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The U.S. Council on Competitiveness congratulates President-elect Trump and looks forward to working on issues affecting U.S. productivity and prosperity.

Over the 30-year history of the Council, our nonpartisan membership of CEOs, university presidents, labor leaders and heads of national labs has worked with presidents on both sides of the aisle to ensure the private-sector perspective is represented in policy discussions to enhance productivity growth, raise the standard of living for all Americans and expand markets for U.S. products and services.

We look forward to working with the President-elect and the new Congress to address critical competitiveness issues that transcend politics from increased investment in scientific research to expanding and enhancing the U.S. innovation ecosystem of industry, world-class universities and national labs. With the ongoing national energy transformation from scarcity to abundance, we will work to ensure a strong, vibrant, domestic manufacturing base. And, most importantly, we need to ensure Americans have access to the education and skills necessary to succeed.

The Council will release its Clarion Call on December 9, 2016, providing an assessment of U.S. competitiveness and a robust set of recommendation for the incoming administration and Congress.

October 25, 2016

CHICAGO - On October 25, the Council held the 15th dialogue of its Technology Leadership and Strategy Initiative (TLSI), focusing on the actions and policies necessary for America to maintain its global technological leadership as a driver for competitiveness for future generations. President of the University of Illinois Tim Killeen hosted the dialogue in Chicago – along with Council President & CEO Deborah L. Wince-Smith and the TLSI co-chairs: Klaus Hoehn, Vice President, Advanced Technology & Engineering, Deere & Company; Greg Hyslop, Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President, Engineering, Test & Technology, The Boeing Company; and Keoki Jackson, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin.

The TLSI members and special guests focused on building the case for a major, “whole of nation,” public-private partnership to support the future of the semiconductor industry and its incumbent innovation ecosystem as a major underpinning for the nation’s long-term competitiveness, productivity, and national security. In the afternoon the group turned to a review of the efforts of two TLSI working groups charged with crafting workforce and innovation investment recommendations for the Council’s 30th anniversary “Clarion Call.”

October 24, 2016

CHICAGO- Members of the Council’s Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness Partnership (EMCP) Steering and Advisory Committee gathered for their annual meeting to acknowledge the Council’s energy and manufacturing policy initiatives for 2016 and to reflect, discuss and set the agenda for 2017. With the completion of the first phase of sector studies on Water and Manufacturing, Advanced Materials and Biosciences, the group discussed the transition into the second phase of sector studies, which will continue the deep-dive discussions on American competitiveness and other key policy efforts and contribute to the Council’s engagement with the 2016 presidential transition, the 115th Congress and the next administration.

Hosted at the World of Whirlpool in Chicago, Ill., by Whirlpool Chairman and CEO Mr. Jeff M. Fettig and Executive Vice President for Global Product Organization, Mr. David Szczupak, the Steering and Advisory Committee highlighed events held in the fall of this year, with particular focus given to the first official release of EMCP's Leverage: Water and Manufacturing report on September 27, 2016 held at A.O. Smith Corporate Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., with co-chairs Mr. Ajita Rajendra, Chairman and CEO of A.O. Smith, Dr. Michael Lovell, President of Marquette University and Mr. William Bates, Executive Vice President of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness. The release of Leverage was highly attended and reached key experts from across the nation, igniting action steps and forward movement from those in attendance.

October 4, 2016

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WASHINGTON—The U.S. Council on Competitiveness, with partners QuesTek Innovations, LLC and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to unveil a report detailing critical building blocks that can drive significant enhancements in America’s energy production, manufactured products and overall economy: advanced materials.

“The Council has worked on advanced materials issues for almost a decade,” said William Bates, Executive Vice President, U.S. Council on Competitiveness. “We continue to find that scaling up the manufacturing and application of advanced materials is vital to U.S. competitiveness.”