George H.W. Bush: “in San Diego, California July 14, 1992 President Bush. President Salinas and I had a very good discussion. I think it…”

“in San Diego, California July 14, 1992 President Bush. President Salinas and I had a very good discussion. I think it was extremely constructive. We talked about the status of negotiation among our two countries and Canada to create this North American free trade area, NAFTA. We reaffirmed our commitment to reaching this sound NAFTA agreement just as soon as possible. Let me just say a word about the importance of this historic undertaking. We live in a global economy. The fastest growing sector of the American economy is our export sector. And Mexico is the fastest growing market for U.S. exports in the entire world. Over the last 5 years, U.S. merchandise exports to Mexico have increased an average of 17 percent per year, twice as fast as U.S. exports worldwide. And we've added some 400,000 new jobs to our economy just as a result. And now, over 600,000 U.S. jobs are built on our trade with Mexico. California alone, this State alone, exported $5.5 billion in goods to Mexico last year. And virtually every State has shared in that growth, not just States on the border. Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania are among the top 10 exporters to Mexico along with California, Texas, and Arizona. By building together the largest free trading region in the world, Mexico, the United States, and Canada are working to ensure that the future will bring increased prosperity, trade, and new jobs for the citizens of each of our countries.…”