We need long-term incentives to expand production and create new jobs. The trade and investment portions of our Caribbean Basin Initiative legislation are designed to accomplish this. I've proposed that we offer our neighbors the opportunity to trade with us freely by eliminating trade barriers for most products for 12 years, and by providing tax incentives for U.S. investment in their economies. With our markets beckoning, the inducement to expand existing enterprises and invest in new ventures will increase. This will create growth and jobs, both for Caribbean countries and for the United States.
Trade is the path to new progress for everyone.
All developing countries, including ours, succeeded by expanded free enterprise at home and by increasing their trade with other countries. By helping them, we help ourselves. As their economies grow, we'll have new markets for our exports. The faster their standards of living rise, the more jobs will be created in the United States. The impact on our own domestic industries of more goods coming from the Caribbean will be minimal, since the quantity of imports from these small countries will not be great.