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Clinton's Pacific tour begins in Australia

Clinton arriving 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

Howard

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

Clinton on tour

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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