Bill Clinton: “That's a very important point. If people overseas aren't making any money, they can't buy whatever it is we're selling.…”

“That's a very important point. If people overseas aren't making any money, they can't buy whatever it is we're selling. But we have done that; the United States has maintained the most open market in the world. We've been fortunate enough to have low unemployment and low inflation for a long time, so it has benefited us as a whole. But it still puts enormous pressure on certain higher wage workers that are very competitive in a global economy if they have free access to markets. So it's this constant balancing act for me, how to protect the overall health of the economy and still make sure that no sector is getting the shaft. But we do have an interest in other people making money. We ought to want our friends around the world to do well. That's the only way that we can--we have 4 percent of the world's people and 22 percent of the world's income. So you don't have to be an Einstein at math to figure out you've got to sell something to the other 96 percent, and they can only buy what they can afford to buy. So to me, that's the ultimate logic of trade. But it's a constant fight to make sure the rules are fair. [The discussion continued.]”