[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[May 7, 2008]
[Pages 647-652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to the Council of the Americas
May 7, 2008
Thank you all. Please be seated. Bill,
thank you for the kind introduction. Thanks for giving me a chance to
come by and see that the Secretary of State's dining room is a lot better than the President's
dining room. [Laughter] I'm honored to be here. I'm pleased to be with
the Council of Americas again. I appreciate what you do to promote
personal and economic freedom throughout the region, throughout the
Americas. I appreciate your strong concern about the need for liberty to
be spread, liberty in forms of government and liberty in forms of
economies.
I am honored to be here with the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, better known in the
neighborhood as Senorita Arroz. [Laughter] I'm pleased to be with Carlos
Gutierrez, the Secretary of Commerce,
Susan Schwab, the U.S. Trade Representative.
I'm thrilled to be here with Susan Segal, the
president and CEO of the Council of Americas; a dear family friend,
former member of the Cabinet of--in 41, Robert Mosbacher; Mack McLarty as well--people who care a lot about the region.
Thank you for joining us here. I'm also pleased to be here with
Ministers, representatives, Ambassadors from the Governments of Canada,
Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Honored you all are here.
The foundation of a good foreign policy is good relations with your
neighbors. A peaceful and secure neighborhood is in the interest of the
United States of America. And so I want to talk to you about the
hemisphere we share, the challenges we face, and the aggressive work
that the United States is doing to help make the Americas a place of
hope and liberty.
In recent decades, there have been positive developments in Latin
America. Countries have moved away from an era of dictatorships, era of
civil strife. Unfortunately, today, some countries in the region are
seeing a resurgence of radicalism and instability. And one nation in the
region remains mired in the tyranny of a bygone era, and that is Cuba.
Yesterday I had a fascinating opportunity to speak with a leading
Cuban dissident, a former
political prisoner, and a wife of a man who
is held in a Cuban prison simply because he expressed his belief that
all people should live in a free society. Video conferencing is one of
the great wonders of the 21st century. And to be able to sit in the
White House and talk to these three brave souls in Havana was a
inspiring moment for me. It reminded me about how much work the United
States has to do to help the people in Cuba realize the blessings of
liberty.
It also reminded me of a couple of things: One, that there's an
eternal truth when it comes to freedom; that there is an Almighty, and a
gift of that Almighty to every man, woman, and child, whether they be
American, Cubano, or anywhere else, is freedom; and that it's going to
take the courage and determination of individuals such as the three I
met with to help inspire the island to embrace freedom.
The Cuban Government recently announced a change at the top. Some in
the world marveled that perhaps change is on its way. That's not how I
view it. Until there's a change of heart and a change of compassion and
a change of how the Cuban Government treats its people, there's no
change at all. The regime has made empty gestures at reform, but Cuba is
still ruled by the same group that has oppressed the Cuban people for
almost half a century. Cuba will not be a land of liberty so long as
free expression is punished and free speech can take place only in
hushed whispers and silent prayers. And Cuba will not become a place of
prosperity just by
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easing restrictions on the sale of products that the average Cuban
cannot afford.
If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, then
Cuba's rulers must begin a process of peaceful democratic change. And
the first step must be to release all political prisoners. They must
respect the human rights in word and in deed. And they must allow what
the Cuban people have desired for generations: to pick their own leaders
in free and fair elections. This is the policy of the United States, and
it must not change until the people of Cuba are free.
We will face other challenges in the hemisphere as well. I'm deeply
concerned about the challenge of illicit drug trade. First, I fully
understand that when there is demand, there will be supply. And the
United States of America is implementing a strategy to reduce--a
comprehensive strategy to convince our people to stop using illegal
drugs. I talk to my counterparts all the time in the region. And I talk
about how we can work together--and I'll explain some strategies here in
a minute--but I also remind them that so long as the United States uses
illegal drugs, you know, drug dealers will find a way to get their
products here.
We made some progress on reducing demand. Since 2001, the rate of
drug use among the young has dropped by 24 percent. Young people's use
of marijuana is down by 25 percent. The use of ecstasy has dropped by
more than 50 percent. Methamphetamine use is down by 64 percent.
Overall, it's estimated that 860,000 fewer young people in America are
using drugs today than when we began. But obviously, we still have a lot
of work to do. And so my commitment to our friends in the neighborhood
is, the United States will continue to implement its comprehensive
strategy to do our part to reduce demand for illegal drugs.
Secondly, we're working to intercept illegal drugs before they reach
our citizens. Every day, the men and women of the DEA, the Coast Guard,
the Border Patrol, and other law enforcement organizations are working
tirelessly to intercept drugs, to stop money laundering, and to bust the
gangs that are spreading this poison throughout our society. We've had
some success. We've seized record amounts of cocaine coming into the
United States. Last year, these efforts resulted in a significant
disruption of the availability of cocaine in 38 major cities. We still
have more work to do.
And a final leg of our strategy is this: We will work with our
partners, Mexico and the countries of Central America, to take on the
international drug trade. I am deeply concerned about how lethal and how
brutal these drug lords are. I have watched with admiration how
President Calderon has
taken a firm hand in making sure his society is free of these drug
lords. And the tougher Mexico gets, the more likely it is they--these
drug families and these kingpins--will try to find safe haven in Central
America.
And that is why I committed my administration to the Merida
Initiative. It's a partnership, a cooperative partnership with Mexico
and Central America that will help them deal with the scourge of these
unbelievably wealthy and unbelievably violent drug kingpins. And I want
to work with Congress to make sure that, one, they fully pass our
requests in the upcoming supplemental debate, and also remind Members of
Congress that the strategy that we have put forth is a strategy designed
with the leadership of the Central American countries as well as with
Mexico. It's a strategy designed to be effective. And so when Congress
passes our supplemental request, they also got to make sure that they
implement the strategy we proposed in full.
Another challenge is to--promoting social justice in the region.
Nearly one out of four people in Latin America lives on $2 a day.
Children never finish grade school. Mothers have trouble finding a
doctor. In the age of growing prosperity and
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abundance, this is a problem that the United States must take seriously.
As the most prosperous country in the world, the United States is
reaching out to help our partners improve the lives of their citizens.
Social justice requires access to decent health care. And so we're
helping meet health care needs in some of the most remote parts of Latin
America, primarily by using the United States military's medical
personnel to treat local citizens.
I'll never forget going to Guatemala and seeing the clinics run by
our troops. America is a compassionate country. We're plenty strong when
we need to be. But our military has provided unbelievably good care for
a lot of people who have never seen health care before. The missions
last year provided treatment for 340,000 individuals in 15 countries.
And this year, a new series of humanitarian assistant missions will
treat an additional 320,000. I mean, it's so important when people think
of America and think of the neighborhood that they understand social
justice is at the forefront of our agenda.
Social justice requires access to decent education as well. And
since 2004, the taxpayers of the United States have provided more than
$300 million for education programs throughout the region, with a
special emphasis, a special focus, on rural and marginalized
populations.
Last year as well, the Secretary and I
announced a new partnership for Latin American youth to help train
thousands of young people in the Americas with their English and to
provide opportunity to study here in the United States. And the reason
why is simple: We want people in our neighborhood to have the skills
necessary to take advantage of the opportunities of the 21st century.
It's in the interest of the United States that we promote good health
policies and good education policies.
Social justice also requires institutions that are fair, effective,
and free of corruption. It's hard to have a hopeful society when
leadership steals the taxpayers' money. It's hard to have a hopeful
place when the people aren't comfortable with the nature of government.
And so we'll continue our bilateral aid, and I'm proud of the amounts of
money we're spending in the region. But we've also changed the way that
we're providing aid by insisting upon rules of governance, rule of law,
the education--the investment in education and health of its people, and
governments to embrace marketplace economies.
And we do this what's called--through what's called the Millennium
Challenge Account. It is a new way to say that, yes, we're going to
provide taxpayers' money, but we expect something in return from the
governments that we help. I don't think it's too much to ask a
government that receives U.S. aid to fight corruption. A matter of fact,
I think it's a request that's long overdue. I don't think it's too much
to ask a government that we help to invest in the health and education
of their children. Nor do I think it's too much to ask for a government
to accept marketplace economics.
The Millennium Challenge Account has invested $930 million in the--
our region thus far to assist the countries of El Salvador, Guyana,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru. And let me talk about just some
of the initiatives to give you a sense for the types of programs we're
talking about.
In Honduras, the United States is providing assistance to nearly
1,300 farmers so they can develop their farmland and provide for their
families. In Nicaragua, we've helped small farmers and entrepreneurs
increase their productivity in rural communities. In Paraguay, we're
working to--with local leaders to reduce the cost of starting new
businesses.
See, the whole purpose is to encourage enterprise, infrastructure
that'll help people get goods to markets; to provide the capacity--
increase the capacity of these countries to be able to provide hope for
their people.
[[Page 650]]
This is a really good program, and the Congress needs to fully fund it
as they debate the appropriations bills this year.
The Millennium Challenge Account is one way to promote prosperity,
but perhaps the most--not perhaps--the most effective way is through
trade. Trade brings increased economic opportunities to both the people
of Latin America and the people of the United States.
Congress recognized these opportunities. I mean, Congress took a
look at whether or not we ought to have free trade agreements in our
neighborhood, and they started doing so with Peru. And the bill,
thankfully--the trade bill with Peru passed by a large bipartisan
majority. It's a good agreement. It's good for Peru; it also happens to
be good for the United States. And now my call on Congress is to take
that same spirit by which they passed the Peruvian trade agreement and
do the same thing for Colombia and Panama.
About 17 months ago, the United States signed a free trade agreement
with Colombia. Ever since, my administration has worked closely with
Congress to seek a bipartisan path for considering this agreement. I
understand trade votes are hard. And that's why we continually reached
out with--to Congress. We've had more than 400 consultations, meetings,
and calls. We've led trips to Colombia for more than 50 Members of
Congress. We've worked closely with congressional leaders from both
parties. We've responded to concerns over labor and environmental
standards by including some of the most rigorous protections of any
trade agreement in the history of the United States. We have bent over
backwards to work with members from both parties on the Hill.
And despite this, Congress has refused to act. One month ago, I sent
the bill to implement the agreement to the Congress. Yet the
Speaker chose to block it instead of giving it
an up-or-down vote that the Congress had committed to. Her action is
unprecedented. It is extremely unfortunate. I hope the Speaker is going
to change her mind. I hope you help her to change her mind. If she
doesn't, the agreement is dead, and this will be bad for our workers,
our businesses, and it'll be bad for America's national security.
Approving the agreement would strengthen our economy. Today, almost
all of Colombia's exports enter the United States duty free. Yet
American products exported to Colombia face tariffs of up to 35 percent
for nonagricultural goods and much higher for many agricultural
products. Think about that. They export into the United States duty
free, and we don't have the same advantage. I would call that a one-
sided economic agreement.
Failure to pass the free trade agreement, therefore, is making it
much harder to sell our products into Colombia. To try to put this in
perspective for you: This weekend we reached an unfortunate milestone
when the tariffs imposed on U.S exports to Colombia reached an estimated
$1 billion since the free trade agreement was signed. There's a--that's
1 billion good reasons why the United States Congress ought to pass this
bill. Passing the agreement, we could create the--[applause].
Members of Congress need to think about this. Once implemented, the
Colombia free trade agreement would immediately eliminate tariffs on
more than 80 percent of American exports of industrial and consumer
goods. Many American exports of agriculture and construction equipment,
aircraft and auto parts, and medical and scientific equipment would
immediately enter Colombia duty free. So would farm exports like high-
quality beef and cotton and wheat and soybeans and fruit. And
eventually, the agreement would eliminate all tariffs on U.S. goods and
services.
Opening markets is especially important during this time of economic
uncertainty. Last year, exports accounted for more than 40 percent of
America's total economic growth. Forty percent of the growth was as a
result of goods and services being sold
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from the United States into foreign markets. With our economy slowing,
it seems like to me that we should be doing everything possible to open
up new markets for U.S. goods and services. More than 9,000 American
companies, including 8,000 small and midsized firms, export to Colombia.
And approving this agreement, opening up markets for their goods and
services, would help them increase sales, would help them grow their
businesses, and would help them pay good-paying jobs.
If you're interested in work in America, if you're interested in
economic vitality, you ought to be doing everything you can to make it
easier for U.S. companies to be selling overseas.
And finally, approving this agreement is a urgent national security
priority. Colombia is one of our strongest allies in the Western
Hemisphere. I admire President Uribe a
lot. He is courageous. He shares our values. He is a strong, capable
partner in fighting drugs and crime and terror. The Colombia Government
reports, since 2002, kidnapings in Colombia have dropped 83 percent,
terrorist attacks are down 76 percent, murders have dropped by 40
percent. He's got a strong record of doing what he said he was going to
do.
And despite the progress, Colombia remains under intense pressure in
the region. It faces a continuing assault from the terrorist group known
as FARC, which seizes hostages and murders innocent civilians. Colombia
faces a hostile and anti-American neighbor in Venezuela, where the
regime has forged an alliance with Cuba, collaborated with FARC
terrorists, and provided sanctuary to FARC units.
President Uribe has stood strong. He
has done so with the assurance of American support. Congress's failure
to pass the Colombia free trade agreement has called this support into
question. President Uribe told Members of Congress that approving this
agreement is one of the most important ways that America can show our
unwavering commitment to Colombia. Congressional leaders need to send a
message that we support this brave and courageous leader and that we
will not turn our back on one of our most steadfast allies.
Yesterday I met with the President of Panama. I assured him our efforts to get the Panamanian trade
bill passed will be just as vociferous and vigorous as our efforts to
get the Colombia trade bill passed. Congress must understand: They have
a chance to spread prosperity in our neighborhood; they have a chance to
support friends in our neighborhood. And there's no better way to
express that friendship than to support the Colombia free trade
agreement, the Panamanian free trade agreement, and while they're at it,
to send a clear message around the world that the South Korean free
trade agreement is good for the U.S. economy as well.
The ties between the people of the United States and the people of
Latin America are important to our country. They're important to our
prosperity, and they're important to the national security interests of
the country. We share a deep bond, a bond between friends and a bond
between neighbors. And because of this bond, the United States will, and
must, remain committed to making sure that Latin America is a place of
opportunity, a place of hope, a place of social justice, a place where
basic necessities like health care and education are not too much for
any child to dream about, or a place where poverty gives way to
prosperity, and a place, above all, where freedom is the birthright of
every citizen.
I want to thank you for taking on the cause. I thank you for your
vision. I thank you for your steadfast support of doing what's right in
our neighborhood. And it's been my honor to come and share some thoughts
with you. God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 1:14 p.m. at the State Department. In his
remarks, he referred to William R. Rhodes, chairman, Council of the
Americas; former White
[[Page 652]]
House Chief of Staff Thomas F. ``Mack'' McLarty; Cuban dissident Martha
Beatriz Roque Cabello; former Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis Garcia
Perez; Berta Soler Fernandez, wife of Cuban political prisoner Angel
Moya Acosta; President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa of Mexico; and
President Martin Torrijos Espino of Panama. The Office of the Press
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.