Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993

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Author: William J. Clinton  | Date: November 18, 1993

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Message on NAFTA
to Latin American Heads of State
November 18, 1993

Following passage of the NAFTA implementing legislation by the House of Representatives on November 17 the President sent the following message to heads of state and government of Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Suriname, Guyana, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Barbados, The Bahamas, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada:

"I am pleased to inform you that the implementing legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed on November 17 by the United States House of Representatives. This represents the first critical step on the road to U.S. implementation of the Agreement. I hope to win approval of the implementing legislation next week by the United States Senate. The other signatory parties, Canada and Mexico, are completing their ratification procedures.

"This is an historic occasion. The NAFTA will benefit all the people of our hemisphere. It manifests the confidence and optimism with which the United States and our immediate neighbors face the future. It epitomizes our dedication to the development of a cooperative and prosperous post-Cold War world based on open and dynamic economies, a clean environment, protection of workers’ rights and expansion of democracy.

"The NAFTA will capitalize on the tremendous opportunities which reforms in Mexico and elsewhere in the Americas have given us to open the way to trade liberalization throughout the hemisphere. As we link our economies we not only will increase the efficiency of production in each country but also will create new, better quality jobs and improve the entire hemisphere’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. The NAFTA will set the stage for freer trade and sustainable, more equitable economic developmentthroughout Latin America and the Caribbean for the benefit of our combined populations of 700 million. It will also give an enormous boost to our efforts to complete the GATT Uruguay Round so we can continue to expand the global economy.

"I am grateful for the hemisphere-wide backing the NAFTA enjoys. Your expressions of support, both individual and issued collectively through the Organization of American States, the Rio Group, the Caribbean Community and the Meeting of Central American Presidents have helped me convey to the people of the United States the commitment of Latin American and Caribbean nations to opening their markets so that freer trade may benefit all. I am proud to have your support in this historic endeavor and I look forward to working with you to make freer trade throughout this hemisphere a reality."

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Chicago: William J. Clinton, "Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Message on NAFTA to Latin American Heads of State," Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993 in Federal Register Division. National Archives and Records Service, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1956-), P.2207 2012. Original Sources, accessed March 29, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=48ZS6JXN7DI2U7T.

MLA: Clinton, William J. "Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Message on NAFTA to Latin American Heads of State." Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, in Federal Register Division. National Archives and Records Service, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1956-), P.2207, page 2012. Original Sources. 29 Mar. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=48ZS6JXN7DI2U7T.

Harvard: Clinton, WJ, 'Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Message on NAFTA to Latin American Heads of State' in Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993. cited in , Federal Register Division. National Archives and Records Service, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1956-), P.2207, pp.2012. Original Sources, retrieved 29 March 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=48ZS6JXN7DI2U7T.