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The President:
Hi.
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I'm recording this message
from Seoul, South Korea,
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as I finish up my first
presidential trip to Asia.
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As we emerge from the worst
recession in generations,
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there is nothing more important
than to do everything we can to
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get our economy moving again
and put Americans back to work,
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and I will go anywhere
to pursue that goal.
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That's one of the main
reasons I took this trip.
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Asia is a region where we now buy
more goods and do more trade
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than any other place in the world --
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commerce that supports
millions of jobs back home.
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It's also a place where the risk
of a nuclear arms race threatens
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our security, and where
extremists plan attacks on
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American soil.
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And since this region includes
some of the fastest-growing
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nations, there can be no
solution to the challenge of
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climate change without the
cooperation of the Asia Pacific.
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With this in mind, I traveled
to Asia to open up a new era of
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American engagement.
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We made progress with China
and Russia in sending a unified
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message to Iran and North Korea
that they must live up to their
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international obligations and
either forsake nuclear weapons
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or face the consequences.
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As the two largest consumers
and producers of energy,
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we developed a host of new clean
energy initiatives with China,
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and our two nations agreed to
work toward a successful outcome
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at the upcoming climate
summit in Copenhagen --
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an outcome that leads to
immediate action to reduce
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carbon pollution.
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And I spoke to young men and
women at a town hall in Shanghai
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and across the Internet about
certain values that we in
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America believe are universal:
the freedom of worship and
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speech; the right to access
information and to choose one's
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own leaders.
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But above all, I spoke with
leaders in every nation I
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visited about what we can do to
sustain this economic recovery
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and bring back jobs and
prosperity for our people --
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a task I will continue to focus
on relentlessly in the weeks and
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months ahead.
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This recession has taught us
that we can't return to
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a situation where America's
economic growth is fueled by
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consumers who take out
more and more debt.
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In order to keep growing, we
need to spend less, save more,
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and get our federal
deficit under control.
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We also need to place a greater
emphasis on exports that we can
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build, produce, and
sell to other nations --
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exports that can help create new
jobs at home and raise living
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standards throughout the world.
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For example, if we can increase
our exports to Asia Pacific
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nations by just 5%, we can
increase the number of American
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jobs supported by these exports
by hundreds of thousands.
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This is already happening
with businesses like American
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Superconductor Corporation, an
energy technology startup based
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in Massachusetts that's been
providing wind power and smart
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grid systems to countries
like China, Korea, and India.
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By doing so, it's added more
than 100 jobs over the last few years.
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Increasing our exports is one
way to create new jobs and new prosperity.
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But as we emerge from a
recession that has left millions
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without work, we have an
obligation to consider every
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additional, responsible step
we can take to encourage and
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accelerate job creation
in this country.
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That's why I've announced
that in the next few weeks,
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we'll be holding a forum at the
White House on jobs and economic growth.
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I want to hear from CEOs
and small business owners,
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economists and financial experts,
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as well as representatives
from labor unions and nonprofit
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groups, about what they think
we can do to spur hiring and get
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this economy moving again.
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It's important that we don't make
any ill-considered decisions --
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even with the best of intentions --
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particularly at a time when
our resources are so limited.
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But it's just as important that
we are open to any demonstrably
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good idea to supplement the
steps we've already taken to put
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America back to work.
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That's what I hope to
achieve in this forum.
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Still, there's no forum or
policy that can bring all the
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jobs we've lost overnight.
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I wish there were, because
so many Americans --
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friends, neighbors, family members --
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are desperately looking for work.
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But even though it will take time,
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I can promise you this: we are
moving in the right direction;
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that the steps we are
taking are helping;
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and I will not let up until
businesses start hiring again,
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unemployed Americans
start working again,
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and we rebuild this economy
stronger and more prosperous
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than it was before.
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That has been the focus of our
efforts these past ten months --
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and it will continue to be our
focus in the months and years to come.
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Thanks.
