The White House NAFTA NOTES Friday, October 22, 1993 _________________________________________________________________ Japanese Trade Official Blasts NAFTA, Says It Would Make It Harder for Japan to Compete with U.S. * A senior official in the Japanese Trade Ministry blasted NAFTA, saying that it would make it harder for the Japanese auto industry and other producers to compete with the U.S., the Associated Press reported. Yasuo Tanabe told the world congress of the International Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City Wednesday night that NAFTA had elements of "sneaky protectionism", making it more difficult for Japan's automakers to compete in North America. Senator Moseley-Braun Endorses NAFTA as Good for U.S. Workers, Jobs * Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL) yesterday endorsed NAFTA, saying the "history of opening up trade is a history of increasing economic growth. When trade barriers are removed, trade increases. When trade increases, jobs are created. It's just that simple." The world has changed, Braun said, with economies becoming more intertwined than ever before. "NAFTA is about meeting that change and facing the future," she said. Her announcement came the day after her Senate colleague Paul Simon endorsed NAFTA. * Speaking directly to organized labor she stated: "I would not support NAFTA if I thought it was responsible for the job losses Americans have been experiencing or if it would rob our economy of new jobs. It is because, after long and careful study, I am convinced that it will help American workers, instead of hurt them, that I am supporting NAFTA." Moseley-Braun said that defeating NAFTA would only maintain that status quo, "which is not in anyone's interest, including American workers", and would not change the fact that jobs have left the U.S. "If anything," the Senator stated, "NAFTA will encourage U.S. companies that have factories in Asia to move back to North America." Rep. Kennedy Calls for Strong Leadership In Support of NAFTA * Saying yesterday that "NAFTA is going to create a lot of good, high wage jobs" in Massachusetts," Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) called for "strong leadership" to approve NAFTA. "When President Kennedy took the then-unpopular step of lowering trade barriers in the early 1960's," he said, "this nation experienced one of the longest runs of economic prosperity any nation had experienced in the history of the world. ...In sum," Kennedy concluded, "NAFTA means more American jobs and more jobs in Massachusetts." Consider NAFTA a Border Control Tool - Immigration: Expansion of job opportunities in Mexico is the only long-term answer. * "By supporting NAFTA, California will help provide the only real, sustainable way to substantially halt illegal immigration." - Attorney General Janet Reno in today's Los Angeles Times # # #