A free and fair global trading order

Text of US President George W. Bush’s address to the Asia Society in Washington on February 22 The Indian Express Friday, February 24, 2006

India is the world’s largest democracy... Like our own country, India has many different ethnic groups and religious traditions. India has a Hindu majority and about 150 million Muslims. That’s more than any other country except Indonesia and Pakistan. India’s government reflects its diversity. India has a Muslim president and a Sikh prime minister. I look forward to meeting with both of them. India is a good example of how freedom can help different people live together in peace. And this commitment to secular government and religious pluralism makes India a natural partner for the United States.

Secondly, the United States and India are working together to support democracy around the world. Like America, India overcame colonialism to establish a free and independent nation. President Franklin Roosevelt supported India in its quest for democracy, and now our two nations are helping other nations realise the same dream. Last year we launched the Global Democracy Initiative, which is a joint venture between India and the United States to promote democracy and development across the world.

Third, the United States and India are working together to promote global prosperity through free and fair trade. America’s economic relationship with India is strong and it’s getting better...The growing affluence of India is a positive development for our country. America accounts for 5 per cent of the world’s population. That means 95 per cent of our potential customers live outside our borders. More than a billion of them live in India. We welcome the growing prosperity of the Indian people and the potential market it offers for America’s goods and services. When trade is free and fair, it benefits all sides.

At the end of World War II, the United States chose to help Germany and Japan recover. America understood then that as other nations prosper, their growing wealth brings greater stability to their regions and more opportunities for products Americans manufacture and grow. The same is true today with developing nations such as India. As India’s economy expands, it means a better life for the Indian people and greater stability for the region. It means a bigger market for America’s businesses and workers and farmers.

We must also recognise that India’s growth is creating new opportunities for our businesses and farmers and workers. India’s middle class is now estimated at 300 million people. Think about that. That’s greater than the entire population of the United States. And this middle class is buying air conditioners, kitchen appliances, and washing machines — and a lot of them from American companies like GE and Whirlpool and Westinghouse. And that means our job base is growing here in the United States. Younger Indians are acquiring a taste for pizzas from Domino’s, Pizza Hut. And Air India ordered 68 planes valued at more than $11 billion from Boeing — the single-largest commercial airplane order in India’s civilian aviation history. Today India’s consumers associate Americans’ brands with quality and value, and this trade is creating opportunity here at home.

My attitude is this: if the rules are fair, I believe our companies and our farmers and our entrepreneurs can compete with anybody, any time, anywhere. India’s important as a market for our products. India is also important as a partner in opening up world markets. As a new nation, India emphasised self-sufficiency and adopted strong protectionist policies. During this period, its economy stagnated and poverty grew. India now recognises that a brighter future for its people depends on a free and fair global trading order.

The great changes that are taking place inside India and Pakistan are also helping to transform the relationship between these two countries...Some people have said the 21st century will be the Asian century. I believe the 21st century will be freedom’s century. And together, free Asians and free Americans will seize the opportunities this new century offers, and lay the foundation of peace and prosperity for generations to come.