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In a
speech at Georgetown University, Immelt said American companies
and policymakers should "try harder" to compete in the global
economy and win.
Public sentiment toward globalization and free trade has
permanently changed because of their associations with
outsourcing that has held down wages, China's rise as an export
power and job losses, so a new definition was needed, he said.
"Because of these factors, we are not going back to a pure free
trade world," Immelt said. "But is protectionism the answer? I
guarantee you ... we have the most to lose through
protectionism."
The Trump administration has taken steps toward increasing trade
barriers around some industries, launching national security
reviews that could restrict steel and aluminum imports. It also
has pulled out of a 12-country Pacific Rim trade deal and vowed
to renegotiate the 23-year-old North American Free Trade
Agreement in order to help reduce the U.S. trade deficits with
Mexico and Canada.
Immelt said that if U.S. leaders think Americans want to live
without the benefits of global economic integration, "they're in
for a rude awakening. We need to fight for new technologies not
old ones."
Instead of withdrawing from trade deals, Immelt said the United
States should work to modernize and improve them, and NAFTA
represented a prime opportunity.
"We will not grow if we don’t trade with people," he said.
Immelt also called for the government to level the playing field
with tax reform, and said the Trump administration's tax
proposals would achieve much of this, including through a
territorial tax system with lower rates. He also put in a plug
for a border adjustment tax that would favor U.S. exporters.
"All of our global competitors have some form of a border
adjustment," he said. "Isn't it worth a debate?"
Immelt also called for the full revival of the U.S.
Export-Import Bank as a way to better compete with China,
Germany and other countries that offer government-backed export
lending. EXIM has been unable to approve financing deals over
$10 million - excluding Boeing aircraft and GE power turbines -
due to the lingering effects of a long fight in Congress to
close the trade bank.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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