Following are excerpts from Clinton's January 29 address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. I think we have got to reaffirm unambiguously that open markets and rules-based trade are the best engine we know of to lift living standards, reduce environmental destruction and build shared prosperity. This is true whether you're in Detroit, Davos, Dacca or Dakar. Worldwide, open markets do create jobs. They do raise incomes.
Trade is especially important, of course, for developing nations.
The most open countries had growth that was six times as fast. And their gains in literacy, education and life expectancy are truly extraordinary, far outpacing countries that chose not to open to the world. Certainly, many of the people who have questioned the wisdom of open trade are genuinely concerned about the fate of the poor and the disadvantaged, and well they should be. How can working conditions be improved and poverty be reduced in developing countries if they are denied these and other opportunities to grow, the things that come with participation in the world economy. But turning away from trade would keep part of our global community forever on the bottom.