GE's Immelt says U.S. 'diverging' from the world

(Reuters) - The United States is "diverging" from the rest of the world and will be "less of a leader in trade", General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a letter to shareholders.

There was "deep skepticism" toward the ideas that have powered economic expansion of the industry for a generation and concepts such as "innovation, productivity, and globalization" were being challenged and "protectionism" was on the rise, he said in the letter. (http://invent.ge/2mvmLfQ)

"We're in an era when some very basic assumptions about the global economy are being tested - an era when trust in big institutions is so low that the most valued "strategy" is simply change in any form," Immelt said.

President Donald Trump has vowed to stop U.S. manufacturing from disappearing overseas and in January formally withdrew the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific partnership trade deal.

Trump also wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

However, Immelt, also said years of bad regulatory and economic practices were being stripped away to promote competitiveness.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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