SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY : Hughes Chairman Advises U.S. to Form Industrial Policy

Hughes Aircraft Co. Chairman Malcolm R. Currie says the United States must consider forming an industrial policy--despite criticism from free-market proponents that such a policy would be protectionist--if the country is to survive intense economic and technological competition in the future.

If cities can offer tax breaks to developers who build auto malls because the malls ring up big sales tax revenue, Currie argued, the federal government should be allowed to help businesses be more competitive in the international marketplace.

Speaking at a conference in Costa Mesa last week, Currie recommended an industrial policy that would give more tax credits for research and development and lower the cost of borrowing capital. He also suggested forming more multicompany research consortia such as Sematech, the semiconductor research group in Austin, Tex.

“To argue that industrial policy of this sort is somehow foreign to the United States is to be disingenuous,” Currie said during remarks at the “What if Peace?” conference, sponsored by Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine and the California Engineering Foundation.

“We’ve had a policy for years through the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. . . . Our leading competitive positions in space and aeronautics are the result.”