For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 6, 2005
President Discusses Trade, CAFTA at Organization of American States
Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
In Focus: Trade
11:50 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Welcome to the United
States. Thanks for having me. Madam Secretary, thank you for your
service; thank you for your friendship; thank you for your short
introduction. (Laughter.)
Ambassador Maisto, members of the United States Congress -- four
members, by the way, of the Florida delegation have joined us today,
and I'm grateful that they have come. Secretary General Insulza, thank
you; congratulations. Thank you for coming by the Oval Office the
other day to give me a briefing. Assistant Secretary General, thank
you, sir; it's good to see you again. Distinguished visitors and
guests. I'm honored to be here at this meeting of the Organization of
American States.
The ties that bind the Americas are particularly vivid here in
Florida. I mean, if you spend any time in this state, you'll find
people from all over our hemisphere who live here. This state has
benefited because immigrants from throughout the hemisphere have made
their homes here. I know firsthand -- I'm pretty familiar with the
state's Governor. (Laughter.) He keeps me abreast of what's taking
place in this state.
You know, our ties are represented in different ways. Perhaps you
know this, but my brother was lucky enough to marry a fantastic woman
from Mexico; the First Lady of Florida is Mexican-born. A United
States Senator from Florida, Mel Martinez, was born in Cuba. No, the
ties in our hemisphere between America and our hemisphere are
particularly strong in Florida. It's a perfect place to have the
meeting. Thank you for choosing Florida.
As I look out at the distinguished foreign ministers, I find we
have much in common. We're the children of the New World, founded in
empire and fulfilled in independence. Our people are united by history
and geography. And the United States shares a commitment with you to
build an Americas that lives in liberty, trades in freedom, and grows
in prosperity.
We come together at a great moment in history, when freedom is on
the march around our world. In the last year-and-a-half -- think about
this -- we've witnessed a Rose Revolution in Georgia, an Orange
Revolution in Ukraine, a Purple Revolution in Iraq, a Tulip Revolution
in Kyrgyzstan, a Cedar Revolution in Lebanon -- and these are just the
beginnings. Across Central Asia, hope is stirring at the prospect of
change -- and change will come. Across the broader Middle East, we are
seeing the rise of a new generation whose hearts burn for freedom --
and they will have it.
This love of liberty has long roots in our own hemisphere. Not
long after the United States won its independence from Britain,
patriots throughout the Americas were inspired to take their own
stand. One of them was an Argentine general named Jose de San Martin.
During the struggle for independence from Spain, the general declared,
"In the last corner of the earth that I might find myself, I will be
ready to sacrifice my existence for liberty."
San Martin's dream of liberty has found a home in the Organization
of American States. This organization's founding documents calls the
Americas to its "historic mission to offer to man a land of liberty,
and a favorable environment for the realization of his just
aspirations." That mission was given its clear direction in the
Inter-American Democratic Charter declaring that "the peoples of the
Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an
obligation to promote it and defend it." And today what was once a
distant dream is now within our reach: an Americas wholly free and
democratic and at peace with ourselves and our neighbors.
In the new Americas of the 21st century, democracy is now the rule,
rather than the exception. Think of the dramatic changes we have seen
in our lifetime. In 1974, the last time the OAS General Assembly met
in the United States, fewer than half its members had democratically
elected governments. Today, all 34 countries participating in this
General Assembly have democratic, constitutional governments. Only one
country in this hemisphere sits outside this society of democratic
nations -- and one day the tide of freedom will reach Cuba's shores, as
well. (Applause.) The great Cuban patriot Jose Marti said it best:
La libertad no es negociable.
The dramatic gains for democracy we have witnessed in our
hemisphere must not be taken for granted. Democratic change and free
elections are exhilarating events. Yet we know from experience they
can be followed by moments of uncertainty. When people risk everything
to vote, it can raise expectations that their lives will improve
immediately -- but history teaches us that the path to a free and
prosperous society is long and not always smooth. Each nation must
follow its own course, according to its own history. Yet the old and
new democracies of the Americas share a common interest in showing
every citizen of our hemisphere that freedom brings not just peace --
it brings a better life for themselves and their families.
In the new Americas of the 21st century, bringing a better life to
our people requires choosing between two competing visions. One offers
a vision of hope -- it is founded on representative government,
integration into the world markets, and a faith in the transformative
power of freedom in individual lives. The other seeks to roll back the
democratic progress of the past two decades by playing to fear, pitting
neighbor against neighbor, and blaming others for their own failures to
provide for their people. The choices we make will determine which
vision will define the Americas our children inherit -- we must make
tough decisions today to ensure a better tomorrow.
To give our children a better tomorrow, our citizens must see that
democracy delivers more than promises. They need to see in their daily
lives that their hard work and enterprises are rewarded. They need to
see that in a democratic society, people can walk in the streets in
safety, corruption is punished, and all citizens are equal before the
law. And when the people of the Americas see that opportunity and
social mobility are real, they will know that in a free and democratic
society, the only limit to how far they can go is the size of their
dreams.
The United States believes it has an obligation to help build this
better tomorrow for all the citizens. Working with our partners in the
region, my government has helped the leaders of this hemisphere meet
our goal of delivering treatment to 600,000 HIV sufferers across the
region. In 2002, the United States launched the Millennium Challenge
Account to help poor nations and to revolutionize the concept of
development aid. My administration's approach is based on the common
sense idea that development aid works best in countries that are
proving their commitment to govern justly, to invest in their citizens,
and to open up their economies. Under this program, aid will go to
those who deliver results for their people.
Next week, Honduras will become the second country to sign a
Millennium Challenge compact -- for a $215 million program that will
help Honduran farmers grow better crops, as well as money to build
highways that will open markets for them around the region and the
world.
To advance economic development in the Americas, the U.S.
government already makes about $5 billion in loans and grants to the
region throughout [sic] the Ex-Im Bank, the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, and the Trade and Development Agency. In preparation
for the Summit of the Americas later this year in Argentina, my
administration will be looking for new ways to prime the real engines
of hope in the Americas: its small businesses and private enterprises
and entrepreneurs. When people throughout the Americas see their lives
improve and opportunity more abundant, their faith in democracy will
grow and our hemisphere will be more secure.
In the new Americas of the 21st century, one of the surest ways to
make opportunity real for all our citizens is by opening our doors to
trade. My government is pursuing this goal at all levels: at the
global level through the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization, at
the regional level through Free Trade Area of the Americas, and at the
bilateral level with Free Trade Agreements with individual countries
like Chile and Mexico and Canada. And the United States Congress is
now considering the Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade
Agreement, which offers an historic opportunity to bring prosperity to
the citizens of our hemisphere who have not known it.
For the young democracies of Central America, CAFTA would bring new
investment, and that means good jobs and higher labor standards for
their workers. In these nations, wealthier citizens already enjoy
access to goods and services produced abroad. By reducing tariffs on
U.S. goods, all consumers in these countries will enjoy better goods at
lower prices. These lower prices will also give Central American small
businesses and farmers and entrepreneurs less costly access to U.S.
machinery and equipment which will make them more competitive and help
their economies grow. By bringing economic growth to Central America,
CAFTA will contribute to the rise of a vibrant middle class. And that
makes us reach -- a step closer to our goal, a goal of the Americas
where the opportunities in San Jose, Costa Rica are as real as they are
in San Jose, California.
For U.S. farmers and businesses and workers, CAFTA would expand
opportunity by creating a more level playing field for our goods and
services. Under existing rules, most of Central America's exports
already enter the United States duty free -- but U.S. exports still
face hefty tariffs. By passing CAFTA, the United States would open up
a market of 44 million consumers for our farmers and small business
people. CAFTA will replace a system that is often arbitrary with one
that is fair and transparent and based on common rules.
For the Western Hemisphere, CAFTA would continue to advance the
stability and security that come from freedom. An Americas linked by
trade is less likely to be divided by resentment and false ideologies.
An Americas where all our people live in prosperity will be more
peaceful. And an Americas whose countries have reduced the barriers to
trade among ourselves will be a more competitive region in a global
economy.
CAFTA is more than just a trade agreement. It is a signal of the
U.S. commitment to democracy and prosperity for our neighbors -- and I
urge the United States Congress to pass it. (Applause.)
In the last half-century, the nations of the Americas have overcome
enormous challenges: colonialism and communism and military
dictatorship. At the start of this new century, these divisions have
fallen away, and now we have it within our means to eliminate the
scourge of poverty from our hemisphere. In this room we still
represent many different countries with different traditions and
different mother tongues -- but today we can say with pride that we all
speak the common language of liberty. And by making the blessings of
freedom real in our hemisphere, we will set a shining example for all
the world. Thank you for letting me come by. Que Dios los bendiga,
may God bless you all. (Applause.)
END 12:03 P.M. EDT
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