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Electronics chief: It's hurting city's image
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Free trade fight called misguided
Electronics chief: It's hurting city's image
date: February 26, 2008
SOURCE: Detroit Free Press
By: Mike Wendland
Quit your whining.
That, in effect, was the message from Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, to the auto industry, politicians and -- in particular -- the UAW over their opposition to free trade agreements with Korea and other nations.
Repeating a theme he sounded first in an op-ed piece in Friday's Free Press, Shapiro told the Detroit Economic Club on Monday that the message Detroit is sending to the world is backfiring.
"Michigan politicians and unions fight loudly and strongly to protect Detroit from overseas competition," he said. "What America hears is that Detroit needs special help and can't compete in the free market."
Although well-intentioned, the efforts "work contrary to the best course of action for America's economy and our future," he said.
In particular, Shapiro singled out UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, who has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration's proposed free trade agreement with Korea, saying, if ratified by Congress, it would amount to the "theft of jobs."
Shapiro said the deal would, in the long run, open up Korea for the sale of U.S.-made cars, resolving a differential in which tariffs for American goods going to Korea could be four times as high as for the same Korean goods coming here.
Gettelfinger and the UAW didn't respond to a Free Press request for comment.
"It is true that free trade hurts some people in the short term -- but we must look at the big picture and what's best for our nation," Shapiro suggested in his 45-minute talk. "An American worker who lost her manufacturing job may assume it was lost to someone overseas. Indeed, protectionists repeatedly talk about the 3 million manufacturing jobs our nation has lost in the last decade. But what about all the jobs open markets and free trade have created?"
Citing his consumer-technology industry as an example, Shapiro said free trade has directly led to 25 million U.S. jobs over the past 15 years by giving innovators and entrepreneurs global access to the best and cheapest technology.<br><br>
"Detroit leading the opposition to this agreement only reinforces the perception that Detroit automakers cannot compete," he said. "Imagine if Detroit was to come out in favor of free trade. Say, 'Hit me with your best shot.' The world's perception of Detroit would change."
Shapiro leads a trade association of more than 2,000 high-tech companies. He splits time between Washington and his home in suburban Detroit.
He also challenged Detroit automakers to move quicker in developing and integrating personal technology in vehicles by adapting open standards, or similar and interchangeable ways of connecting electronic gadgets in vehicles.
He noted how Detroit automakers, with their agonizingly long design times, missed the iPod craze, leaving it to aftermarket firms to meet the demand created by the millions of iPod users who wanted to bring the devices on the road.
"Embedding entertainment and communications in closed automobile platforms is not a winning solution," as evidenced by the bad press associated with analog-only OnStar vehicle equipment that is going silent this year, he said.
The next big thing for personal technology in the auto industry, Shapiro said, is bringing broadband-speed Internet services to the car.
He cited a survey by his organization that noted that Americans spend nearly 17 hours a week in their cars, almost rivaling the 21 hours of TV they watch on average each week. He said the figures are reflected in spending.
Last year, he said, sales in the mobile electronics category grew 22% to more than $11 billion. For 2008, the industry expects 13% growth.
"Automakers face a challenge: How can they meet these needs and keep pace with the consumer electronics industry, whose product design cycles are relatively short?" he asked. "Some automakers have tried for end-to-end solutions, but the lengthy auto design cycle simply cannot keep up with rapid shifts in consumer electronics."
Open standards, he said, will help sell more cars. "Consumers will feel more comfortable buying upgradable cars. We can't predict the next iPod, but I guarantee it'll come."
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