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U.S. Official Outlines President Bush's Agenda for the Americas Strengthening security, promoting democracy, encouraging responsible governance and stimulating economic development are the Bush Administration's four goals for the Americas, says Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Daniel Fisk. In November 14 remarks in Miami, Fisk said that the people of the Americas are bound by common democratic values and interests as well as commercial relationships. He added that the White House -- reflecting President Bush's vision of the linked futures of the United States and its Latin American neighbors -- is committed to overcoming obstacles to progress in the hemisphere. The foundation for any meaningful progress is security, according to Fisk, since it creates "the necessary conditions for fruitful work and social progress." He explained that the administration defines security broadly to include prosperity, personal security and the establishment of clearrules that provide for investor confidence and the protection of labor rights. Within this context, Fisk stressed the importance of investing in education and training the work force in order to meet future challenges. Fisk said that promoting democracy and good governance in Latin America are two other White House priorities. He emphasized that not only is democracy "more than a periodic election," it is also a civic culture. Ending corruption in the Americas is necessary to foster a truly democratic civic culture, Fisk noted. He applauded efforts in this area by Mexico, Nicarauga, Honduras and Costa Rica, and cited economic development in Chile as an example of the rewards of responsible governance. Fisk said that the White House would encourage good governance by rewarding countries that work to create a democratic civic culture and enact necessary reforms. He explained that the Millennium Challenge Account, announced last March by President Bush, will increase foreign assistance by 50 percent over the next three years, with funds directed to those countries "that govern justly and honestly, uphold the rule of law, fight corruption, invest in their people and promote economic freedom." With strong commercial relations linking the prosperity of the United States and Latin America, the encouragement of economic growth is another goal of the Bush Administration. Fisk said that "trade is the most effective and rapid means to economic development" and reiterated the president's commitment to creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) that will encompass the 800 million democratically governed people of the hemisphere. "Only by taking advantage of the efficiencies offered by the global market can the nations of the region reduce poverty, create jobs and accumulate the capital they require to invest in their people and their industries for long-term growth," he argued. Fisk observed that the FTAA will not only be a powerful impetus for economic growth but for increased social spending and political progress as well. He pointed out that trade generates revenue to address educational, health care and law enforcement needs, while the greater transparency in economic decision-making encouraged by trade agreements advances political openness and democracy. Quoting President Bush, Fisk closed his remarks by declaring that the people of the Americas have "a dream of free markets, free people, in a hemisphere free from war and tyranny," adding: "That dream has sometimes been frustrated -- but it must never be abandoned." Fisk's speech was given at a workshop on unemployment insurance in the Americas that was a follow-up to the action plan that was endorsed by the 12th Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor in Ottawa, Canada, in October 2001. The workshop was designed to give participants a better understanding of how the hemisphere's various unemployment insurance systems work and to highlight the role that such systems can play in promoting a more adaptable labor market. Following is a transcript of Fisk's remarks: (begin transcript) As delivered Speech to the Workshop on Unemployment Insurance in the Americas I also want to commend the Department of Labor and the Summit of the Americas Center at Florida International University for organizing this important conference. Your presence at this workshop reflects the comprehensive vision of hemispheric integration put forth by the leaders of the Americas in Quebec at the Third Summit of the Americas held in April 2001. Your participation here will help define how we work together to build a more prosperous future for all our people, and nothing is more important. Tonight, I would like to briefly discuss the Bush Administration's Western Hemisphere agenda. I recognize that there is a perception held by some that the United States has not been engaged with our partners in the region since September 11. While it is true that the president has appropriately concentrated his efforts on the war against terror, he fully appreciates the importance of our relationships in this hemisphere. As you may recall, in his presidential campaign, President Bush declared his belief that the 21st century would be known as "The Century of the Americas." He and his administration have demonstrated that this was not just a slogan, but a guiding principle. President Bush's first foreign trip was to Mexico; his second was to Canada, where he led the U.S. delegation to the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Even after the terrible events of September 11th, the president made a point of visiting El Salvador, Peru, and Monterrey, Mexico. He has met and consulted with almost every head of state in the hemisphere. Today, at the White House, the president met with President Sanchez de Lozada, the recently-elected leader of Bolivia. And he has spoken with President-elect Lula da Silva of Brzail, extending an invitation to the president-elect to visit Washington in the near future. President Bush knows that the people of the Americas are neighbors and partners. Our destinies are tied together. We share values and interests. We value freedom. And there is now a consensus in the Americas in favor of democratic government. This consensus began to emerge more than twenty years ago. In the late '70s, only about a quarter of the people in Latin America enjoyed some form of democratic government. Today, all of the nations are democracies except Cuba. We are becoming a community of states based on this common belief, as was codified in the Inter-American Democratic Charter that establishes democratic government as the birthright of every citizen of the hemisphere. We share an interest in working together to make this hemisphere peaceful and prosperous. In the United States, we know that we will not be safe at home unless our neighborhood is safe, so promoting security in the region is our first priority. We do not mean security in a narrow military sense, but in a larger context that includes prosperity, personal security, and the establishment of clear rules that provide for investor confidence and the protection of labor rights. Furthermore, we share the belief that investing in our people is vital. Unless we are willing to invest in education and training for our respective workforces, we will not be able to meet the challenges of today or of the future. This observation may be obvious to those of you in labor ministries who devote your service to improving the lives of workers. However, it is equally important that the relationship between a prepared, secure workforce and our economic goals is fully understood throughout our governments -- at all levels of policy-making. Equally of note is the fact that commercial relationships bind the prosperity of the United States to the prosperity of our partners in the region, and vice versa. The U.S. sells more to Latin America and the Caribbean than to the European Union (EU). Trade with our NAFTA partners is greater than our trade with the EU and Japan combined. We sell more to the Southern Cone common market (MERCOSUR) than to China. Latin America and the Caribbean comprise our fastest-growing export market. In return, the United States is the leading importer of good and services produced by our neighbors in the hemisphere. All of this reinforces the president's belief in the future of the Americas, and our policy reflects his confidence and his vision. And it recognizes that leadership will be critical to overcoming the obstacles to progress. The Bush Administration's agenda for our hemisphere has four goals: -- to strengthen security; Security Security, it is often said, is the first function of a state. To make any meaningful progress, people require safety and the assurance that their work to build a better future will not be destroyed. As labor leaders, I am sure you understand the real costs of insecurity in terms of jobs and productivity. Our first priority, then, is to reinforce security in this hemisphere so as to create the necessary conditions for fruitful work and social progress. Democracy and Good Governance After security, our second priority is promoting democracy and good governance. Democracy is more than a periodic election. It is a civic culture. Public integrity, equality before the law, respect for individual rights, economic opportunity, and healthy political institutions are indispensable to true democracy. Anti-Corruption President Bush believes that if we are to create a truly democratic civic culture throughout the hemisphere, we must end corruption. The World Bank correctly identifies corruption "as the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development." Our challenge is to overcome the inertia of the old ways of doing business, either in the public sector or the private sector. There are still too many in elite positions who have not learned that government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. Many countries in the Western Hemisphere are making progress: In Mexico, President Fox is leading a vigorous campaign against the decades of abuse that undermined the Mexican people's faith in their government. In Nicaragua, President Bolaños is waging a determined campaign against corruption and impunity there. It is no coincidence that he is the leader in Latin America with the highest approval ratings. We also applaud Presidents Maduro and Pacheco for their work to strengthen the rule of law in Honduras and Costa Rica. In an example of the rewards of good governance, Uruguay, a country with a tradition of good governance, enjoys the most equitable income distribution in Latin America. Recently, forward-looking public policies have also contributed to above-average economic growth in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. Chile, ranked as the top country in Latin America for fighting corruption and reflecting other indicators of good government, has benefited from the fastest economic growth and poverty reduction in the region over the past decade. To help meet this challenge, the Bush Administration has undertaken to provide incentives for good governance with a new approach to foreign aid. President Bush announced his Millennium Challenge Account initiative last March, whereby we will increase our core development assistance by 50 percent over the next three years, resulting in a $5 billion annual increase over current levels by fiscal year 2006 and beyond. These monies will be directed to those countries that govern justly and honestly, uphold the rule of law, fight corruption, invest in their people, and promote economic freedom. I believe that a number of countries in the region will eventually benefit from this new program. Development All of the people of the Americas want the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their children. It is clearly in the interest of the United States to see that our neighbors have that opportunity. Our prosperity is tied to the prosperity of the region. So, in addition to promoting security, democracy and good governance, the United States is working to encourage economic growth in the Western Hemisphere. President Bush is committed to creating the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Trade is the most effective and rapid means to economic development. Only by taking advantage of the efficiencies offered by the global market can the nations of the region reduce poverty, create jobs, and accumulate the capital they require to invest in their people and their industries for long-term growth. The FTAA will create the largest free market in the world, stretching from Canada to Argentina, including every one of the 800 million people in the Western Hemisphere. As you know, we intend to complete negotiations by January 2005 and bring the agreement into force by the end of that year. The United States looks forward to co-chairing the negotiations, together with our partners in Brazil. The United States wants to work with Brazil and our other hemispheric neighbors to create a prosperous and peaceful future for the people of the Americas. We believe that the greater economic integration of the Americas will have an overwhelmingly positive effect. An FTAA will be a powerful impetus to economic and political progress in Latin America, as NAFTA was in Mexico. Before NAFTA was implemented in 1994, trade between the United States and Mexico totaled $81 billion. Last year, trade was about $250 billion, or about half a million dollars per minute. Since 1993, U.S. trade with our NAFTA partners has grown twice as fast as it has with the rest of the world, creating millions of new jobs in Mexico. NAFTA has been crucial in transforming Mexico into an exporting economy. There is a virtuous dynamic between free economies and free societies. Increased growth from trade generates more revenues for governments to address the problems of unequal access to education and health services, to protect the environment, and to improve law enforcement services. By encouraging market-based reforms and greater transparency in economic decision-making, free-trade agreements also advance political openness and democracy as well. Conclusion Let me leave you with a few final thoughts. Your work this week -- and in the other facets of the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor -- reflects the labor mandates of our leaders in the Summit of the Americas process. Our leaders recognize the prominent role of labor in building the foundations for prosperity and security throughout the hemisphere. Further, I think we can all agree that our governments have a responsibility to expand economic opportunities for our people. And you, as leaders of the labor ministries in our countries, bear a large measure of responsibility to the workers in your nations and in the hemisphere, to ensure a better life for them and for future generations. In the final analysis, this is the goal of each of our governments. I know you take this responsibility to heart. If we can provide a secure and free political environment with economic incentives and opportunities, the creative power of the people of the Americas will be unleashed. The Bush Administration has a comprehensive policy to do that, by promoting security, democracy, good governance, and prosperity. These are ambitious goals, and we are well aware of the challenges we face. But we may pursue them with confidence because I know that we have many millions of partners in our efforts to make this hemisphere free, prosperous, and democratic. As President Bush said, the people of the Americas have "a dream of free markets and free people, in a hemisphere free from war and tyranny. That dream has sometimes been frustrated -- but it must never be abandoned." Thank you for your time and attention. (end transcript) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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