Secretary Condoleezza Rice Remarks At The Organization of American States, Hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations

Secretary Rice / US State Dept Press Release | October 10, 2007

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. Thank you, Carla -- Ambassador Hills, a long-time friend that very kind introduction.

I would like to thank also Secretary General Insulza for welcoming us here to the Organization of American States and you have given fantastic leadership to this organization, and indeed to the hemisphere. Thank you for that.

I would also like to thank the Council on Foreign Relations for hosting this event and for inviting me here to speak with you. I have to say I've never seen the Council's Washington offices; this despite that fact that I been a member of the Council for many, many years. But it is because the Council takes the opportunity to go to wonderful places like this to engage. And it's a great thing that we're in this wonderful hall.

I'd like to thank the members of the diplomatic corps for being here and honored guests, ladies and gentlemen. I'm here today to speak about the trade agreements that we have concluded with Peru, Colombia, and Panama. These are agreements on which our Congress will soon vote. The agreements are important for our economy - but they are also important for the impact that they will have on our national interests, our national interest in this hemisphere, our ability to pursue them effectively, and our capacity to positively influence events in this region.

What is at stake is the success of what I will call today our Pan-American Community -- the vision of a hemisphere of independent nations, living in liberty and prosperity and peace, which U.S. leaders of both parties have nurtured since the founding of our republic. So to understand the true value of these trade agreements, we need to step back for a moment and look broadly at our hemisphere.

We in the United States have always thought of ourselves as one part of a larger Pan-American Community. Here, in the seat of our hemispheric unity, the statue of our own George Washington stands proudly beside those of fellow liberators of the Americas -- Juarez, Marti, Bolivar and many others. The United States has always believed that our success is linked to the success of our neighbors, and at our best we have supported Latin American independence, the Good Neighbor Policy, the Alliance for Progress and we have worked to build a thriving Pan-American Community.

In 2001, this hemisphere was close to completing an historic transition to free societies, free markets and democracy. One of President Bush's first actions was to support a regional effort to formalize this new consensus in the Inter-American Democratic Charter -- signed by every nation in the region but one, and stating that "democracy is essential for the social, political, and economic development of the people of the Americas."

Since then, this consensus has been reaffirmed, again and again, by citizens across the region, whose elected leaders are governing democratically, trading freely, opening markets, fighting poverty, and expanding opportunity for all their people. The exceptions to this rule may be noisy, but they are heading in the opposite direction of the hemisphere as a whole.

What is clear is that democracy is the most significant driver of change in our region today. Millions of people once on the margins of their societies -- the poor and the disadvantaged, indigenous peoples and Afro-Latinos -- have now become active citizens. And they have launched, what President Bush has called, a "revolution in expectations" -- for good jobs and opportunity, for personal security and social justice.

Because of democracy, our neighbors are rethinking their national priorities, redefining their national interests, and pursuing them pragmatically. Our hemisphere is growing more competitive in every way, and we should be mindful that our neighbors are not waiting around for us.

How will democracy deliver economic and social development to all -- especially to the 209 million men, women, and children among us who still live in poverty? That is the defining challenge for our region today -- a debate not over ideology but a debate over interests. Democracies from left to right are now giving their free market reforms of the last decade a new focus on social justice, a focus that frankly that once lacked. They are broadening the so-called Washington Consensus into a new and truly Pan-American Consensus.

In a way, the situation in our region today recalls that of Western Europe in the last century, a time when old ideological conflicts had given way to growing agreement in support of political and economic liberty, a time when democracies were struggling to fight poverty and create lasting development. And most importantly, a time when we in the United States expanded our security, diplomatic, and development assistance, opened our markets and made a strategic, bipartisan, and sustained commitment to the success of our allies.

Today, we are making a similar strategic commitment in our hemisphere, to the success of our Pan-American Community. This commitment was begun in the last decade by leaders of both parties. Now it is being advanced further.

We are deepening our historic alliance of peoples in the hemisphere -- the ties between our civil society and our businesses, our universities and our faith-based groups. That was the goal of the recent White House Conference on the Americas.

At the same time, we remain deeply engaged diplomatically. President Bush has now made more trips in the hemisphere than any U.S. president ever -- most recently in March, when he said that helping democracies in Latin America to deliver social justice to their people is in the U.S. national interest. So we are working pragmatically and supporting the success of all responsible democratic governments, from the left to the right. The United States charges no ideological price for our partnership.

To strengthen our Pan-American Community, we are transforming our relations with major regional powers -- with Brazil and Mexico and Chile and Colombia. We are identifying common purposes that invest these democracies as leaders and stakeholders in our region, and in the broader international system. At the same time, we are renewing our relations with our Caribbean friends, and working with the international community to restore stability and hope in Haiti.

To protect our Pan-American Community, we are defining a new regional security agenda -- one that is rooted in multilateral cooperation among the democracies, and focused on combating global and transnational threats to our hemisphere: like criminal gangs and terrorism, natural disaster and disease.

To complete our Pan-American Community, we are helping the Cuban people to prepare for a democratic transition. Here in this building is the table used by the representatives of the Pan-American Union when this building was dedicated in 1910. One of the original chairs at that table is marked "Cuba." But today, when the democracies of the OAS meet, right downstairs, Cuba has no chair at the table. The proud people of Cuba deserve liberty and opportunity, and they deserve the right to reclaim their place among the free nations of our hemisphere.

Finally, to expand the promise of our Pan-American Community to all, we are helping our fellow democracies to create opportunity and social justice for their people -- for as President Kennedy once said, unless all the men and women of the Americas "share in increasing prosperity, then our alliance, our revolution, our dream, and our freedom will fail."

Debt relief is one way that we can help to expand opportunity. So we have led global efforts to forgive more than $17 billion of debt to our poorest neighbors in the region. Foreign assistance can also help. So with President Bush's leadership, and with the bipartisan support of the Congress, the United States has doubled foreign assistance to our hemisphere. At the same time, through our Millennium Challenge Corporation, we are using our assistance as an incentive for governments to build democratic institutions that fight poverty and corruption, invest in their people and create sustainable development.

Ultimately, though, only one force is strong enough to lift people out of poverty, to reduce economic inequality, and to break down social exclusion in the Americas, and that is sustained economic growth, fueled by fair and free trade. Our neighbors realize that the paradigm of development has changed -- that development in the region cannot come solely from within, that it must come from competing successfully in global markets, and using democratic institutions to expand opportunity to the poor and to the vulnerable.

Since taking office, President Bush has made the expansion of trade a top priority. Building on the foundation that Presidents Bush and Clinton laid with NAFTA, we have concluded trade agreements with ten additional countries, most recently with Peru, Colombia, and Panama. We now have the potential to create an unbroken chain of trading partners from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic Circle -- a community that now includes Costa Rica, whose people voted just two days ago to approve CAFTA. Our neighbors want to trade freely with us, and this should focus our Congress on its responsibility to fulfill our promises to Peru, to Colombia, and to Panama.

These trade agreements will benefit U.S. workers and businesses, enabling them to compete on a level playing field in new markets, to create jobs and opportunity in our nation, and to address the wealth of all in our economy. As the President said recently, all three of these pacts "embody the values of open markets: transparent and fair regulation, respect for private property and resolving disputes under international law."

These agreements also contain the strongest labor and environmental obligations of any agreement -- trade agreement anywhere in the world. And those obligations are subject to the same dispute settlement procedures, remedies, and sanctions that apply to other agreement provisions.

Now, I know that for many U.S. workers competing in the global economy is bringing some dislocation and some insecurity -- a fear that the jobs, and savings and health care that they have today may not be there for them tomorrow. I know that many feel that globalization may not be a rising tide that lifts all boats. The responsibility to strengthen our nation's workers extends to our nation's diplomacy, and I personally take that duty very seriously. So our diplomats are using every article of law and every tool of persuasion to protect and promote the interests of U.S. workers in the global economy.

We in the United States must also continue to invest in our people. Just last week, I saw one of those long-term investments when I had the pleasure of joining Congressman Charlie Rangel to visit the Harriet Tubman School in New York City in Harlem. This is a remarkable school, where underprivileged children are discovering through education that their horizons are limitless and it's the kind of investment that we as a nation need to make to prepare all of our citizens to succeed in the 21st century. And together with job retraining and education our workers do need to have a fair shake, because after all, education is the single greatest force in the world for equality and social inclusion and personal transformation.

I know that Americans well-prepared will compete well. And therefore, I am confident that we can pass these trade agreements, that we can move forward in a globalized economy as a confident nation in our leadership and in our ability to compete.

But I would note to you that perhaps the greatest value of passing these trade agreements will be the positive impact that they will have on the prosperity and the stability of our Pan-American Community, a community whose well-being is vital to U.S. interests.

Peru, Colombia, and Panama now stand on the threshold of far-reaching national success. Trade agreements with the United States would help significantly to advance our partners' political, economic and social development -- making their democratic institutions more transparent and accountable, more effective at fighting poverty and corruption, enforcing the law, and investing in education, health and opportunity for their people.

By enacting these trade agreements into law, our Congress would send a signal to every citizen of these countries, to people across the hemisphere, and to investors across the globe that Peru, Colombia, and Panama are dedicated to democracy and economic growth, that they are institutionalizing their reforms and that the United States is completely committed to their success.

Now, I know that some may ask about the wisdom and the timing of these agreements. Some may ask: How can we afford to pass them now? I would ask: How can we afford not to pass them now?

How can we afford not to honor our agreement with Panama? A country that only two decades ago was ruled by an international criminal and a drug runner; a country that has now embraced democracy and is expanding its economy at more than 8 percent a year; and a country that sits astride the strategic waterway -- the Panama Canal -- through which two-thirds of its annual shipments head to or from our nation's shore. A trade agreement with the United States could help Panama to transform itself once and for all into a pillar of democratic stability and prosperity.

How can we not afford to honor our agreement with Peru? A country that just a decade ago was torn apart by guerrilla violence and whose economy was in a tailspin; a country now committed to moving its citizens out of poverty and into the formal economy; and a country that, over two democratic administrations, despite criticism at home and in the region, has resolved to trade freely with the United States. Few things could help Peru fight poverty more effectively than securing its trade agreement with us.

And perhaps most of all: How can we afford not to honor our agreement with Colombia? A country that, not seven years ago -- just seven years ago was on the verge of becoming a failed state, whose territory was a safe haven for narco-terrorists and whose people were fleeing their homes by the thousands; a country to which we as a nation made a strategic commitment, sustained by presidents and Congresses of both parties, and funded now with billions of dollars in U.S. assistance; a country that, in the past five years, has reduced kidnappings by 76 percent, terrorist attacks by 61 percent and murders by 40 percent, and that has now expanded the sovereign writ of this democratic state and restored the hope of its people.

We recognize that this progress stands in contrast to the dark deeds in Colombia's past, especially the murder of labor leaders and other innocent people. Crimes like these are of deep concern to us. And President Uribe has committed his government to bringing those responsible to justice, to protecting the lives and liberties of all its citizens, and to showing that there will be no impunity for any crime -- past, present or future.

Despite its ongoing struggles, Colombia is on a trajectory of positive change -- politically, economically and socially. Indeed, Colombia's transformation in less than a decade from failing state to thriving democracy is one of the greatest victories for the cause of human rights in our world today.

Passing these trade agreements is not a narrow partisan interest; it is of vital national interest. And members of both political parties understand this. They also understand that these agreements are an indivisible package. In the words of 43 prominent Democrats -- former ambassadors, cabinet officials, policy experts, and members of Congress, they said, "...rejecting these agreements would set back regional U.S. interests for a generation." So we need to be absolutely clear about the consequences of failure.

What signal would failure send to our democratic partners in the Americas?

We can answer that question in one word: Retreat. It would be a retreat from our responsibility of leadership and a renunciation of our influence in the Americas. It would be a retreat from three democratic leaders, who embody the aspirations of their citizens for social justice, economic growth, and trade with the United States. And it would be a retreat from our historic, bipartisan effort to build a successful Pan-American Community -- united in peace, prosperity, and freedom.

Peru, Colombia, and Panama are among our best partners in the region. Their governments have put themselves on the line and made strategic commitments to us through these trade agreements. All three of their national legislatures have passed these agreements by wide margins and they now expect the United States to hold up its end of the bargain.

Failing to conclude these agreements would be a great blow to these three countries from which one cannot assume that there would be easy recovery. It would send a signal loud and clear across the region that the United States can somehow not be trusted to keep its promises. After all, if we are unwilling to support the success of Colombia, a nation to which we have committed billions of dollars in assistance over many years, others would have the right to ask what chance is there that we would support them.

We must also ask ourselves: What signal would failure send to the enemies of democracy in our hemisphere?

There are some in the region today who want to shove toward a future of authoritarian politics and state-run economies. In truth, this is a backward-looking agenda with a long history of deepening poverty and misery. The real revolution in the Americas today is being led by responsible democratic leaders, like Bachelet and Lula, Vazquez and Uribe, Garcia and Torrijos, Calderon and Saca.

Their democratic governments, and many others, from left to right, are deepening the Pan-American consensus on creating opportunity for all through free markets, economic growth and democracy. This is the real story of recent years: Not the so-called "Left Turn" that we hear so much about.

Authoritarianism may be a competing idea with free market democracy, but it is not an alternative vision -- because one leads to success, the other leads to failure. Trying to alleviate poverty and inequality in the Americas through authoritarianism is like trying to defy the laws of gravity. The only question is how much harm this failed idea will do to our region. And in large part, the answer lies with us -- in whether we support responsible democracies that want more engagement, more partnership and more trade with the United States. Not less.

Finally, we must ask ourselves: What signal failure would send to nations across the globe, to friend and foe, ally and enemy alike. In that regard, how would failure be interpreted by a long-standing ally like Korea, which has concluded its own free trade agreement with us? This agreement will strengthen the U.S. economy and help our democratic ally to enhance its security and prosperity in a rapidly changing Asia. We fully support our free trade agreement with Korea and we look to Congress to approve it.

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time of unprecedented opportunity, we in the United States cannot afford to turn inward, to become fearful, to dwell on the actions of others or to give in to doubt and despair. Instead, we must remain what Americans have always been -- optimistic and, indeed, yes, idealistic. We must remain open to the world and actively engaged. We must prepare our people, especially our children, with the educations and the opportunities that nourish and nurture hope about the future. And most of all, we must be confident in our ability to compete and to prosper -- not just as one country, but as a part of one Pan-American Community.

Nearly 100 years ago, at the dedication of this building, my predecessor, Elihu Root, the first secretary of state to travel to Latin America, described this building as "a true expression of Pan-Americanism...a declaration of allegiance to an ideal." and a reminder "of the perpetual assertion of unity, of common interest, and purpose and hope among the republics."

So it was then, and so it remains today.

The founding ideal of our Pan-American Community, borne across many centuries and carried by us still, is the hope that life in the hemisphere would signify a break with the Old World, and a new beginning for all mankind: the promise of liberty, and dignity, and government by law, the opportunity to reach one's full potential, regardless of class or culture, race or religion, and the creation of a new system of international politics, based on mutual respect and cooperation among independent nations.

We and our neighbors in this hemisphere are now closer than ever to achieving that ideal. And now, as before, the United States has a special responsibility to lead the way. So let us honor our agreements with our partners -- Peru and Colombia and Panama -- and let us show the world that the Pan-American Community is alive and well and that it remains an abiding hope for all mankind.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

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