NORMAL - Caterpillar Inc. chief Jim Owens can't understand why people remain skeptical of global free trade.

About 31 million American jobs depend on imports and exports, he told hundreds gathered Tuesday at Illinois State University's Braden Auditorium.

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994, "we have seen unemployment drop steadily and economic growth perform quite well … All that and we're still quite apprehensive," said Owens, Cat's chairman and chief executive officer.

"We're not going to be a great nation by building walls around the country and protecting the 5 percent (of the world population) that lives here," said Owens, speaking as part of ISU's sesquicentennial celebration. "We're going to be a great nation by being a leader in trade, a leading nation in ideas … I think we need to build a lot more bridges than walls."

Cat, for example, is positioned to increase its global presence, he said. The heavy-equipment manufacturer exported $10 billion in American-made products last year, despite having manufacturing facilities outside of the United States, Owens noted.

"We can manufacture all over the world and still have a large manufacturing base here in the United States," he said. "I think it's very important that we as a country maintain a strong manufacturing base because it has an impact on America's standard of living."

The speech seemed a fitting extension of President George Bush's visit to Caterpillar earlier this year. Bush used a Cat manufacturing plant in East Peoria as the backdrop for his call to boost free trade and promote tax cuts.

Echoing Bush's comments on both issues, Owens also took a quick jab at corporate taxes during his presentation, saying it hinders the ability of American companies to compete globally.

"That's beginning to affect how many jobs stay in this country," Owens said.

He also laid out a laundry list of other dangers to the business community: rising healthcare costs; lack of skilled workers; the need for a more defined national energy policy and a political climate that focuses more on partisanship than actual decision making.

The speech drew a mixture of students and business leaders, including State Farm Insurance Cos. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Rust Jr.

At one point in the presentation, Owens pointed to Rust and called him "boss." Rust serves on Cat's board of directors.