Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 52
4
Conclusions and Recommendations
In this consensus statement, the Panel on Advanced
Technology Competition and the Industrialized Allies has
described why the United States must elevate, in the
scheme of national priorities, efforts to strengthen the
nation's capacity for technological innovation, including
a vigorous international trade position. The panel
believes that the U.S. advanced technology enterprise has
been undervalued in the past and now must be placed as
one of the nation's most valued objectives. The panel
has described also how the United States may negotiate
internationally to strengthen the international trading
system in harmony with healthy, mutually beneficial
trading relations, and how the United States may respond
should these international efforts fail.
The following is a summary of the panel's conclusions
and recommendations.
.
CONCLUSIONS
The United States must act now to preserve its
basic capacity to develop and use economically advanced
technology. This innovative capacity is essential for
the self-renewal and well-being of the economy and the
nation's military security. Trade in advanced technology
products and services will contribute enormously to our
economic health. Advanced technology products and
processes not only permeate the economy, increasing
productivity, but also form the basis of modern defense
hardware.
· The nation's capacity for technological innovation
is vulnerable both from domestic weaknesses and from
damaging practices of other nations. Measures designed to
52
OCR for page 53
53
maintain this vital aspect of the American economy within
a healthy international trading system will include both
domestic actions and international negotiations.
· Effective actions require a sound understanding
of the nature of innovative capacity and of the innova-
tion process through which it is primarily manifest.
Innovative capacity is the capability, widely diffused
throughout the economy, to produce continuously forefront
technological resources, and to use those resources for
the national benefit. The innovation process includes
not only basic research and development, but also pro-
duction, marketing, and distribution in domestic and
foreign markets. Each part of the process must be sound
for success.
· Some of the elements that support our nation's
Innovative capabilities include a strong national research
base, technically educated manpower and a technically
literate population, capable and farsighted industrial
managers, a financial base that provides capital to both
new and established firms, and sizable markets. Essen-
tial, too, are a national understanding of and attention
to advanced technology as a vital contributor to the
national welfare.
i
.
The U.S. government has in effect a range of
policies and practices including tax policies, patent
laws, regulation and deregulation, antitrust measures,
export/import bank loans, government procurement, and
others that, although designed to serve other national
objectives, also affect the U.S. technological enterprise
and international trade position. These policies and
practices and the other domestic and international
elements affecting U.S. technology and trade must be well
understood by senior policymakers. If viewed in ensemble,
existing government instruments may become powerful means
to support U.S. technology and trade interests.
· Responsibility for improving U.S. performance in
advanced technology and trade rests to a large degree
with the individual firm and its management. Successful
managers increasingly will have to be cognizant of
frontier technologies as they build businesses and
compete in an international world.
.
Our major industrialized allies--most notably
Japan and France--have designed comprehensive national
policies to help ensure successful technology and trade
development in major sectors. Thus, individual U.S.
firms often find themselves competing internationally,
OCR for page 54
54
.
not with firms acting alone, but with countries or with
consortia of firms with country backing.
· There is considerable dispute among industrialized
allies regarding which practices are acceptable and which
are not. Efforts to evaluate practices are protracted
and difficult, but essential.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Accordingly, the panel recommends the following:
.
Advanced technology development and trade must be
considered as among the highest priorities of the nation.
These vital interests must be well understood domestically
and conveyed to our trading partners. The United States
must initiate a two-part strategy: to maintain the
nation's canacitv for technological innovation and to
foster an open healthy international trading system.
· The federal government should initiate a
biennial, cabinet-level review that comprehensively
assesses U.S. trade competitiveness and the health of the
nation's innovative capacity in both relative and absolute
terms. This review should consider the nation's overall
performance: the private sector activities and the
totality of government actions on technology and trade,
as well as the effects of other governments' practices.
These assessments would consider the strength of key
technological sectors across all stages of the innovation
process--research, development, manufacture, and distri-
bution. In addition, assessments would evaluate broad
elements as they affect innovation, such as the macroeco-
nomic environment, regulatory policy, patent policy, and
antitrust policy. Careful attention would be given to
maintaining the health and effectiveness of both
university- and industry-based research, education, and
training. The cabinet-level review should be supported
by a continuing mechanism that would draw on expertise
both from within the government and from outside.
· Managers of private firms must be cognizant of
technological trends as they make renewed efforts to
build businesses and compete in an international context.
Managers should consider new institutional arranamm~n~-c--
~ ~ ~ ~ _ _ - .: ~ . . _ . ~
= y`~w.~y, mucua' By supportive, industry-university
research relationships, cooperative research ventures
among groups of firms, or consortia to seek information
and ideas systematically from abroad.
OCR for page 55
55
· Internationally, the United States should negotiate
in existing forums to encourage a healthy mutual trading
system. This should include continued efforts to evaluate
national trade practices and to agree on criteria for
acceptability. An objective must be to encourage open
markets and healthy competition.
· Countries, including the United States, throughout
negotiations should be prepared to alter fundamental
policies so that each country may maintain advanced
technology capacities fundamental to its individual
welfare.
· The United States should review the content and
application of its trade laws to ensure that U.S. indus-
tries can obtain timely and meaningful trade and/or other
relief in the U.S. market when imports from particular
countries, based on unreasonable or excessive foreign
industrial policies, threaten them.
· If key technology industries essential to national
economic welfare and military security are considered
endangered by the actions of another country, even with
all necessary domestic efforts to strengthen these
sectors, then the United States should negotiate with the
other country requesting immediate relief. Negotiations
should take place first in existing forums, explaining
our country's vital interest in preserving advanced tech-
nology capacity. If such mechanisms prove ineffective or
too slow to prevent damage to essential U.S. capabilities,
then the United States should negotiate directly with the
country in question. If those bilateral negotiations fail
or if the threat of damage is imminent, the United States
should take immediate unilateral actions as a step of
last resort.
The panel concludes that the advanced technology enter-
prise has the potential to contribute significantly to
economic and social welfare, both in the United States
and throughout the world. It is essential that the indus-
trialized allies work individually and cooperatively
toward advanced technology development and a healthy free
trade system for their mutual benefit.
OCR for page 56
Representative terms from entire chapter:
healthy international
