112 STAT. 3756
PROCLAMATION 7097—MAY 15, 1998
areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to join in observing this occasion and to urge all Americans to practice safe boating not
only during this week, but also throughout the year.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth
day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the twro hundred and twenty-second.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
Proclamation 7097 of May 15, 1998
World Trade Week, 1998
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The American economy is experiencing its longest period of sustained
growth in more than a generation, with more than 15 million new jobs,
the lowest unemployment rate since 1970, and the lowest inflation rate
in more than 30 years. Much of this economic expansion can be attributed to our overseas trade. Today, America is the world's leading exporter. Our exports sustain 12 million jobs—jobs that on average, pay
more than jobs not tied to exports. The extraordinary vigor of America's economy reflects the 1998 theme of World Trade Week: "Exporting Pays Off."
Oiu unparalleled capacity to develop and market high-technology
products and processes has given us a strong competitive edge in the
international marketplace in everything from aerospace to agriculture.
Americans have led the world into the Information Age, and we are
poised to lead it into an exciting new era of electronic commerce. Also
central to our success in the global economy has been our ability to
open foreign markets for American goods and services. During the past
5 years, my Administration has negotiated more than 240 new trade
agreements and strengthened efforts to eliminate unfair trading practices in order to help American workers and businesses compete in an
international arena that is open and fair and where trade rules are enforced.
To keep America growing, and to maintain our leadership in the global
economy, we must expand our exports. We must sustain oiu advantage
in information and other technologies by creating a business climate
that encourages investment, by continuing our support of education
and research in basic science and technology, and by ensuring that
American workers are the best-educated and best-trained work force in
the world. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that we will need
more than a million new high-skilled workers during the next 10 years
to power the information technology field. We must provide working
Americans with the skills and training they need to seize these promising employment opportunities.
Our exports and our economic strength depend upon our access to an
open, stable, and growing world market. The nations of the world are
becoming increasingly intertwined in a global economy. We must continue our efforts to remove foreign barriers to American goods and
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