Washington:
As the United States recovers from this recession, the biggest mistake
we could make would be to rebuild our economy on the same pile of debt
or the paper profits of financial speculation.
We need to rebuild on a
new, stronger foundation for economic growth.
And part of that
foundation involves doing what Americans have always done best: discovering, creating and building products that are sold all over the
world.
We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we
produce.
And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in
America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000
jobs at home.
It is for this reason that I set a goal of doubling America's exports in
the next five years. To do that, we need to find new customers in new
markets for American-made goods.
And some of the fastest-growing markets
in the world are in Asia, where I'm traveling this week.
It is hard to overstate the importance of Asia to our economic future.
Asia is home to three of the world's five largest economies, as well as a
rapidly expanding middle class with rising incomes.
My trip will
therefore take me to four Asian democracies -- India, Indonesia, South
Korea and Japan -- each of which is an important partner for the United
States.
I will also participate in two summit meetings -- the Group of 20
industrialized nations and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation -- that
will focus on economic growth.
During my first visit to India, I will be joined by hundreds of American
business leaders and their Indian counterparts to announce concrete
progress toward our export goal -- billions of dollars in contracts that
will support tens of thousands of American jobs.
We will also explore
ways to reduce barriers to United States exports and increase access to
the Indian market.
Indonesia is a member of the G-20. Next year, it will assume the
chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- a group
whose members make up a market of more than 600 million people that is
increasingly integrating into a free trade area, and to which the United
States exports $80 billion in goods and services each year.
My
administration has deepened our engagement with ASEAN, and for the first
eight months of 2010, exports of American goods to Indonesia increased
by 47 percent from the same period in 2009.
This is momentum that we
will build on as we pursue a new comprehensive partnership between the
United States and Indonesia.
In South Korea, President Lee Myung-bak and I will work to complete a
trade pact that could be worth tens of billions of dollars in increased
exports and thousands of jobs for American workers.
Other nations like
Canada and members of the European Union are pursuing trade pacts with
South Korea, and American businesses are losing opportunities to sell
their products in this growing market.
We used to be the top exporter to
South Korea; now we are in fourth place and have seen our share of
Korea's imports drop in half over the last decade.
But any agreement must come with the right terms. That's why we'll be
looking to resolve outstanding issues on behalf of American exporters --
including American automakers and workers.
If we can, we'll be able to
complete an agreement that supports jobs and prosperity in America.
South Korea is also the host of the G-20 economic forum, the
organization that we have made the focal point for international
economic cooperation.
Last year, the nations of the G-20 worked together
to halt the spread of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
This
year, our top priority is achieving strong, sustainable and balanced
growth.
This will require cooperation and responsibility from all
nations -- those with emerging economies and those with advanced
economies; those running a deficit and those running a surplus.
Finally, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Japan, I
will continue seeking new markets in Asia for American exports.
We want
to expand our trade relationships in the region, including through the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, to make sure that we're not ceding markets,
exports and the jobs they support to other nations.
We will also lay the
groundwork for hosting the 2011 APEC meeting in Hawaii, the first such
gathering on American soil since 1993.
The great challenge of our time is to make sure that America is ready
to compete for the jobs and industries of the future.
It can be
tempting, in times of economic difficulty, to turn inward, away from
trade and commerce with other nations.
But in our interconnected world,
that is not a path to growth, and that is not a path to jobs.
We cannot
be shut out of these markets. Our government, together with American
businesses and workers, must take steps to promote and sell our goods
and services abroad -- particularly in Asia.
That's how we'll create
jobs, prosperity and an economy that's built on a stronger foundation.
