Clinton's Pacific tour begins in Australia
President declares emergency in flood-struck Hawaii
November 19, 1996
Web posted at: 10:15 a.m. EST (1515 GMT)
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- President Clinton arrived in
Australia Tuesday night at the start of an overseas trip
aimed a strengthening U.S. economic and security ties in the
Pacific.
Before leaving Hawaii, where he vacationed over the weekend,
Clinton declared a state of emergency, authorizing federal
aid for areas struck by severe storms, flooding and mudslides
that began November 5.
The assistance would initially go to the city of Honolulu and
Honolulu County, although emergency aid officials were
continuing to survey damage from the storms, and additional
counties may be added to the emergency declaration.
Red-carpet welcome
Accompanied by his wife Hillary, Clinton flew on Air Force
One into Sydney, where he received a 21-gun salute and a
red-carpet welcome from Prime Minister John Howard and
Governor-General William Deane, the representative of Great
Britain's Queen Elizabeth.
The queen is head-of-state in the former British colony,
which gained its independence in 1901.
The president -- who plans to work golf into a schedule
combining business and pleasure -- will stay in Australia
until Saturday, before attending the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Philippines. The Clintons
also will visit Thailand on their nine-day, three-nation
tour.
Australia's trade complaint
Howard said on Tuesday he would raise serious trade issues
with Clinton in a one-hour meeting on Wednesday in Canberra,
Australia's capital.
Howard said it is unfair that primary industries in the
United States, Japan and Europe are subsidized by their
governments.
"I will be of course talking to the president about the
continued discrimination against agriculture exports in world
trading arrangements," Howard said. Australia, like the
United States, is a major agricultural exporter.
In 1992, thousands of Australian wheat farmers staged noisy
demonstrations against visiting former U.S. President George
Bush to protest the U.S. Export Enhancement Program, which
subsidizes U.S. grain sales.
U.S. to Australia: Thanks
Clinton is the third American president to visit Australia
after Lyndon Johnson and Bush.
After meeting Howard, Clinton will address a joint sitting of
both houses of the Parliament, where he will reaffirm the
long-standing alliance between the United States and
Australia.
Clinton also is expected to thank Australia for its help in
achieving the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty earlier
this year and for its cooperation on World Trade
Organization issues.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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