SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY : Boeing Executive Says Trade Bars Won’t Keep U.S. on Top

Boeing executive Phillip M. Condit says America won’t stay atop the international commercial aerospace industry by erecting trade barriers to protect itself against foreign competition.

Condit, in remarks to a National Academy of Engineering conference Monday in Irvine, said U.S. aircraft makers will thrive “so long as they maintain the will to accept market risk and the commitment to develop the new products our customers need.”

He said that although technology transfers and international joint ventures may help foreign competitors, they would not necessarily lead to a loss of leadership for American aircraft companies.

Condit’s remarks come amid debate within the aerospace industry about international joint ventures and the exporting of U.S. technology. The debate was sparked by President Bush’s approval earlier this year of a U.S.-Japan joint development project for a Japanese version of the FSX fighter plane.

Critics of the FSX program argued that it amounted to a giveaway of U.S. technology to Japan, which is seeking to develop its own aerospace industry.

But Condit said that “no nation can monopolize technology for any appreciable time.” Nor, he said, can “technological innovation alone ensure success in the marketplace.”

Condit said foreign partnerships have proven beneficial to Boeing and have not undermined its position as a leader in the commercial aircraft business. He said Boeing has 300 foreign suppliers contrasted with 3,500 in the United States. The company estimates that for every job created overseas by purchasing products from foreign suppliers, about 20 new jobs are created in the United States.

Condit said trade barriers are not needed to protect the American industry.

U.S. aerospace companies exported $9 billion in commercial aircraft in 1988, Condit said, adding that those sales “flowed from quality and customer service, from adapting technology to the needs of the marketplace, and from innovation that offers cost-effective benefits to the customer.”