George Bush Sr. on Free Trade President of the U.S., 1989-1993; Former Republican Rep. (TX)

1992 talks led to NAFTA agreement

Create new jobs through increases in exports

Make Americas a zone of peace, free trade, and democracy

"This year marks the 500th anniversary of a voyage of discovery to the New World. And let this also be a time of rediscovery for my country, the US, of the importance of our own hemisphere. If we are to be equal to the challenges before us, we can build in the Americas the world's 1st completely democratic hemisphere. Just think of the example for the rest of the world.

"This hemisphere can be as well a zone of peace, where trade flows freely, prosperity is shared, the rule of law is respected, and the gifts of human knowledge are harnessed for all."
(Remarks on signing the North American Free Trade Agreement, Organization of American States)

For NAFTA because exports critical to economy

BUSH: I am for the North American Free Trade Agreement. I think free trade is going to expand our job opportunity. I think it is exports that have saved us when we're in a recession. We need more free trade agreements.

CLINTON: I say it does more good than harm if we can get protection for the environment so that the Mexicans have to follow their own environmental standards, their own labor law standards, and if we have a genuine commitment to reeducate and retrain American workers who lose their jobs.