PRESIDENT CLINTON:
PROMOTING EXPORTS, CREATING NEW JOBS

As I have told audiences from Santiago to Shanghai: unless nations deepen their democracies, unless the citizens of each nation feel they have a stake in their economy, they will resist reforms necessary for recovery. Unless citizens are empowered with the tools to master economic change, they will feel they are its victims, not its victors. So we will continue to offer them a better way. We will continue with our efforts to generate greater economic growth, to seek freer and fairer trade, and to promote liberty and democracy.

President Bill Clinton
November 10, 1998

Today, President Clinton will address the President's Export Council to discuss the economic course America has chartered as we move into the 21st Century and the affirmative steps the leading nations of the world are taking to help strengthen and secure the global economy.

Presidential Leadership For The American Economy. When President Clinton took office in 1993, he chartered a new course for the American economy, a strategy that began with fiscal discipline, investment in our people, and an effort to open markets to American goods. Nearly six years later, this hard work is paying off: interest rates have fallen, growth has accelerated, wages are rising, investment remains high, and unemployment and inflation remain at generational lows. The President is committed to ensuring this prosperity continues, and is working to:

• Save the budget surplus until Social Security is reformed for the 21st Century;
• Invest in our children so they are prepared for the new global economy;
• Make the global economy work for our people by continuing to export our goods and create high-wage jobs;
• Open markets and trade across the globe. Since 1993, we have completed 260 trade agreements, helping to ensure that American goods and services can compete worldwide.

Leading The Effort To Fight The Global Economic Crisis. As national economies become more intertwined, the decline in one market can have an affect on another. That is why healthy, competitive economies are in America's self-interest. In September, the President called for urgent action to spur growth and aid countries suffering economic downturns. Since then, America and the nations of the world have rallied to advance this agenda:

• Japan has committed significant resources to repair its banking system;
• Brazil is moving forward with efforts to address its fiscal problems, and the international community is working to support these efforts;
• America, Japan, and other nations have taken steps to ease credit and spur growth;
• Congress has agreed to fund our full commitment to the IMF;
• The Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Council have expanded their efforts to help the flow of capital into developing nations; and
• The World Bank has announced it will substantially expand its efforts to strengthen Asia's safety net.

Continuing Efforts Toward A More Prosperous And Secure Future. Next week, the President will meet with the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to continue the effort to strengthen the global economy. The President will call on Japan to step-up its efforts to implement banking reforms, spur demand for goods and services at home, reduce unnecessary regulation, and open its markets. The President will also push for implementation of an agreement reached last year to open 9 key sectors worth more than $1.5 trillion in world trade. Finally, the President will continue to push for free, fair trade agreements that ensure vital protections to our workers and environment.

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