Donald Trump's listening skills have been a surprise to Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, who has been in closed door meetings with the president.
"I will tell you this, every time we've had a discussion that is generic, he goes into the specifics. He goes to, 'Well, in my business, I saw this. Does that relate to you?'" Liveris told CNBC's "Power Lunch" during CERAWeek in Houston on Thursday.
The president has invited a number of business leaders hailing from several sectors to discuss regulations, jobs and other economic initiatives. Liveris, who leads Trump's manufacturing jobs initiative, said he has enjoyed getting to know "businessman Trump."
"And obviously his type of business is different than my type of business, but the rules of business are the rules of business, and he speaks business language in our meetings and in our interactions," the Dow Chemical CEO said.
Liveris was one of 24 manufacturing CEOs who met with Trump last month to discuss deregulation, tax reform, trade, infrastructure and job training. Trump and his team has "managed to move the ball in 45 days on regulatory reform more than in the previous eight years," Liveris said.
Liveris claimed that, for the manufacturing sector, regulatory costs per employee are double those of other industries.
"We complain about financial regulation and all the other things, but in the manufacturing sector, we're carrying, per employee, double the cost of regulations. So that means there's too many regulations," Liveris said.
Liveris said he also expects Trump to address concerns about automation within the "coming weeks." As factories increase efficiency by adding robots, some are concerned this may lead to job loss in the sector Trump wants to revive.
"The digitalization of industrial America means a new industrial policy, and the answer to the question is reskill workers and change the way we supply capability to our school system," Liveris said.
