President Signed U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
The East Room
3:10 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, good afternoon, and welcome to the White
House. I'm honored to host Prime Minister Goh as we sign an historic
free trade agreement between the United States and Singapore.
Our two countries have a proud history of friendship and
cooperation. We're working together to meet the threats of a new era,
and we share a belief in the power of free enterprise and free trade to
improve lives. The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement marks a crucial
step forward for both our countries. And with the approval of the
Congress, this agreement will help generate well-paying jobs and
opportunities for people in Singapore and in the United States.
The Prime Minister is a man with whom I enjoy good conversations.
He's got good advice, and I'm proud to call him "friend."
I appreciate so very much our -- members of my Cabinet who are
here: the Secretary of State; Secretary of Commerce; Trade Minister
Robert Zoellick, Ambassador Zoellick. I want to thank very much the
Singaporean delegation for coming. Madame Ambassador, it's good to see
you again. I appreciate our Ambassador, Frank Lavin, for being here,
and I appreciate his service to our country.
I'm so grateful for the members of Congress for being here. Thank
you all for coming; strong free traders, people who believe in the
possibility of trade, in the hope of trade. I want to thank members of
our business community who are here. Mr. Prime Minister, you've drawn
quite a crowd. (Laughter.)
America supports free trade because it creates new opportunities
for millions of people, new wealth for entire nations, and benefits
that are widely shared. NAFTA, in the Uruguay Round, for example, show
us what free trade can accomplish. They've created more choices and
lower prices for consumers, raising living standards for a typical
American family of four by at least $2,000 a year. Free trade has a
direct benefit for our citizens.
In NAFTA's first six years, more than half of Mexico's new
manufacturing jobs were connected to trade. Trade helps people in our
neighborhood. It helps people find work. A prosperous neighborhood is
in the interest of the United States of America. Trade helps people
emerge from poverty. Trade helps people realize their hopes and
ambitions. Trade is an important part of improving the lives of people
around the globe.
And that's why this administration strongly stands for free trade.
From the first days of this administration, we have been working to
extend the benefits of trade to every region of the world. We're a
leader in the negotiations of the WTO. We've advanced bold proposals
to open up global markets. We seek to build on the success of NAFTA
with the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
We're also encouraging the free flow of trade and investment in the
Pacific, among our partners in APEC and ASEAN. America has implemented
a free trade agreement with Jordan, our first ever with an Arab
nation. And we're finalizing our pact with Chile. Similar
negotiations are underway with Australia, Morocco, and five nations in
the Central American region. And soon we'll beginning negotiations
with the Southern African Customs Union to bring new opportunities to a
part of the world where the need is great.
The agreement that the Prime Minister and I sign today is the first
of its kind between the United States and an Asian Pacific country.
The 4 million people of Singapore have built a strong and vibrant
economy. Singapore has long set an example for its neighbors in the
world of the transforming power of economic freedom and open markets.
Singapore is already America's 12th largest trading partner, and buys a
full range of American products, everything from machine parts and
computers to agricultural products.
This free trade agreement will increase access to Singapore's
dynamic markets for American exporters, service providers and
investors. The agreement contains state of the art protections for
Internet commerce and intellectual property that will help drive growth
and innovation in our dynamic technology sectors.
The agreement also safeguards the right of workers and protections
for our environment. It's a modern agreement. And it's a good
agreement for both countries. By granting free trade -- by granting
trade promotion authority last year, Congress showed support for an
agenda of free and open trade. And I want to thank them for that. I
hope the Congress will act in this same spirit and quickly give final
approval to this agreement -- and I'm sure they will. Singapore is a
nation that is small in size, but large in influence. With this
agreement, Singapore becomes an even more valued economic partner of
the United States.
Mr. Prime Minister, your nation has also been a vital and steadfast
friend in the fight against global terror. Singapore has made
determined and successful efforts to break up terror plots before they
can take innocent lives.
As a member of the U.N. Security Council, Singapore worked hard to
secure the passage of Resolution 1441, requiring Iraq to live up to its
international obligations. And now with Iraq's liberation, Singapore
will send police and health care workers to help with Iraq's
reconstruction.
Mr. Prime Minister, I appreciate your nation's contribution as we
overcome great dangers and defend the peace. I'm grateful, as well,
for your commitment to a world that trades in freedom and for all the
hard work on both sides that have made this agreement possible.
We take great pride in the strong relationship between our countries.
Welcome to Washington, Mr. Prime Minister. (Applause.)
THE PRIME MINISTER: President George Bush, Secretary of State
Colin Powell, Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, USTR Ambassador Robert
Zoellick, honorable senators and congressmen, distinguished
representatives of the U.S. and Singapore business communities, ladies
and gentlemen.
I am delighted to join President Bush to sign the U.S.-Singapore
Free Trade Agreement, or FTA. We launched negotiations during the APEC
economic leaders meeting in Brunei two years ago. The reasons were
both economic and strategic. The FTA would enhance our close economic
relations, it would also signal the U.S. long-term commitment to engage
Southeast Asia and contribute to its development. These reasons are
even more valid today.
In particular, defeating terrorism in Southeast Asia requires
American leadership. President Bush's resolute stand on this issue has
given courage and heart to our people, especially the victims and
intended victims of terrorism. The world must not be intimidated by
terrorists. We must not allow them to derail our development.
Southeast Asia supports the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.
Indeed, since the Second World War, no country has played as important
a role in Southeast Asia as America. You shed blood defending freedom
in Korea and Vietnam. Your sacrifice bought the non-communist
countries of Southeast Asia precious time and protective cover to
consolidate our new nations.
In the last three decades, the U.S. has continued to work closely
with ASEAN on security issues. You have also generously opened your
markets, shared technology, and invested capital in our economies at
crucial times in our development. America's presence has helped to
shape contemporary Southeast Asia. Without the U.S., ASEAN would not
have prospered as quickly as we did.
Over the years, exchanges of goods, services, investments, people,
ideas and technology between Singapore and America have strengthened.
The U.S.-Singapore FTA builds upon this solid foundation for growing
economic links. Today, we have one of the closest trans-Pacific
relationships. Our relationship is multi-dimensional in defense, as
well as economics, with a shared strategic vision. We are a small
country, with about the same population as Rhode Island -- 4
million. But Singapore is the 12th largest trading partner and the
second largest investor from Asia. And the U.S. has consistently been
Singapore's most important trading and investment partner.
The U.S.-Singapore FTA is an ambitious and comprehensive
agreement. It removes barriers in the goods and services trade and in
investments. It breaks new ground in emerging areas like e-commerce.
It also establishes high standards in intellectual property,
transparency and customs. The FTA will expand opportunities for
American businesses in Singapore. More importantly, the U.S.-Singapore
FTA can be a model for other FTAs under President Bush's Enterprise for
ASEAN Initiative, or EAI. I hope the EAI will quickly result in more
FTAs between the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
In short, Singapore appreciates your friendship. Our strong
relations are based on shared interests in many areas: we now fight
terrorism; we have good defense links; we both strongly advocate open
trade and investment, and a multilateral trading system.
There are many people to thank for this historic agreement, the
first between a country in Asia and the U.S. The chief negotiators
Ralph Ives and Tommy Koh, and their teams; USTR Bob Zoellick, and
Minister George Yeo; and the business community, especially the
U.S.-Singapore Business Coalition, led by Boeing, Exxon-Mobile, and
United Parcel Services, the U.S. ASEAN Business Council, and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, and its local chapter in Singapore.
I thank also the Singapore congress -- congressional caucus, led
by Congressman Solomon Ortiz, Congressman Kurt Weldon, the Ways and
Means Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee. Some of them are
here today.
Finally, I must thank you, President Bush, most warmly for your
friendship to Singapore and to me, and for the vision and your
leadership. Without President Bush, our FTA would not have come to
such an expeditious and successful conclusion. I look forward to even
closer relations between our two countries under the FTA. Thank you.
(Applause.)
(The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement was signed.) (Applause.)