Teleconference on NAFTA with midwest farmers, ranchers, and agricultural broadcasters and an exchange with reporters - US President Bill Clinton

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 8, 1993

The President. Hello?

Q. Hello, Mr. President.

The President. How are you?

Q. Well, pretty good today, sir. How are you?

The President. I'm great. Thank you for taking this time to visit with us.

Q. Thank you for affording us the opportunity.

The President. I know that all of you have some questions, but I'd like to make just a brief opening statement, if I might. As all of you know, I think, before I took this job I was a Governor of an agricultural State, and I learned very early that the future of agriculture in America is in exports. We've got over 700,000 agriculture jobs in America today that are export-related. And if NAFTA passes, that number will continue to rise, meaning more jobs for people in our farm communities.

I know now that a big part of my job as President is going to be to continue to raise more and more opportunities for exports in America, and I'm doing that and the negotiations we have going on with Japan now, we even have some hopes that we're going to be able to sell some rice in Japan before too long, which is a big issue for farmers in my part of the country.

We're working hard across the board to get a new GATT agreement that will open agricultural markets for our farmers. And NAFTA is a part of our comprehensive strategy to boost farm income.

Since 1986, our agricultural exports to Mexico have nearly tripled. Mexico is now our fastest growing major export market. In 1992 we exported almost $4 billion worth of products to Mexico, 40 percent higher than 1990. And the Agriculture Department--and Secretary Espy is here with me today as you know--estimates that we will export $2.6 billion more with NAFTA than without it by the end of the transition period in the agreement.

So I think this is a good deal for our farmers. It's an even better deal this week than it was last week because of some of the agreements made by the Mexican Government affecting sugar and citrus and, to a lesser extent, vegetables. But it is clearly a good thing for America's farmers. That's why most of the major farm groups have endorsed it. And I'm looking forward to discussing it with the farmers today and with the people from the ag radio networks. So maybe we ought to get right into your questions and go forward.

I think Howard Hardecke is first. Is that right?

Q. That is correct, Mr. President.

The president. I remember when I was at your school.

Q. You're kidding.

The President. [Inaudible]--it was a great night.

Q. Yes, it was.

The President. My second grade teacher was there. I hadn't seen her since she left Arkansas. She was my second and third grade teacher. I really enjoyed that.

[At this point, Mr. Hardecke asked if other cattle-producing countries could import cattle duty-free through Mexico under NAFTA.]

The President. That's a good question. And believe it or not, it's a question that applies not only to agriculture but to some of our manufacturing. We have strict rules of origin that apply to our agriculture as you know already--

Q. Yes.

The President. --and there is nothing in the NAFTA agreement which changes that, so that the rules of origin that apply to Australian beef coming here directly would apply to them with equal force after NAFTA passes if they pass through Mexico. In other words, there's no loophole in the agreement to escape our rules of origin. So you'll be all right with that.

Q. Okay, appreciate it.

The President. Thank you. Terry Baer, are you next?

Q. Yes, sir.

The President. Howard, did you have another question? I want to make sure I've got this right, now.

Q. We were told we had one question, so--

The President. Okay. Well, go ahead, Terry.

Q. Okay. Greetings, Mr. President, from central Illinois. I live near Edelstein, Illinois, which is near Peoria in central Illinois, and I have a grain production operation, consisting of corn and soybeans, and then I also work at Caterpillar, Inc., in Peoria.

The President. Good for you. I've been there.

Q. Yes well, I personally met you there when you were campaigning.

The President. It's a great company.

Q. Yes it is, and I'm glad they're as close to my farm as they are. It works out real well.

The President. It cuts the transportation cost of the equipment, too, doesn't it?

Q. It sure does. So, Mr. President, I have a question on NAFTA for you. And that is, if NAFTA does not pass, what efforts do you see of Mexico forming treaties with other countries who also compete for the same markets as our U.S. farmers, and what effect might that have on our future farm economy and foreign competition for our U.S. products?

The President. I think it'll make it a lot tougher on us. Keep in mind Mexico has been opening its economy, its purchases of foreign products have been going up across the board. They want to give us some special opportunities to export into the Mexican market in return for being able to attract more investment to their country. So they will have to pursue their strategy of getting more investment and opening their markets to get it somewhere else if we don't take advantage of this. And, therefore, it could be an enormous setback for us. It would just give our competitors a big leg up in one of the fastest growing markets in the world.