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Last Tuesday, President Clinton was joined by three former Presidents, represent- 

 ing both major political parties, to announce their bipartisan support for NAFTA. 

 Forty-one State Governors have also announced their support for NAFTA. And 

 members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture voted 

 overwhelmingly in support of NAFTA as their organization became a member of the 

 "Ag for NAFTA" coalition. Why? Because all of these leaders from across the coun- 

 try, and from across party lines, recognize that NAFTA offers real hope for America 

 to take a giant step toward improving our global competitiveness. 



WHY THE UNITED STATES NEEDS A NAFTA 



We all have heard the President and Ambassador Kantor tell us that NAFTA will 

 create a net gain of 200,000 higher paying U.S. jobs in the next 2 years alone. While 

 many people across America have heard the President, some vocal opponents just 

 do not believe that this is true. I suppose in part this is because they just do not 

 believe that Mexican citizens can afford our goods and many Americans do not see 

 Mexico as a legitimate market opportunity. 



Well, the fact is, the average Mexican citizen — even though wages are lower in 

 Mexico — is spending more per person in absolute terms, not just in percentages, to 

 buy American goods than the average Japanese, or the average German. 



Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico City and to take 

 part in the "U.S. Food Festival '93," a trade show managed by my Department's For- 

 eign Agricultural Service. I was amazed by the presentations of the more than 200 

 U.S. exhibitors who took part — all with high expectations of future sales. But I was 

 even more amazed when I walked through a grocery store in Mexico City and saw 

 the shelves lined with American food products. I can personally tell you, Mexico is 

 a major market for U.S. agricultural products. 



In fact, Mexico is already the third largest foreign market for U.S. agricultural 

 products and the second largest market for U.S. manufactured goods. U.S. merchan- 

 dise exports to Mexico were nearly $41 billion last year, up more that 200 percent 

 since 1986. U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico will reach about $4 billion this year, 

 more than double the 1988 level. 



And the fact is, these exports to Mexico already support an estimated 700,000 

 U.S. jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, services, and other indus- 

 tries — 400,000 of those jobs were created just since 1986 when Mexico began open- 

 ing up its economy. 



Mexico's potential as a market for U.S. goods is even greater. Mexico has about 

 90 million people — 90 million consumers, including Mexico's large and growing mid- 

 dle class. Even though Mexico's tariffs have dropped significantly over the past few 

 years, their tariffs are still 2V2 times higher than ours. The average U.S. tariff on 

 goods from Mexico is only 4 percent, while the average tariff on goods from the 

 United States to Mexico is 10 percent. Under NAFTA, Mexico must eliminate these 

 high tariffs — completely. For the first time, our trading relationship with Mexico 

 will develop in a controlled way and not by accident, and for the first time, we will 

 be dealing on a level and fair playing field. 



Too much attention in this whole debate has focused upon "winners" and 'losers" 

 in the NAFTA negotiating process. Those who look at these negotiations as a game 

 to be won or lost are missing the point — NAFTA is not about who won and who lost 

 during the negotiating process — the fact is, the United States, Mexico, and Canada 

 are each winners in this negotiation — NAFTA is good for each of our countries. 

 NAFTA will create the world's largest market — with 370 million people and a $6.5 

 trillion annual economic output. 



There will be winners and losers, however, when the NAFTA debate is brought 

 to a conclusion. If NAFTA supporters carry the debate and NAFTA is approved by 

 the Senate and by the House, as I am hopeful it will be, the winners will be the 

 American workers. Jobs will be created in the United States because U.S. products 

 will be given preferential access to the Mexican market — that is, U.S. goods will 

 enter Mexico without being subject to the tariffs and nontariff barriers that goods 

 from other countries will continue to face. 



If NAFTA is defeated, there will be winners as well. But the winners will be the 

 European Community, and countries of the Pacific Rim, who recognized years ago 

 the advantages of having, and the necessity to have, a special trading relationship 

 with those countries nearest to their borders. They are aggressively creating new 

 preferential markets for their goods while we choose to rely upon old markets for 

 ours. Those who oppose the Uruguay round will consider themselves winners as well 

 if NAFTA is defeated because, let me assure you, our GATT negotiating position 

 would not be nearly as strong without NAFTA as it would be with it. 



