***** Reformatted. Please post. CLINTON/GORE ON TRADE To win in global markets, America needs an economic growth plan that provides every person and every firm with the means to be more productive. We need a trade policy that puts people first by investing in ourselves. Bill Clinton and Al Gore's Nations Economic Strategy invest in the ongoing education of the American people, in the productive equipment that gives our workers the tools to compete, and in the economic infrastructure that binds our markets and our business together. It also recognizes that America needs companies that invest in the future, profit from change and treat their workers as full partners. When our workers and firms do their part to be competitive, we must have an Administration that does its part to ensure that we have open markets for their goods and services. We need a new trade and competitiveness program. A Clinton/Gore Administration will stand up for American workers by standing up to countries that don't play by the rules of free and fair trade. Given a chance, American farmers, workers and businesses can out-compete anybody. The Clinton/Gore Plan Promote world growth To promote world growth policies in the post-Cold War era, we must be economically strong at home. President Bush's weak economic record has deprived him of the authority he needs to insist that Japan adopt expansionary policies to reduce its $100 billion trade surplus, and to ensure that Germany's high interest rates do not cripple growth throughout Europe. A Clinton/Gore Administration will hold all advanced countries accountable for doing their part to promote world trade, end unfair trade practices and open markets. Support a strong "Super 301" This is the provision of U.S. trade law that has helped pry open foreign markets. Our competitors must know that we won't stand for unfair trade practices that prevent our farmers, workers and businesses from selling products aborad and creating jobs at home. We have had plenty of empty promises on trade; what we need now are results. North American Free Trade Agreement Bill Clinton will support a free trade treaty with Mexico, but only if it has adequate protection for workers, health and the environment on both sides of the border. A Clinton/Gore Administration will support a free trade policy that puts people first. We just have strong transition strategies that ensure that workers benefit from a more open world trading system. General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) America needs leadership to break the logjam and get the Uruguay Round finished. President Bush's ill-fated trip to Japan and his poor performance at the G-7 summit demonstrate that our trade policies suffer from a lack of Presidential leadership. Bill Clinton and Al Gore will ensure that the Uruguay Round opens markets for agriculture, services and in particular manufacturing; protects our intellectual property; and takes a tough stand against unfair trade practices. The United States need to continue to promote free trade that aims to raise - not lower - standards for health, safety, and the environment. No trade agreement should preclude the United States from enforcing non-discriminatory laws and regulations affecting health, worker safety and the environment. Bill Clinton and Al Gore will not allow the Uruguay round to alter U.S. laws and regulations through the back door. Economic Security Council A Clinton/Gore Administration will create an Economic Security Council, similar to the National Security Council, to coordinate American international economic policy. MFN with China The Bush Administration erred by extending Most Favored Nation trade status to the People's Republic of China before it achieved documented progress on human rights. We should not reward China with improved trade status when it has continued to trade goods made by prison labor and has failed to make sufficient progress on human rights since the Tiananmen Square massacre. Reform the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Bill Clinton will issue an executive order banning trade negotiators from cashing in on their positions by serving as representatives of foreign corporations or governments. He will rededicate the Office of the Trade Representative to serving the country - not selling out for lucrative lobbying paychecks from foreign competitors. Create a civilian DARPA Bill Clinton and Al Gore will create a civilian advanced technology agency modelled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). America can no longer afford to get the Nobel Prizes while our competitors get the profits. A civilian technology agency will bring businesses and universities together to develop cutting-edge products and technologies, to move our ideas into the marketplace where they can create jobs for our people. The new agency will increase America's commercial R&D spending, and focus its efforts in crucial new technologies such as biotechnology, robotics, high speed computing and environmental technology. Incentives for manufacturing innovation * Provide a targeted investment tax credit to encourage investment in the new plants and productive equipment that we need here at home to compete in the global economy. * Make permanent the research and development tax credit to reward companies that invest in ground-technologies. * Help small businesses and entrepreneurs by offering a 50 percent tax exclusion to those who take risks by making long-term investments in new businesses. Standing up for America's workers * Require every employer to spend 1.5 percent of payroll for continued education and training, and make them provide the training to all workers, not just executives. * Bring business, labor, and education leaders together to develop a national apprenticeship program that offers non-college bound students training in valuable skills. * Provide all Americans with affordable, quality health care. * Limit deductions for outrageous executive pay. Companies will be allowed to deduct bonuses for employee ownership and profit sharing for all employees, no just executives. * End tax breaks for American companies that shut down their plants here and ship American jobs overseas. The Record * From 1979 to 1991, there was 142 percent increase in the number of Arkansas companies exporting products. Nearly 75 percent of those companies had less than 200 employees. * Bill Clinton made numerous trade missions to Europe and Asia to negotiate expanded markets for Arkansas products. * Senator Gore has insisted that other governments dismantle barriers which unfairly block access to their markets. * Gore does no believe the long-term solution to our country's competitiveness problem is a blanket policy of protectionism. Senator Gore has fought to invest in the research and development of new technologies, to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, to better educate our children and to retrain our workers. * Senator Gore introduced and steered into law the High Performance Computing Act of 1990, to create a national high- speed computers, and making those computers accessible to people who otherwise would not be able to take advantage of their power and speed. It was the result of more than a dozen years of work by Gore. * Gore joined a number of his Senate colleagues in June 1991 to introduce comprehensive package of legislation to strengthen our manufacturing base. They will help us establish a federal manufacturing policy to develop and commercialize critical technologies and sharpen our ability to turn inventions into affordable, usable products. * Gore supported the fast-track process for the negotiation of a U.S. Mexico Free Trade Agreement, but final approval of NAFTA is dependent on its protection of American workers and support of enforceable environmental standards.