Proclamation 5587 --
Made in America Month, 1986
December 8, 1986
By
the President of the United States of
America
A
Proclamation
During
the past four years the United States has embarked on a new era
of economic growth and prosperity. Millions of new jobs have been created,
inflation is at its lowest point in 20 years, and the purchasing power of the
average family has risen by close to 8 percent. But along with this new
prosperity have come new challenges to American business. In the early years of
our expansion our economy moved forward, while much of the rest of the world's lagged. The resulting strength of the dollar lowered
the price of imports, making them more attractive to Americans, who then had
extra money to spend. At the same time, it raised the prices buyers overseas
had to pay for American goods. It is ironic that the very health and vitality
of the United States economy led to our
importing more than we export.
Already
there are signs that this problem should lessen in the near future. American
industry is rising to the challenge, producing more efficiently than ever
before. The dollar is in better balance with major foreign currencies, and,
even more important, our trading partners are taking a new look at what they
can do to quicken their economies and rely less on the great locomotive of
American prosperity. Now is the time, therefore, for consumers both here and
abroad to take a fresh look at what America has to offer. American
technology and management are second to none, and the skill and resourcefulness
of the American worker are the envy of the world. Not only does ``Made in the U.S.A.'' symbolize excellence
of quality and design, but our products are now available at more competitive
prices.
It
is not only American products that merit a second look. Our commitments to
freedom of enterprise, individual responsibility, and restraints on government
power and taxation -- some genuinely ``made in America'' ideas -- have
resulted in an economic renaissance in this country that stands as an example
of hope for people everywhere. A world in which state-imposed barriers to
commerce are removed, and in which all individuals are free to reach their
greatest potential, will be a world in which all nations can bloom and prosper.
The
Congress, by Public Law 99 - 568, has authorized and requested the President to
proclaim December 1986 as ``Made in America Month.''
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim December 1986 as ``Made in
America Month.'' I invite the people of the United States to observe this month
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to celebrate the
excellence of American products.
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of December, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and
eleventh.
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed
with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:31 p.m., December
9, 1986]
Note:
The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on December
9.