Bill Clinton's remarks
We will make our case as hard and as well as we can.
And, though the fight will be difficult, I deeply believe we will win.
And I'd like to tell you why. First of all, because NAFTA means jobs.
American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe
that, I wouldn't support this agreement.
As President, it is my duty to speak frankly to the
American people about the world in which we now live. Fifty years at
the end of World War II, an unchallenged America was protected by the
oceans and by our technological superiority; and, very frankly, by the
economic devastation of the people who could otherwise have been our
competitors. We chose, then, to try to help rebuild our former
enemies and to create a world of free trade supported by institutions
which would facilitate it.
As a result of that effort, global trade grew from $200
billion in 1950 to $800 billion in 1980. As a result, jobs were
created and opportunity thrived all across the world. But make no
mistake about it: Our decision at the end of World War II to create a
system of global, expanded, freer trade and the supporting
institutions played a major role in creating the prosperity of the
American middle class.
And how the democrats attacked republicans for opposing it.
Anti-Trade Republicans? What a Farce! : Their opposition to NAFTA, a net bargain for us, is a political paradox--or just plain devious. - Los Angeles Times
Congressional Republicans who vote against NAFTA are purely opportunistic. How many speeches have these politicians given about the virtues of free-market capitalism, the iniquity of taxation, the importance of getting the government off people's backs? Yet here is a proposal to eliminate tariffs and quotas and let Americans buy and sell what they wish, which these Republicans oppose.
Why any politician abandons his or her alleged principles is not a mystery worth dwelling on for long. In the case of Republican NAFTA opponents, one explanation is fear of being caught on the wrong side of Ross Perot's demagoguery. An even less admirable explanation is the wish to hand Bill Clinton a defeat, no matter what the subject. NAFTA was negotiated by the Bush Administration. It is inconceivable that dozens of Republicans in Congress would be voting against it if George Bush had been reelected.
The politics of trade are a paradigm of America's general political dilemma. They illustrate why "change," though we all claim to want it, is so hard to come by. There is no doubt that free trade is a net benefit for the country as a whole. But there is also no doubt that it hurts certain individuals. Unfortunately, the benefits are spread among the general population and often hard to identify specifically, while the harm is concentrated on a few identifiable--and politically organized--interests.
The person who will get a job because of NAFTA isn't even aware of it yet; the person who may lose a job because of NAFTA is all too aware. The millions who will enjoy cheaper food and clothing thanks to NAFTA aren't lobbying for it; but the farming and textile interests that will face new competition are lobbying against it.
NAFTA will benefit Americans in two ways. Yes, it will create jobs--more jobs than it eliminates--by building a bigger market in Mexico for American products
Now democrats are running from NAFTA as fast as they can, but they can't change history.
