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Building a new Pacific community - President Bill Clinton speech - Transcript
US Department of State Dispatch, July 12, 1993
This problem has, as all of you know, fueled resentment in our country both from workers and from businesses who have worked hard to streamline their operations, reduce labor costs, and increase productivity, and now want the benefits that can only come from being able to compete and win in a global economy. Our people understand when our nation has a huge trade deficit with an emerging economy like China. The same was true just a few years ago with Korea and Taiwan. But both those nations have moved closer to trade balance with the U.S. as they have become more prosperous. The same has not happened with Japan.
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This persistent trade imbalance has not just hurt American workers and businesses; it has hurt the Japanese people. It has deprived you as consumers of the full benefit of your hard and productive work. For example, partly because of restrictive economic policies, the average Japanese family pays more than twice as much of your income for food as the average American family. And many other consumer products are far, far more expensive here than elsewhere, with these differentials going far beyond what can be accounted for by the transportation costs of bringing products to this market.
Our relationships with Japan have been durable not only because of our security alliance and our political partnership, but because our economic relationship has actually served our interests and yours. I believe we must change this economic interest to improve the lives not just of the American people but of the Japanese people as well. It would be wrong for me to come here as President to ask you to embrace changes that would only benefit the people who live in my country. I believe that the changes I advocate will benefit both of us, or I would not be here pushing them.
During my April meeting with Prime Minister Miyazawa, we agreed to build a new framework for trade on macroeconomic, sectoral, and structural issues. Now, I don't know how that translates into Japanese, but the average American has no idea what that means. What it means is that we are going to try to deal honestly with the differences we have over our nation's economic policies. We want to talk about the specific sectors of the economy where we believe that more trade is warranted. We want to talk about structural differences between our two countries that operate as effective barriers to finding greater balance and greater volume of trade.
Our governments have made progress in these last few days in crafting the basic principles of this new framework, and we will persist until we can produce a sound agreement that is in the interests of people in both countries.
What the United States seeks--let me make clear--is not managed trade or so--called trade by the numbers, but better results from better rules of trade. Openness like this cannot simply come from pressure from the United States. That is one reason I wanted so much to be here with you today. A new openness can only come ultimately when Japanese leaders and Japanese citizens recognize that it is in your interests to pursue this course.
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