'Zero sum approach towards jobs dangerous'

BANGALORE, INDIA: Honeywell chairman and CEO Dave Cote today took a dig at US President Barack Obama's recent Buffalo-Bangalore statement by stating that protectionism can only be the “worst” option.

"I get extremely worried when I hear discussions on protectionism in India, or China or the US. It's the worst possible thing that can be done," Cote said after inaugurating Honeywell's second manufacturing facility here.

The Honeywell CEO opined that the solutions should be pragmatic and not merely driven by the short-term goals that can be popular. He described the proposed protectionist measures as 'zero sum' approach towards jobs and economics and stated that it can be extremely worrisome and harmful.

"It causes people to believe in things that can be actually harmful to them in the end," he said.

However, Cote hoped that the US would not go ahead with such policies.

"I understand these are only proposals. I think a big number of businesses will be looking at this and say protectionism is bad. Bad not just for our own economy but also for the world," he said.

Further, Cote opined that the US Congress would not allow such measures.

"I am hopeful that within the Congress there are people who look at it and say we understand that we have to protect revenue, but we have to do it in a way that it does not affect the business growth around the world." he said.

Describing globalization as the best solution for overall development of the world, the Honeywell CEO noted that economics is not a zero sum game.

"My gain is not your loss. Your gain is not my loss. It is not like we have just 10 rupees and decide who should get what share. The thing about economic is that you continue to expand and create a big global pie which people can share."

About seven  years ago 40 per cent of of our (Honeywell) sales was outside the US. Today, 50 per cent of our sales are outside the US. We would not have been able to do that if we hadn't established the kind of capability we have here today, Cote said justifying the expansion of business including in India.

“I am a big fan of creating jobs anywhere. I can't say I am against it in any place. If you are creating jobs in a place, it helps in GDP growth but it is not creating jobs at one place at the cost of the other. The more productive we can make the work the better will be the standard of living for everybody,” Cote asserted.