And open trade reinforces the habit of liberty that sustains democracy over the long haul. The United States will work for open trade at every opportunity. We will seek bilateral free trade agreements with friends and partners, such as the one we aim to complete this year with Chile. We will work for open trade globally through negotiations in the World Trade Organization. And here in the Americas, we will work hard to build an entire hemisphere that trades in freedom.
Free enterprise requires liberty and enlarges liberty.
Our commitment to open trade must be matched by a strong commitment to protecting our environment and improving labor standards. Yet, these concerns must not be an excuse for self-defeating protectionism. Since 1994, total trade among Canada and Mexico and the United States has more than doubled. The time has come to extend the benefits of free trade to all our peoples and to achieve a free trade agreement for the entire hemisphere. Our challenge is to energize our negotiations on a free trade area for the Americas, so that they can be completed no later than the year 2005.