Secretary's Speech

Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez
Free Trade Alliance
San Antonio, Texas

Thank you, Eddie, for that kind introduction. Good afternoon everyone. It’s a pleasure to be here and to have this opportunity to personally thank you for your support of free trade and, specifically, the Central America-Dominican Republic agreement (CAFTA-DR).

Clearly, you get it. The CAFTA vote was close – very close. But look at what’s happened in spite of staggered implementation:

• In 2006, U.S. goods exports to CAFTA-DR countries jumped more than 16 percent to over $19.5 billion.
• Imports increased by about 3 percent.
• Our exports to each of the CAFTA-DR countries were up by at least 13 percent.
• For Guatemala and Nicaragua, the increases were 24 percent and 21 percent respectively.
• CAFTA-DR is the second-largest U.S. export market in Latin America with expanding opportunities for trade and investment.
• Last year, Texas exports to CAFTA-DR grew by more than 25 percent over 2005.

As President Bush said, “By helping our neighbors build strong and vibrant economies, we increase the standard of living for all of us.”

In addition to supporting jobs and growth here at home and in CAFTA’s developing democracies, increased commercial engagement is also helping our neighbors to strengthen the rule of law, respect for property rights, and accountable governance. These are the building blocks of freedom, stability, and prosperity.

With the President Bush’s pro-trade, pro-growth policies:

• We’ve had 21 straight quarters of economic growth.
• Unemployment (4.5%) is lower than the average of the last four decades.
• 7.5 million jobs have been created since August 2003.
• And real after-tax income per person has risen by 10 percent since the President took office.

To continue this growth, we have to keep opening global markets. We have been on the right track. Listen to these trade statistics:

• Since President Bush took office, we’ve implemented free trade agreements with 11 countries, including the Dominican Republic earlier this month.
• Seven more countries are in the pipeline, including agreements with Colombia, Peru and Panama, which we hope Congress will pass in the coming months.
• Exports to the countries we implemented FTAs with between 2001 and 2006 grew twice as fast as U.S. exports to the rest of the world.
• Last year, the United States was the largest exporter of goods and services in the world with a record-setting $1.4 trillion in exports.
• For the first time in nearly a decade, the growth rate of exports out paced the growth rate of imports, 13 percent vs.11 percent.

Clearly we have momentum.

There’s a lot of talk these days about withdrawing from the global economy. We hear protectionist sentiment being expressed throughout the country and in Congress. I would suggest to you that is a big trap. Protectionism doesn’t protect.

The worst thing we could do today is believe we could grow without being part of the global economy and leave any U.S. president without trade promotion authority.

The third issue I want to discuss with you today is one which I believe is the most important domestic social issue of our time – immigration.

We now have a labor shortage that is affecting industry after industry. The entire country is feeling the impact.

The reality is that there are thousands of jobs that aren’t getting filled because we don’t have enough workers. We’re facing a dramatic labor shortage. Without immigrants, we don’t have enough workers. Period!

And the problem is getting worse. The demographic trends are against us:

• The number of people in the prime working years (ages 25-54) is expected to increase by a mere 0.3% in the next seven years.
• By 2010, 77 million baby boomers will begin to retire. Some are retiring already.
• By 2030, one in every five Americans will likely be a senior citizen.

These are stunning trends. They spell dire consequences for the economy in the years ahead unless we take action. We cannot continue to grow our economy without a robust workforce.

Many advanced economies face declining populations and struggle to assimilate immigrants. We can make immigration a competitive advantage because assimilation is an historic national strength. In the end, we must craft a solution that is viable and workable, and that will enable the future flow of immigration to be orderly, legal and controlled.

The good news is we know how to successfully handle immigration. As a nation of immigrants, we have many years of experience unlike lots of other nations.

Immigration is not an historic problem—it is an historic opportunity. If we make the tough decisions, if we get this issue right, it will give us a major competitive advantage in today’s global economy for the next 20, 30, 40 years or more.

Secretary Chertoff, members of the White House staff, and I are working with Congress to pass immigration reform this year. We believe that with some hard work on a bipartisan basis, a solution to this very complex, emotionally charged issue can be found.

I believe our immigration solution must be multi-faceted. It must focus on securing our borders, enabling continued economic growth and creating a more unified America.

First, we must have a focus on national security. We must secure our borders and implement a system to tell us who enters our country and who is already here.

And we need to establish tamper-proof biometric identity cards and an employee verification data base, which will allow employers to verify the status of their workers.

Secondly, economic growth is essential for our continued prosperity as a nation. Our immigration policy needs to recognize the reality of our labor needs by creating a temporary worker program.

The third goal of a comprehensive immigration policy is American unity. This means assimilation and it means we must have bi-partisan support in the Congress.

We are a society governed by the rule of law. We shouldn’t reward unlawful behavior. But the mass deportation of 12 million people is not a solution. Neither is amnesty.

We need a solution that brings workers out of the shadows and into the mainstream. We need a solution that is both viable and workable.

It’s time to get beyond one-liners. It’s time for Democrats and Republicans to roll up our sleeves to get this done. There are hard issues to be faced. Everyone will have to compromise to get to a solution that meets our country’s needs.

It must be comprehensive, and it must be bi-partisan. The American people will not tolerate a one-sided bill. They want us to find common ground, and to do what’s good, and what’s right, for our nation.

In closing, let me just say that issues like free trade and immigration are as important to the government as they are to you. The best new ideas and the best practices do not come from government—they come from the private sector.

So continue to share your ideas, your concerns, and your policies. Together we will continue making America the best place in the world to live and do business.

Thank you.