 
Magnus doesn't make the cranes and bulldozers and mining equipment. He 
just ships it. But somebody in America is making the cranes, and 
somebody in America is making the bulldozers. And so when you think 
about trade, you're not only thinking about dock workers who are working 
good jobs because of trade, but somebody has got to make the products 
that the people in Colombia are buying as well.
    If Colombia approves the free trade agreement, Coastal Maritime 
estimates that the volume of products they ship to Colombia would 
increase by 20 to 50 percent in a short period of time. Magnus says he's 
going to use the extra revenues for two purposes: to reinvest in 
technology and equipment--like that crane we--a guy tried to get me to 
drive over there--[laughter]--I told him I was a history major--
[laughter]--and he wants to raise wages for his workers.
    I want to quote Magnus: ``Trade is our entire business. All our 
workers depend on it. An increased volume of cargo to Colombia would be 
tremendous from us because the more cargo we have to handle, the more 
revenue is generated.''
    American exporters aren't the only ones who will benefit. The free 
trade agreement will guarantee permanent duty-free access to the U.S. 
market for businesses in Colombia. And why is that important? Because it 
will help them attract investment and stimulate growth. It will lead to 
additional opportunities at a port such as this. The more prosperous our 
neighborhood, the more commerce there will be. And the more commerce 
there is, it's more likely to pass through a port just like this. We 
want people doing well. We want programs that are good for small 
businesses and farmers. And that's exactly what this vote will be. And 
it's important. And it's an important vote for the United States 
Congress to understand. It's in our national security interests and 
economic security interests.
    And during this time of economic uncertainty, when consumer spending 
and investment is slowing down, it's important to understand the role 
trade has made for our economy. Last year, exports accounted for more 
than 40 percent of our total growth. That's good news. Export is 
continuing. This January, exports were up more than 16 percent over last 
January. If you're worried about the economy, it seems like you ought to 
be sending a clear signal that the United States of America will 
continue to trade, not shut down trade. And that's what this Colombia 
vote says.
    And once Congress approves the free trade agreement with Colombia, 
they can--then they can approve one with Panama. And once they finish 
one with Panama, then they can do one with South Korea. All these 
agreements are important. These agreements to important to enhance our 
friendship, but these are good for our economy.
    Now, I fully understand that trade makes people nervous. It doesn't 
make these folks nervous because they understand the benefits firsthand. 
And in a political year, you hear all kinds of things about trade. One 
of the things people say is that people lose their jobs because of 
trade. Well, in the manufacturing sector, sometimes that's right, but a 
lot of times it's a result of productivity increases. In other words, 
technology changes, and one worker can produce three times as much as he 
or she used to be able to, and therefore, same output with fewer 
workers.
    But whatever the case is, the question is, what should we do about 
people who aren't working? One alternative is to say, it's all cause of 
trade; let's quit trading. Then people here lose work. The other 
opportunity is to focus on good educational programs. You know, we could 
cut ourselves off, or we could have faith in our capacity to compete and 
focus on helping individuals. I choose the latter.
    I believe strongly that we can help people gain extra skills with 
smart programs. That's why my budget requests $3 billion to educate and 
prepare workers for the 21st century. I'm a big believer, Governor, in 
community colleges. I think our community colleges are great places for 
people to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st 
century. So rather than resort to protectionism and say, let's shut down 
our trading opportunities, why don't we resort to education to give 
people the skills necessary to fill the jobs for the

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21st century here in the United States of America?

    Now, you're going to hear the word trade adjustment assistance 
talked about in Congress. And these two Congress folks understand what 
I'm talking about. That basically says that we're going to have 
education programs aimed at helping people find skills. And I'm a 
supporter. And I believe it's important that trade adjustment be a 
component of our trade policy. I look forward to working with Congress 
to reform it and to reauthorize it, to make sure it does the job that it 
could do--is supposed to do--just like I'm looking forward to signing 
those trade bills, particularly starting with the one from Colombia.

    I--so I've come here as a vivid reminder to people in Congress who 
wonder whether or not trade is positive for America. It is. It's 
economically a good deal for our country. And I do have confidence that 
Congress will get it right. It may take a little persuading. It's going 
to take a lot of hard work. Oh, it may take some of you having to write 
letters to your Senators and Congressmen to remind them that trade is 
good. Confident nations are free traders.

    But trade also means making sure we get treated right, that they 
treat us the way we treat them. That's all we're asking. That's what 
this agreement says: Just treat us fairly. Because America can compete 
with anybody, anytime, anywhere, as long as the playing field is level.

    And so I've come to talk about our economy and a key issue facing 
you. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be in your midst. I'm 
proud of the work you do here. And may God bless you and God continue to 
bless the United States of America.

Note: The President spoke at 2:13 p.m. at the Blount Island Marine 
Terminal. In his remarks, he referred to Ricardo Morales, Jr., chairman 
of the board of directors, Jacksonville Port Authority; and Magnus 
Lindeback, chief executive officer, Coastal Maritime Stevedoring, LLC. 
The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of these remarks.