XN000022-1993-05-04 — Page 39

+

25

TUESDAY, MAY 4, 1993

But I do believe that everywhere in the world the opening up of economies, a growth in personal

affluence, an increase in educational standards, an

increase, if I may say so, in the use of cellular phones,

increase in travel, development of satellite television,

all those things have political consequences. So free

trade, in my view, is a servant of human progress.

Trade promotes travel and interchange.

increases understanding. It spreads information.

It

It

encourages the freer thinking that comes with a wider

knowledge of the outside world. It throws light into dark

corners because the prosperity it creates actually

encourages social change and individual freedom.

As I've argued a number of times before, and as

I find myself arguing in a series of meetings this week,

trade does, in my view, help humanity as a process. But

it has less to offer as a weapon. Less to offer because

it's double edged. You can't use it as a weapon without

hurting yourself. Reduce trade, and you reduce your

communication and you ability to influence. You don't

water a parched landscape by closing the gates of the dam.

One of the reasons for all our prosperity in the

years since the war is the American economy, American free

enterprise, and American generosity. Your aid has helped

to get so many economies back on their feet again. Your

businesses have set up in those economies an increased investment in them. Your domestic market has provided the

customers for the products of the factories which you've

helped to establish.

/China has