[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 47 (Monday, December 1, 2008)]
[Pages 1447-1451]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Summit in Lima

November 22, 2008

    Gracias, senor. [Laughter] What he forgot to say, Secretary Rice, is 
that he went to Notre Dame. She is a great supporter of Notre Dame. And 
thank you for having me. Laura and I are delighted to be back in your 
country.
    This is my second trip as President. I have been looking forward to 
it. And I appreciate the opportunity to come and discuss the state of 
the financial situation with such an august group. Thank you for making 
the Asia-Pacific region a vibrant part of the world.
    I believe it is important for the world to recognize, and for our 
country to recognize, that the United States is a Pacific nation. And

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over the past 8 years, I have made it a priority--I made APEC a 
priority. I've been to every single APEC summit. I want to send a clear 
signal that it's in our Nation's interest that we engage actively and 
consistently with the nations of APEC.
    My first international trip after September the 11th, 2001, was to 
an APEC summit in Shanghai. My first trip overseas after my reelection 
in 2004 was to the APEC summit in Chile. And now that I'm headed to 
retirement--[laughter]--my last trip as President is to APEC here in 
Lima.
    This summit comes at a serious time during economic turmoil. And I'm 
looking forward to our discussions. It is--also comes at a time of 
unprecedented cooperation. A week ago in Washington, you might have 
heard that I had the honor of hosting a summit in what will be the 
series of international summits to address the financial crisis. I 
didn't believe we could solve all problems in one meeting, but I did 
believe it was important for us to host the initial summit to get it 
started, to lay the foundation for successful--for meetings.
    I also didn't believe that the meeting ought to be with kind of a 
handful of countries. Some suggested, keep the meeting small. I didn't 
agree with that. And that's why we invited 20 leaders, including 8 
members of APEC, because I believe developed nations and developing 
nations needed to be sitting at the same table to have an honest, 
fruitful dialog. After all, nations in Asia and Latin America now 
contribute more to the world economy than ever before. Nations are 
feeling the painful effects of the financial crisis; I understand that. 
And so all of us need to be involved in the solution. And we'll discuss 
this during our APEC meetings here, starting today.
    At the summit, leaders from around the world sent a powerful message 
of unity and determination. We agreed on principles and actions to 
modernize the financial structures of the 21st century. There's a 
recognition that while our economies have changed, the financial 
structures that we are dealing with were primarily written in the 20th 
century. We believe in transparency and integrity in the markets that 
will make sure that firms and financial products are subject to proper 
regulation and oversight.
    We agreed that the world's financial authorities must improve 
cooperation, that governments must keep their promises to the developing 
world. One point I'll make this morning at the APEC summit is to say 
that the United States is committing--committed to improving social 
justice, and we will not let this economic turmoil prevent us from 
helping nations educate their people, provide good health care, feed the 
hungry, and deal with diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria.
    We agreed that we must reform the International Monetary Fund and 
the World Bank to better reflect the important role of developing 
nations. And we agreed to keep our markets open and firmly reject 
protectionism. All these steps are essential to rebuilding confidence in 
our financial systems. Yet the only way to regain strength in the long 
term is sustained economic growth. And among the most powerful engines 
of that growth are the businesses and workers and entrepreneurs of the 
Asia-Pacific region.
    A few decades ago, a statement like this would have seemed 
unimaginable. Many Asia-Pacific economies were mired in poverty; their 
governments pursued backward economic policies. Then leaders started to 
make bold decisions by opening up their markets, by welcoming investment 
and trade, and by tapping the potential of the private sector. The 
results have astonished the world.
    In the midst of all this turmoil, it's important to remember what 
has taken place as we chart our future. The APEC region's share of the 
global economy has grown nearly 55 percent. Isn't that interesting? When 
we meet today in Lima, Peru, about 55 percent of the total economy--
world's economy will be at that table. In a single generation, the 
percentage of East Asians living in poverty has plummeted from nearly 80 
percent to 18 percent. We're witnessing a dramatic shift of history, as 
the center of the world economic stage moves from west to east, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific.
    Some view the rise of Asia-Pacific with suspicion and fear; America 
doesn't. The United States welcomes the success of emerging economies 
throughout the region. We welcome the new hope that comes when people

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escape poverty and join a confident middle class. We welcome new buyers 
for our products and new investors for American enterprise. We welcome 
new competition that leads our own workers and businesses to be more 
efficient. In an interconnected global economy, the gains of any advance 
the interests of all. So over the past 8 years, America has engaged this 
vital region more closely than ever before.
    Continuing that engagement is especially important during the times 
of economic strain. The policies of free enterprise that lifted up so 
many in this region can help chart a path to recovery for the whole 
world. That's what's important for people to know. That which enabled us 
to be successful in the past must be used to help us chart a more 
hopeful future for tomorrow. With confidence in our ideals, we can turn 
the challenge we face today to an opportunity and lead the way toward a 
new era of prosperity for the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
    So I want to talk today about how to do that, and I want to focus--
and I think we ought to focus our efforts on three great forces for 
economic growth: free markets, free trade, and free people.
    First, our nations must maintain confidence in the power of free 
markets. Now, I know in the wake of the financial crisis, free markets 
have been under very harsh criticism from the left and from the right. 
It's true the free market system is not perfect. It can be subject to 
excesses and abuse. As we've seen in recent months, there are times when 
government intervention is essential to restart frozen markets and to 
protect overall economic health. Yet it is also essential that nations 
resist the temptation to overcorrect by imposing regulations that would 
stifle innovation and choke off growth. The verdict of history is 
unmistakable: The greater threat to prosperity is not too little 
government involvement in the market, it is too much.
    Over the decades, the free market system has proved the most 
efficient way and the just way of structuring an economy. Free markets 
offer people the freedom to choose where they work and what they want; 
offers people the opportunity to buy or sell products as they see fit; 
gives people the dignity that comes with profiting from their talent and 
their hard work. Free markets provide the incentives to lead to 
prosperity: the incentive to work, to innovate, to save and invest 
wisely, and to create jobs for others. And as millions of people pursue 
these incentives together, whole societies benefit.
    No region of the world demonstrates the power of free markets more 
vividly than the Asia-Pacific. Free markets helped Japan grow into the 
world's second largest economy. Free markets helped South Korea make 
itself one of the most technologically advanced nations on Earth. Free 
markets helped Chile triple its economy and cut its poverty rate by more 
than two-thirds over the past two decades. And last year, free market 
policies helped make Peru's economy the second fastest growing in APEC.
    Secondly, our nations must keep our commitment to free trade. When 
nations open their markets to trade and investment, businesses and 
farmers and workers find new buyers for their products. Consumers 
benefit because they have more choices and better prices. Entrepreneurs 
get their ideas off the ground with funding from anywhere in the world.
    Trade is seen as controversial in some places, but here in the Asia-
Pacific region its benefits are beyond doubt. Trade transformed the 
economies of the ``Asian Tigers''--Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, 
and Taiwan--into global powerhouses. Trade fueled the rise of a new 
generation of ``Tigers''--nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, 
and Vietnam. And in the most dramatic case of all, trade helped lift 
China out of isolation and poverty and into three decades of rapid 
economic growth and closer engagement with the world.
    Expanding trade and investment has been one of the highest 
priorities of my administration. When I took office, America had free 
trade agreements in force with only three nations. Today, we have 
agreements in force with 14, including China [Chile], * Singapore, and 
Australia. We have agreements that will soon take effect with three more 
countries, including Peru. We've concluded agreements with Colombia, 
Panama, and

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South Korea. And it is extremely disappointing that the United States 
Congress adjourned without passing these three agreements. And I urge 
all those who support free trade to continuing pressing the case for the 
Congress to pass free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama and 
South Korea.
    * White House correction.
    I just had a chance to have a cup of coffee with President Uribe. He 
is a strong leader. He's a good friend. And our Congress and our 
Government must never turn our back on such a friend as Uribe.
    In addition to negotiating these free trade agreements, my 
administration supported the accession of China, Taiwan, and Vietnam 
into the World Trade Organization. We're negotiating bilateral 
investment treaties with China and Vietnam. We're discussing similar 
agreements with Taiwan, Indonesia, and Russia.
    These steps have brought benefits to America, and they brought 
benefits to our trading partners. Since I took office, America's trade 
with the world has grown from $2.5 trillion to $4 trillion, an increase 
of nearly 60 percent. Trade with Chile and the United States has more 
than doubled. Trade between Peru and the United States has more than 
doubled. And trade between China and the United States has more than 
tripled. Overall, America's trade with APEC nations now accounts for 
nearly two-thirds of our trade in the world.
    Greater economic integration in the Asia-Pacific advances the 
interests of all. So earlier this year, America began discussions on a 
new regional free trade agreement with Brunei and Chile, New Zealand and 
Singapore. This agreement has the potential to open up new opportunities 
across the region. And we welcome other APEC members to join, and we 
appreciate Australia and Peru's recent announcements that they will 
join. Eventually, this agreement could be the foundation of something 
even more promising, a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific, where goods 
and services and capital flow across borders without barriers.
    The nations in this region must also continuing to work down--must 
continue to work down--continue working to break down trade barriers at 
the global level. We have an immediate opportunity to do so through the 
Doha round at the WTO. One of the enduring lessons of the Great 
Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic 
ruin.
    At our summit in Washington last weekend, leaders from around the 
world expressed strong support for completing Doha. Isn't that 
interesting? Over 20 nations at the table, from all different kinds of 
backgrounds, expressed solidarity with the idea of completing Doha. And 
now we've got to put those words into action. I recognize I'm leaving 
office in 2 months, but nevertheless, this administration will push hard 
to put the modalities in place so that Doha can be completed, and so we 
can send the message: We refuse to accept protectionism in the 21st 
century.
    The third great force for economic growth in this region is the 
limitless potential of free people. As the business leaders in this room 
understand, the greatest resource any country has is the creativity of 
its citizens. That's what economists call human capital. And the best 
way to unleash that resource is, is to build healthy, educated, and 
democratic societies.
    One requirement of any free and prosperous society is an accountable 
and effective government. The United States launched the Millennium 
Challenge Account to invest in nations that fight corruption, pursue 
wise economic policies, and invest in the health and education of their 
citizens. Today, Millennium Challenge programs support some of the 
world's most promising developing nations, from Indonesia to the 
Philippines to Peru. This initiative demonstrates a larger truth: 
Whether it leans left or right, any government that is honest with its 
people, that exists to serve the people, that advances social justice 
and desires peace, will have a partner in the United States of America.
    America is helping build--helping governments lift the daily burdens 
that hold their people back, such as hunger and ignorance and disease. 
We're cooperating with APEC nations to adopt better farming practices 
and build up local agriculture markets. We're partnering with leaders to 
defeat the AIDS epidemic in places like Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. 
We're supporting countries like Indonesia that invest in basic 
education.

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We're committed to these efforts. And as I said earlier, we'll be 
committed to these efforts regardless of the ebb and flow of the 
markets, and our partners can be confident that the compassion agenda of 
the United States of America will continue.
    Ultimately, the only way for a nation to realize its full potential 
is for its people to live in freedom; it includes both economic and 
political freedom. When people are free to profit from their abilities, 
they prosper. When people prosper, they demand more liberty in other 
areas of their lives. And we have seen this story unfold throughout this 
region. To continue freedom's momentum, the United States and other free 
nations are taking practical steps to support young democracies through 
the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership. We recognize that democracies 
develop at their own speeds, consistent with their own cultures. But 
when people experience the dignity and the opportunity that freedom 
brings, they never turn back. I've told people a lot, since my 
Presidency, this truth: I believe there is an Almighty. And I believe a 
gift of that Almighty to every man, woman, and child on the face of the 
Earth is freedom.
    As we look to the future, the tasks facing our nations are no doubt 
demanding. Recovering from the financial crisis is going to take time. 
But we'll recover, and in so doing, begin a new era of prosperity.
    The nations of APEC have faced tests before. We have risen to meet 
them together, and we will do so again. Over the past 8 years, we've 
taken measures to protect our people from terror and the proliferation 
of weapons of mass destruction. We've responded to natural disasters. 
We've worked to prevent the spread of potential pandemic diseases like 
avian flu and SARS. We've worked to confront climate change and usher in 
a new age of clean energy. We're standing for a Korean Peninsula free of 
nuclear weapons and with a Burma free of repression.
    Above all, we can be confident in the future of this region because 
we know the spirit of its people. And I've seen it firsthand. When I 
attended my first APEC summit in Shanghai, just a few weeks after 
September the 11th, 2001, I said that America would always remember the 
signs of support from our friends in the region. I remember the American 
flag flying from every firetruck in Montreal, Canada. I remember 
children kneeling in silent prayer outside our Embassy in Seoul. I 
remember baseball players in Japan observing moments of silence. I 
remember a sign handwritten in English at a candlelight vigil in Beijing 
that read, ``Freedom and justice will not be stopped.''
    The bonds of unity we felt then remain today, and they will always 
remain. Long after this crisis has passed, the United States of America 
will stay engaged in this region. We will continue working with our 
partners to build an Asia-Pacific where people can work and worship and 
trade in freedom, where children grow up with hope and pursue their 
dreams, and where thriving, prosperous nations continue to inspire the 
world.
    Thanks for letting me come by. Que Dios le bendiga. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 9:48 a.m. at the Ministry of Defense 
Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Ricardo Rizo Patron de 
la Piedra, vice president, Cementos Lima, who introduced the President; 
and President Alvaro Uribe Velez of Colombia.