By Ted Mann 

Corporate leaders are looking beyond the chaotic opening month of President Donald Trump's tenure, hopeful his administration will deliver on promises for an overhaul of taxes and regulations that could boost their fortunes and those of their workers.

Executives from major manufacturers including General Electric Co., Dow Chemical Co., and Lockheed Martin Corp., gathered for 2 1/2 hours on Thursday to trade policy proposals with senior administration officials at the White House. More than half that time was spent in an audience with Mr. Trump, who said he was making good on a campaign pledge to restore prosperity in struggling sectors of the U.S. economy.

In private sessions beforehand, the executives compared concrete steps they thought the administration could take to help their business interests, identifying specific regulations they want eased.

Mr. Trump and his advisers are "very, very keen on putting meat on the bones," said Andrew Liveris, chief executive of Dow Chemical Co., and the leader of Mr. Trump's advisory panel of manufacturing bosses. "They really do want specifics from industrial leaders."

The manufacturing leaders plan to meet again in two months, and an early imperative is to distinguish steps that can be taken immediately and actions that could take longer to filter into the economy, Mr. Liveris said.

"Bringing manufacturing back to America, bringing high-wage jobs, was one of our campaign promises and themes and it resonated with everybody, " Mr. Trump said in an open session surrounded by senior advisers and two dozen corporate executives. "I'm delivering on everything we've said."

The gathering reinforced an image Mr. Trump has worked to project: The White House is a forum for leading figures in business to make proposals that failed to gain traction in former President Barack Obama's administration. The setting, the White House State Dining Room beneath a massive portrait of Lincoln, served as evidence that the leaders of some of the country's most important companies are willing to work with Mr. Trump and appear by his side.

Seated at the president's right hand was Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and an adviser. Mr. Trump has delegated business outreach to Mr. Kushner, who is pushing manufacturing executives to deliver specific action items where the government can make U.S. firms more competitive, said Mr. Liveris.

Mr. Trump focused on a favorite theme: He said other countries have got the better of the U.S. in free-trade deals because the U.S. runs high deficits with its largest trade partners.

"I said to my people, 'Find a country where we actually do well,'" he said during the meeting. "So far we haven't found a country."

Mr. Trump struck a jocular tone with the executives in the room, boasting about his electoral victory and declaring that he would bring back faded sectors of the U.S. industrial base. He teased Gregory Hayes, chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp., which agreed to hold back 800 jobs out of more than 2,000 it had planned to send to Mexico, after Mr. Trump's criticism and a corporate tax break from the state of Indiana. And he joked with Marillyn Hewson, chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corp., that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton wouldn't have pushed to cut $700 million from the cost of the company's F-35 fighter, as Mr. Trump has.

Ms. Hewson, like the other executives, thanked Mr. Trump for the meeting.

Before the corporate executives met with Mr. Trump, they split into four working groups for focused discussion on taxes and trade, regulation, infrastructure, and improved training for the U.S. manufacturing workforce.

The executives and Mr. Trump's advisers disclosed little about the substance of their discussions, especially on key questions like whether to adopt a border-adjusted tax. Under a border-adjustment plan, companies wouldn't be able to deduct the cost of imports from their revenue but exports and other foreign sales would be tax-free. The issue has divided companies that stand to lose or benefit from the proposal.

In one discussion open to the media, executives and administration officials talked about cutting regulation. One executive said 20% of the price of military products covers the cost of regulation. In another session, the group talked about raising the gas tax by indexing it to inflation, a move that could create more revenue for infrastructure improvements.

An executive who was present at the White House meetings said Mr. Trump left open the door for a border tax, indicating the administration might consider several variations.

Mr. Trump has made rolling back regulations a priority and has already directed the Treasury Department to undertake a broad review of financial rules. Business executives and top administration leaders have said rolling back and modifying regulations will boost economic growth. The Trump administration has provided "not just an open door, but real encouragement" in acknowledging concerns raised by business leaders over regulatory issues, said Joshua Bolten, president of the Business Roundtable, a trade group representing large U.S. companies.

"We like what we're seeing so far," said Mark Costa, chief executive of Eastman Chemical Co., who drafted a letter the Business Roundtable delivered to the White House on Wednesday outlining regulations executives say are their top targets for repeal or modification in the Trump administration.

While businesses remain optimistic the Trump administration will curb regulations, they are much warier about the White House's push to curb immigration and trade. In the Business Roundtable's letter, Mr. Costa said the group stands ready to prevent "unintended consequences" from such curbs, which "would inhibit the ability for U.S. companies to drive economic growth and be globally competitive."

Mr. Liveris said immigration issues didn't come up at Thursday's meeting. On trade, "what we're doing is making sure everyone understands what the barriers are," he said.

--Peter Nicholas contributed to this article.

Write to Ted Mann at ted.mann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 23, 2017 20:09 ET (01:09 GMT)