Protection or competition?

Talk continues to pound the airwaves about how U.S. manufacturers have to protect themselves against foreign competition.
But that flies in the face of the theory behind a global community. Does that mean the U.S. should prosper around the world, but no one else can? Does that make sense?
Read for a moment what Jim Owens, the chief executive at Caterpillar, a maker of a farm and construction machinery, said about the issue.
“This is a critical moment for U.S. manufacturing.” Jim Owens wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
He is against trade and investment barriers to “protect” U.S. industries and sees them as a form of parochialism that hurts American companies and therefore hurts America and the rest of the world.
There are four important strategies that American manufacturers must take to compete with the world's best, Owens said.
First, manufacturers must focus on designing and producing the highest-quality products incorporating the most up-to-date technology. We have to stay aggressive with our product development programs, and ensure the goods we manufacture are desired the world over.
Second, we must continue to embrace lean manufacturing principles, increase the use of robotics and automation, and focus on just-in-time delivery. These tools will enable us to keep costs low and productivity high.
Third, manufacturers must invest in people providing the education and workforce training they need to help us succeed. Our international competitors will work to produce better products and adopt world-class processes, but they cannot replicate our market size and proximity. We must nurture the ideas and competitive spirit that our people bring to the workplace.
Fourth, manufacturing companies must believe they can compete on the world stage. We must look at globalization and international competition as an opportunity to make ourselves stronger and more efficient, and not, as some are proposing, as a reason to turn inward.
Owens' company has been competing on the world front for quite a few years now and he continues to compile positive results. It is a difficult task, but he is able to succeed.
What do you think? Talk to me …