Remarks on the Progress Report on Auto Trade with Japan and on the Administration’S Economic Team April 12, 1996

Apr. 12 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1996 The President. Of course. We've always been The President. We have to get back to the for all-party talks and all-party participation, that conversation here. I've already answered more is, all of the parties that are committed to a questions than I meant to. [Laughter] peaceful democratic future in Northern Ireland. Q. And do you think Sinn FeinÐ[inaudible]Ð NOTE: The President spoke at approximately peaceful democratic future in Northern Ireland? 10:45 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange. Remarks on the Progress Report on Auto Trade With Japan and on the Administration's Economic Team April 12, 1996 Thank you very much. Mr. Vice President, we can do when we truly work together and Ambassador Kantor, Senator Levin, and Con- when others work with us in a spirit of coopera- gressman Levin; all the distinguished leaders tion and mutual benefit. from the auto industry and Mr. J.C. Phillips The boost in sales is tremendous news for from the UAW and to Jim Hill; all the people American workers, for our auto and auto parts here from the agencies that are part of our manufacturers, for our strong relationship with Nation's economic team that really worked so Japan. I also want to say it is good news for hard to achieve these results. I welcome all of the people of Japan. When I first went to Japan you here. in 1993, I said to the Japanese people what I want to thank you for what you said, Jim. I will have the opportunity to reiterate in just I am a car guy. I was 6 years old the first a couple of days: We have no more important time I crawled underneath a 1952 Buick in my bilateral relationship. We are bound together in father's tiny dealership in Hope, Arkansas, popu- our support for democracy and freedom and lation 6,000, and I never quite got over it. And for the security of freedom-loving peoples in one of the things that I promised myself I would Asia and now elsewhere, as Japan has shoul- do if I ever got a chance to have an impact dered bigger and bigger burdens to help us all on it was to give the American automobile in- pursue the goals that we share. We also know dustry the chance to be rewarded for its willing- that if we have a free and open trading relation- ness to compete. And that is what we have ship with them, it will help their economy, it worked hard to do in this administration. will give their consumers more choices, and it I just saw somethingÐMickey Kantor and I will help both nations to be more competitive walked outside, along with the Vice President, as we hurtle our way forward into the 21st cen- Mr. Panetta, and I saw something I never tury. thought I would live to seeÐand just 4 years Just 3 years ago our ties were strained by ago, if you had told me that I would see it, a trading relationship not beneficial to our Na- I'm not sure I would have believed itÐright- tion. The trade wasn't working, but the ties hand drive American models made by American weren't working either. Today our relationship workers in American plants bound for Japan, is working better for both of us. There's a lot a Ford Taurus, a GM-built Cavalier, a Chrysler to be done. In a big and complex relationship Neon, built for the Japanese market where con- like ours there will always be a lot to be done. sumers are now freely buying tens of thousands But we are strengthening and deepening our more American cars than ever before. These relationship. It is now a powerful force for cre- new exports, as others have said, are the results ating opportunity, for advancing democracy, and of efforts by our car makers and our economic for improving the quality of life in both our team. We have worked to expand our trade on countries. fair terms not only with Japan but with others I also want to say that, as Ambassador Kantor throughout the world. These exports show what said earlier, I believe that the right kind of trade 574 VerDate 06-OCT-99 14:02 Oct 11, 1999 Jkt 010199 PO 00001 Frm 00574 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\96PUBP~1\PAP_TEXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1996 / Apr. 12 is critical for our Nation's future. I believe the yearsÐslowly helping to change the wage pic- position of the United States must always be ture that has bedeviled so many American work- that we favor open trade. We are not afraid ers who think that they'll work harder and hard- to compete. We believe we can win. But if er and never get a raise. In 1992, 6 percent we're going to live in a world where we want of our new jobs were in high-wage industries. others to raise their standard of living to our In 1995, almost 60 percent of our new jobs level, and we no longer control anything like were in high-wage industries. This strategy will the percentage of the gross national product we work. It is not a miracle; it will not work over- did at the end of World War II, then, fine, night; it plainly depends for its success primarily we'll compete and we'll help others to advance, on the willingness of American workers and but we expect the same access to foreign mar- American business leaders to work together, to kets that we give foreign producers to ours. It be competitive, to be productive. But it will is a simple rule and one we have followed. It work. This report shows the difference this ap- is a critical part of our economic strategy. proach will make. When I became President, job growth was Last year we reached a landmark agreement slow; the deficit was exploding, more than twice that increased our access to the Japanese market as high as it is now. We did two things. We for autos and for auto parts. One of the many put in place an economic strategy: lower the legacies of our friend Secretary Ron Brown was deficit, cut it in half in 4 years, get interest the establishment with Ambassador Kantor of rates down, increase investments in education a team to monitor and enforce the agreement. and training, in research and technology, reform This report shows that since the agreement was and shrink and make more effective the Na- signed, sales of American-made autos have in- tional Government, and expand trade on terms creased by more than a third. Sales of Amer- both free and fair. That strategy has been imple- ican-made cars, trucks, and vans rose more than mented by a national economic team, the first 225 percent between 1992 and 1995, including time we ever had a fully functioning National over 58,000 Big Three cars exported from the Economic Council to parallel our National Secu- U.S. just last year. In the first 2 months of rity Council, to integrate, plan, and implement this year, our people sold one-third more autos the economic strategies of this country and to to Japan than in the same period last year. So work in full partnership with the private sector. the movement is all in the right direction. We now have 81¤2 million more jobs than we In auto parts, exports over the last 3 years had just 3 years ago. And I might say, of the up 60 percent, to $1.6 billion last year. Now, G±7 countries, that's more than 8 million more to give you one example of the evidence that than the other six nations combined. We have this agreement and its faithful implementation the lowest combined rates of unemployment and and your work has made, Tenneco Automotive inflation in 27 years. And trade has been critical of Houston spent 25 years attempting to break to that; as Ambassador Kantor said, 200 separate into the Japanese market. Now their Monroe agreementsÐ20 with Japan alone, now 21. Our shock absorbers will be sold in almost 7,500 exports are at an all-time high, our auto pro- Japanese shops. ducers now leading the world. These developments are part of the rebirth Even more important, we have a framework of our auto industry, an industry that lost 49,000 agreement in our relationship with Japan which jobs in the 4 years before I took office and establishes a comprehensive system for dealing has gained about 80,000 in the 3 years since. with problems that inevitably arise between two Because of the partnership between labor and great nations. As a result, our exports there are management, for the first time in 15 years, last up over 30 percent; in the areas covered by year the United States auto industry again was the agreements, up 85 percent. Today, exports number one in the world. So again, let me thank to Japan support more than 800,000 good-paying the representatives of the Big Three, the many American jobs, including 150,000 new ones since auto parts producers, and all the workers who 1992. Most of these are good, high-wage jobs have worked so hard to make our belief in this because jobs tied to exports on average pay 15 economic strategy a reality.

Load more