0:04 My fellow Americans, Prime Minister
0:06 Nakasoni of Japan will be visiting me
0:08 here at the White House next week. It's
0:10 an important visit because while I
0:11 expect to take up our relations with our
0:14 good friend Japan, which overall remain
0:16 excellent, recent disagreements between
0:18 our two countries on the issue of trade,
0:21 will also be high on our agenda. As
0:24 perhaps you've heard last week I placed
0:26 new duties on some Japanese products in
0:29 response to Japan's inability to enforce
0:31 their trade agreement with us on
0:33 electronic devices called semiconductors.
0:34 semiconductors.
0:37 Now imposing such tariffs or trade
0:40 barriers and restrictions of any kind
0:43 are steps that I am loathed to take. And
0:44 in a moment I'll mention the sound
0:47 economic reasons for this that over the
0:49 long run such trade barriers hurt every
0:52 American worker and consumer. But the
0:55 Japanese semiconductors were a special
0:57 case. We had clear evidence that
0:59 Japanese companies were engaging in
1:02 unfair trade practices that violated an
1:04 agreement between Japan and the United
1:07 States. We expect our trading partners
1:09 to live up to their agreements. As I've
1:12 often said, our commitment to free trade
1:15 is also a commitment to fair trade. But,
1:17 you know, in imposing these tariffs, we
1:18 were just trying to deal with a
1:20 particular problem, not begin a trade
1:23 war. So next week I'll be giving Prime
1:26 Minister Nakasoni this same message. We
1:28 want to continue to work cooperatively
1:31 on trade problems and want very much to
1:33 lift these trade restrictions as soon as
1:36 evidence permits. We want to do this
1:38 because we feel both Japan and the
1:40 United States have an obligation to
1:42 promote the prosperity and economic
1:44 development that only free trade can bring.
1:46 bring.
1:49 Now, that message of free trade is one I
1:50 conveyed to Canada's leaders a few weeks
1:54 ago, and it was warmly received there.
1:56 Indeed, throughout the world, there's a
1:58 growing realization that the way to
2:01 prosperity for all nations is rejecting
2:03 protectionist legislation and promoting
2:06 fair and free competition. Now, there
2:08 are sound historical reasons for this.
2:10 For those of us who lived through the
2:12 Great Depression, the memory of the
2:15 suffering it caused is deep and searing.
2:17 And today, many economic analysts and
2:19 historians argue that high tariff
2:22 legislation passed back in that period
2:25 called the Smoot Holly tariff greatly
2:26 deepened the depression and prevented
2:29 economic recovery. You see, at first
2:31 when someone says, "Let's impose tariffs
2:33 on foreign imports. It looks like
2:36 they're doing the patriotic thing by
2:39 protecting American products and jobs."
2:41 And sometimes for a short while it
2:44 works, but only for a short time. What
2:46 eventually occurs is first homegrown
2:48 industries start relying on government
2:51 protection in the form of high tariffs.
2:53 They stop competing and stop making the
2:55 innovative management and technological
2:58 changes they need to succeed in world
3:00 markets. And then while all this is
3:03 going on, something even worse occurs.
3:04 High tariffs inevitably lead to
3:07 retaliation by foreign countries and the
3:09 triggering of fierce trade wars. The
3:12 result is more and more tariffs, higher
3:14 and higher trade barriers, and less and
3:16 less competition. So soon, because of
3:18 the prices made artificially high by
3:21 tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and
3:23 poor management, people stop buying.
3:25 Then the worst happens. Markets shrink
3:27 and collapse. Businesses and industries
3:30 shut down and millions of people lose
3:32 their jobs. The memory of all this
3:34 occurring back in the 30s made me
3:36 determined when I came to Washington to
3:38 spare the American people the
3:40 protectionist legislation that destroys
3:43 prosperity. Now, it hasn't always been
3:45 easy. There are those in the Congress,
3:47 just as there were back in the 30s, who
3:48 want to go for the quick political
3:51 advantage, who risk America's prosperity
3:54 for the sake of a short-term appeal to
3:56 some special interest group, who forget
3:59 that more than 5 million American jobs
4:01 are directly tied to the foreign export
4:04 business, and additional millions are
4:06 tied to imports.
4:08 Well, I've never forgotten those jobs.
4:10 And on trade issues, by and large, we've
4:13 done well. In certain select cases, like
4:16 the Japanese semiconductors, we've taken
4:19 steps to stop unfair practices against
4:21 American products, but we've still
4:23 maintained our basic long-term
4:26 commitment to free trade and economic
4:30 growth. So, with my meeting with Prime
4:33 Minister Nakason and the Venice Economic
4:35 Summit coming up, it's terribly
4:38 important not to restrict a president's
4:40 options in such trade dealings with
4:41 foreign governments.
4:44 Unfortunately, some in the Congress are
4:48 trying to do exactly that. I'll keep you
4:50 informed on this dangerous legislation
4:51 because it's just another form of
4:54 protectionism and I may need your help
4:58 to stop it. Remember, America's jobs and
5:00 growth are at stake. Until next week,
