Bill Clinton: “Well, if all the Europeans will adhere to the Blair House accords, I think there's a good chance we can have an…”

“Well, if all the Europeans will adhere to the Blair House accords, I think there's a good chance we can have an agricultural agreement. As you know, France has some problems with it and has expressed those. And it was an issue in the last election in France. But as I pointed out, the United States cut our agricultural subsidies unilaterally and substantially in 1990, and we have proposed further reductions this year as part of the deficit reduction package. If we were to reopen the Blair House accord, our farmers would want us to go in the opposite direction on these issues from the direction that some of the European interests would take. Because the European Community is made up of diverse nations, they have a mechanism within the Community to make adjustments among the countries if they adhere to an agreement like an agricultural agreement that affects some countries more adversely than others. So I'm still hopeful that as these negotiations resume--and they will resume in Geneva soon--that the Blair House accord will stand and that we'll be able to work out a balance of trade agreements that will enable it to stand. If that happens, then much of what we need to do in agriculture will have been done. This market opening agreement, if it can be embraced by the other nations at the GATT, will be nailed down, and then we'll just have a few issues left to go. I remind you the majority of the issues have been resolved although some of the tough ones remain. Andrea [Andrea Mitchell, NBC News]. North Korea”