talented Feoples. AttheBonneconomic summitlastMaytheleaders ofthelargest industrial democracies acknowledged thesametruth. Theroadtoprosperity begins atthesamestarting p"lintforallnations: freedom andincentives forthe indiVidual. Thistruthshouldbeourguideasweaddress today's economic challenges~ Insub-Saharan Africadrought hasplacedperhaps 30million men,womenand children atrisk. Wedonc.ltknowhowmanyhavealready died.Alongwithother Western countries, theUnitedStateshasundertaken oneofthelargest disaster reliefprogrammes inhistory. ThisyearalonetheUnitedStateshasprovided $1.2billion fordrought andfaminereliefand$800million inothereconomic assistance. Thenationsthathavebeenhelping shouldcontinue todoso;those thathavenotbornetheirshareshouldstarttodoso. Butweoweittothesuffering toaskthisquestion: Whyisfoodsoscarce? Drought, without question, ispartofthereason, butinsomecountries thereare other, moreimportant reasons. OneisGoverlUll2nt policies thathave severel~f harmedagricultural productiVity. Thesepolicies mU.'stbereversed. Those countries thathaveundertaken liberalizing reforms arereaping thebenefits and canshowthewayforothers. Another problemislackofappropriate technologies. TheUnitedStatesiscarrying outalong-term programme tostrengthen African agricultural research, whichwehopewillhelptoproduce agreenrevolution onthe continent.A/4WP~4 51; (Mr.Shultz, UnitedStates) Elsewhere inthedeveloping world,asinAfrica, countries facethecontinuing problem ofdebt.Manyhaveundertaken necessary, thoughpainful, adjustment, takingcourageous stepstocutGovernment spending, eliminate subsidies andprice controls, permitcurrencies toadjusttothemarket, freeinterest ratesto encourage savinganddiscourage capitalflightandcreateconditions toattract new capital. Austerity, however, iscertainly notanendinitself. Thepurpose of short-term adjustment istogetbackonthetrackoflong-term growth. Inalltheseefforts wemustbecareful thattheheavyburdenofservicing the historic debt level~ofthedeveloping nationsofLatinAmerica andAfricadoesnot inhibittheirfuturegrowth. Creative co-operation between borrowers andlenders, withcontinued constructive assistance ftemtheWorldBankanatheInternational Monetary Fund(IMF),willbeessential inachieving thatgoal. Othernations toohaveamajorparttoplayinhelping thesecountries overcome theirdebtproblem andresumesustainable growth. External financing to supporteffective adjustment hasbeenandwillcontinue tobeimportant. Accessto exportmarketsisalsonecessary. Indeed, anopentrading systemiscrucial tothe hopesofallofus.Tradeexpansion hasbeenanengineofpost-war prosperity. It wouldtherefore besuicidal toreturntotheprotectionism ofthe1920sand1930s whichhelpedbringonthegreatdepression. Protectionism isnotacureJitisa disease, adisease thatcouldcrippleallofus.Trademustbefree,openand fair.TheunitedStateswillworktoseethatitis.Buttheremustbealevel playingfield. Wewantopentrading, butthatmeansmutuality. Barriers erected against American products arejustnotacceptable tous. AsPresident Reaganissayingtodayinamajorspeech, "Thefreertheflowofworldtrade,thestronger thetidesforhumanprogress andpeaceamongnations."114/13 A/40/PV.4 52. (Nr.Shultz, unitedStates) Topreserve andstrengthen thetrading systemmaywellbethecentral economic issuefacingtheworldcoDalllnity today. Forthatreasonitisessential thatall nations joinnowinpreparations foranewGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade. (GATT)roundnextyear. Nonation, evenoneaslargeandaspowerful astheUnited States, canbyitselfensureafreetrading system. Allthatwe·andothershave donetopra/ide forthefreeflowofgoodsandservices andcapitalisbasedon co-operatio~ Indeed,itwasthatveryspiritofco-operation thatprompted the UnitedStatesa!ldfouroftheleading industrial nations yesterday topledgefirm resolve toworktogether inaddressing thepressing economic issuesofthisdecade. Soundeconomic policies ineverycountry arethekeytostrengthening the worldeconomy. IntheUnitedStatespolicies thathaveunleashed individual talent, reduced Government's roleandstabilized priceshavehelpedtoproduce more than8million newjobssince1982andleadtheworldoutofrecession. Butmany imbalances intheworldeconomy remain, notably intradeaccounts, exchange rates andcapital flows. Thesemustbecorrected bytheworldcommunity actingin concertifrecenteconomic gainsazetobepreserved andhopesforprogress sustained. Foritspart,theUnitedStatesmustrestrain publicspending, reduce itsbudgetdeficit andencourage saving. Othersmustdomaretoreducerigidities andpromote theprivate investment neededtofacilitate adjustment andspur expansion. Ibelieve wecansurmount ourprOb~ems justaswesucceeded insolving the
**Analysis**
The text discusses economic issues and challenges, specifically focusing on the importance of individual freedom and incentives, agricultural productivity, debt relief, and trade expansion. It also touches on humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The tone is mostly formal and policy-oriented, suggesting that the text is likely related to economic development and international relations.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade