FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

It is a pleasure to join Secretary Albright today to say a few words about the importance of renewing the President's traditional trade negotiating authority, known as fast track.

Three weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong for meetings of the G-7 group of the largest industrial nations, and for meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. As we discussed the many economic issues facing the world community -- including such matters as the financial instability of Southeast Asia -- an underlying refrain was the remarkable economic performance of the United States. At similar meetings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the other industrialized nations lined up to criticize the United States about the need to get its economic house in order. And, with our large budget deficits and the loss of competitiveness of our private sector in many industries, we were viewed by many as yesterday's economy.

Today we are clearly once again the strongest major economy in the world. We are viewed as a country that has put its economic house inorder and other countries look to the United States for leadership in the global economy.

Unemployment has been below 6% for over 2 years and below 5 percent for 5 months, the economy has generated 13 million new jobs, inflation has remained low and real wages are rising.

Many factors have contributed to this success --including the private sector's restoration of competitiveness in a broad array of industries -- but the key and indispensable factor has been a sound economic strategy grounded in fiscal responsibility, investing in people and opening markets.

Now though, as we look forward, what we must not do is let our strong economy of today mask the challenges we face to maintain this strength in the years and decades ahead. That is why we must maintain our fiscal discipline and work to equip all Americans with the tools they need to prosper in today's economy, through stronger education and training, and effective assistance to successfully reentering the workforce for those who suffer dislocation from the rapid changes of  a dynamic economy. And we must also build on our trade record of opening markets abroad to continue to create better jobs and raise standards of living at home.

We are now at a crossroads with respect to the strategy of opening markets around the globe. The question before Congress is whether to grant the President fast track so that we can continue to open markets, expand trade and raise standards of living here at home; or to refuse to grant the President such authority and watch as U.S. workers and businesses lose out in access to the opportunities in the global economy. Without fast track no nation will enter into a serious negotiation with the United States, because of concern that the agreement will be revamped during the Congressional process, and our economic interests will suffer.

There is a vital point here about which we must be clear. Countries around the world are moving ahead to expand trade arrangements with each other. There is no question this is going to continue. The only question is whether we will be on the inside and benefiting, or on the outside looking in. To cite one example, the Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay have created a preferential trade arrangement. U.S. exports to these countries in four of our most competitive industries -- road vehicles, metal goods, cosmetics, and electrical equipment-- fell by more than 10 percent in 1996, while our exports of these products to the rest of the world grew by almost 6 percent. U.S. fabric producers have lost sales in Chile to Canadian competitors benefitting from an 11 percent tariff preference. It is also greatly in our interest to influence the shape of world trade agreements and we can't do that unless we join the negotiations that will form the global trading system. We must make sure that U.S. companies have a level playing field as markets of the future open their doors to trade. The alternative is to be on the outside, and that will cost us dearly.

Expanded trade allows us to sell more abroad in the areas where we are most effective and gain from greater competition and more choice at home, raising our living standards overall. A relatively conservative approach to determining the gains to the American people from expanded trade predicts that further trade liberalization helped by fast track could generate at least $200 billion more in total exports by the year 2010. Expanded trade would translate into a significant increase of between $800 and $1600 in income for the average family.

Make no mistake: Fast track is about more than one trade agreement or set of trade agreements. It is about U.S. leadership in the growing global economy, promoting open markets and trade increases our exports, as well as overall prosperity around the world, creating new markets for our products while promoting greater international stability. In the same vein, American support for growth and reform in developing countries -- through the less than 2% of our federal budget that goes to support the World Bank, the IMF, bi-lateral foreign aid, and the United Nations -- is greatly in our economic self interest, leaving aside any questions of morality and the like, as these developing countries have gone from being economically insignificant decades ago to being the recipients of over 40% of our exports today. In today's global economy, the economic well-being of the United States is integrally linked to the rest of the world and U.S. leadership on global trade and promoting growth in the developing world is necessary in promoting global growth, and so, in increasing jobs and standards of living at home.

At a time when our economy is doing so well and we benefit so much from the opportunities of the global economy, and when the reality is that our economic well-being will be increasingly and greatly affected by our trade relationships and the future health of the global economy, it is deeply troubling that there is so much instinct to retreat from the global economy, a retreat that can only hurt us economically. Anxiety and uncertainty with the pace of change is natural, but we must react, not by turning our backs on opportunity and reality, but by doing what we need to do at home and abroad to take advantage of these opportunities. To do this, to support U.S. leadership in the global economy, to support fast track, we must build an understanding among American business, workers and consumers of the stake we all have in opening markets and promoting growth in the global economy. A critical job for all us --the President, Secretary Albright, myself, and very importantly you in the business community -- is to convey this understanding to the American people; the benefits of integration with the global economy, costs of retreat from that global economy.

There is no question that American companies today can compete. Our objective is to make sure that US companies have a level playing field around the world. With fast track we can create that level playing field and help sustain the economic progress that has occurred over the last five years. Thank you very much.