Embrace global trade, panelists at VCU forum say

A recession is no time to retreat from global trade, several experts on international business said yesterday at Virginia Commonwealth University.

If anything, U.S. policymakers and businesses need to look for more ways to build overseas markets, as developing nations increase their share of the world economy and the economic power of Europe and America is challenged, they said.

"Trouble at home is not an excuse to retreat from growth opportunities overseas," said Bruce V. Thomas, senior vice president of Henrico County-based MeadWestvaco Corp., a packaging and specialty chemicals company with operations in 30 countries.

Speaking at VCU's 15th annual International Business Forum, Thomas and panelists Hans Martens, chief executive of the European Policy Center, and Paul H. Grossman Jr., director of international trade and investment for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, warned against protectionist trade policies that, while aimed at shielding domestic industries threatened by the downturn, could sink the global economy deeper into recession.

Protectionism contributed to the severity of the Great Depression in the 1930s, said Martens, who was born in Denmark and lives in Spain. "There is a risk that we are repeating the same mistakes," he said.

The forum, attended by VCU students, faculty and local businesspeople, centered on the idea of "The Rise of the Rest" -- the enormous growth of developing nations such as China and India and the implications of that power shift for the United States and other Western nations.

VCU business professor and forum moderator Van Wood cited numerous statistics underlining those changes. For example, the United States graduated 70,000 engineers in 2006, while China graduated 600,000 and India produced 350,000.

"China will soon be the number-one English-speaking country in the world," he said.

Martens questioned the extent of the power shift -- he noted that India still has 300 million people living on $1 a day -- but it is clear that China, India and other nations will gain economic clout, he said.

"We should not give up. We still have something to offer," Martens said.

The rise of developing nations also presents many opportunities if U.S. businesses are ready to seize them, panelists said. Grossman cited many examples of Virginia companies that have found niche markets overseas.

The panelists also urged the hundreds of students at the forum to think creatively, and especially to look for opportunities in sustainable, energy-efficient services and products.

Thomas, who leads MeadWestvaco's development in emerging markets, said the company has found a growing business in China selling a product called Evotherm, a chemical additive for asphalt that allows roads to be paved at lower temperatures and with less energy use. The product is made at a plant in South Carolina.

"While we view it as a public service, we also see it as a profit center," he said. "That is the way we think about business, and that is the way you should think about business -- these attractive global opportunities."

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or .