DETROIT (AFP)--The U.S. needs a clear strategy to remain a
competitive leader in industry and other sectors of an economy in
crisis, business leaders told a national summit that opened
Monday.
The three-day summit in Detroit, Michigan aims to develop a
national consensus on policies for technology, energy, environment
and manufacturing.
"Our goal is to develop a to do list of actions that will
revitalize and revive our economy," said Bill Ford, executive
chairman of Ford Motor Co. (F) and co-chair of the summit's opening
session.
Ford said the global economic crisis "increases the urgency to
begin a national dialogue on the economy."
The meeting reflects growing momentum for the U.S. to formalize
an "industrial policy" similar to those implemented in Asia and
elsewhere to help nurture businesses in a tough global
environment.
The summit also seeks to define policies on energy, environment
and technology.
Although industrial policy is often equated with protectionism,
Ford and other speakers said the U.S. needs to be tougher with
trading partners to maintain prosperity.
"Having no policy is a bad policy," Ford said. "Other countries
understand this and they work hard to maintain a strong industrial
base.
"They bend or even break the rules to maintain a competitive
advantage over the U.S. We need to do something different," he
added.
Echoing those calls, fellow co-chair Andrew Liveris, chairman
and CEO of Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), called for "a modern-era
industrial policy, one built for the 21st century.
"The life force and strength of this country has to be rebuilt,"
Liveris told the gathering of several hundred people.
"It has to be rebuilt by American industry."
Liveris said that "maybe we all became enamored with the idea of
making money from money. And we forgot that making real things,
real innovative things, still matters."
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said the notion of industrial policy
for many years was "anathema to many people...it was a killer
label."
But he said there is a growing recognition, including at the
White House, of the need for more government involvement in the
economy.
"There is a recognition finally in this country that our global
competition is not just with companies, but with the governments
that support those companies," Levin told a summit forum. "It's a
fundamental awakening."
Thomas d'Aquino, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of
Chief Executives, acknowledged the need to shift policy.
"There is a perception that America has been weakened by the
financial calamity," he said. "I think the U.S. has been too much
the boy scouts, and we're working in a different environment."
One note of caution came from Bud Peterson, president of the
Georgia Institute of Technology, who warned against following the
models of some countries that invest directly in companies.
"In this country, we have invested in universities in research,
and that drives the technologies that create the companies that
create jobs," he said.
The summit, which might continue as an annual event, grew out of
conversations at the Detroit Economic Club about the future of the
U.S. economy.
The speakers include chief executives Richard Anderson of Delta
Air Lines Inc. (DAL), Steve Ballmer of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT),
Vikram Pandit of Citigroup Inc. (C), Fritz Henderson of General
Motors Corp. (GM) and Alan Mulally of Ford.
From government, new U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra
and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will appear among the 90-plus
speakers.
Called last September, the summit has taken on new importance
amid a recession that is the worst in decades, costing more than
six million U.S. jobs.
About 200 protesters marched from a nearby park, where a shadow
"people's summit" was being held to try to draw attention to those
affected by the current economic crisis.
Carrying signs demanding an end to foreclosures and the
capitalist system they chanted "Bail out the people not the banks"
and "Come out! Come out! Stop meeting in secret" outside Detroit's
Renaissance Center, home to both General Motors and the
conference.
"The banks and the corporations are taking over people's homes,"
said David Gilbert, 27, who like 13.6% of the city's population is
unemployed.
"They don't care about homelessness. They only care about
profits and people are expendable."