Overview
United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) was introduced and welcomed by Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier at the Competitiveness Conversation Dinner. For his keynote address, the senator focused his remarks on how America and Tennessee can realize their economic potential by taking advantage of their distinctive competitive advantages and unleashing the competitive and entrepreneurial spirit.
Key Session Insights
In his keynote address to conclude Day 1 of the Tennessee Competitiveness Conversation, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN)began with the powerful observation that to unleash economic activity in a region, you must understand the basic elements of competitive advantage.The Senator asked the audience,“What drives your competitive advantage as a company, as a state, as a nation?”According to the Senator, who has many years of experience in management consulting and business, one-size-fits-all approaches to economic development does not exist, as regions have their own distinctive strengths and characteristics that must be identified and harnessed to release their full economic capabilities.
“We need to be thinking about what makes America strong and therefore makes the world stronger. I can assure you of this: the world needs a strong America like never before.”
Bill Hagerty
United States Senator (R-TN)
Tennessee is harnessing its competitive advantage to develop its own innovation economy. “We thought really hard about the state's competitive advantage. And guess what it is? It is something that you cannot change, but it is something we are blessed to have. It is our location. Think about where Tennessee is situated. You can get to two-thirds of the U.S. population within a day's drive.” By leveraging its geographic advantage, Tennessee built itself into a logistics hub of America, including FedEx’s headquarters.
To unbridle a region’s competitive advantages, the Senator argued policymakers should build a business-friendly, competitive environment to free up innovation. Businesses have the potential to organically innovate if they are not constrained by unnecessary barriers. The Senator made the point that a key institutional feature to expanding investment and business activity is the existence of a strong rule of law. With it, including property rights protection, people and organizations can have the necessary security to invest in capital intensive projects.
Senator Haggerty also believes that by developing its competitiveness, America can build its global partnerships and stand as a leader of the free world. Prioritizing competitive advantages allows regions to find mutually beneficial partnerships with economies around the world. Tennessee’s development led it to become the number one state for creating jobs through foreign direct investment, with 60 percent of that foreign investment coming from Japan. Tennessee’s close partnership with Japan was bolstered by the United States’ political relationship with the country, as Japanese liquid natural gas (LNG) investment in America was driven by the need for a long-term energy partnership with America, its ally, as opposed to Russia.
Focusing on our competitive advantage is crucial to securing our own independence and economic vitality. With key products such as solar panels and batteries increasingly being developed by China, America needs to take cultivate these and other critical industries of the present and future to maintain its position as the leader of the free world.
