On the Call: Cisco CEO Chambers on Canada

NEW YORK (AP) — Cisco CEO John Chambers has urged changes in U.S. corporate tax policies and was a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. On a conference call Tuesday after the quarterly earnings report, Chambers was asked about his outlook for U.S. policy after the election, with the threat of the "fiscal cliff" looming.

QUESTION: You saw an improvement in orders from large U.S. business. Can you comment on that in the context of the fiscal cliff?

RESPONSE: I personally think the fiscal cliff — we're going to work through that, probably with a little bit of saber-rattling on both sides. We're look more towards the tax policy, and is government ability to instill the confidence in business that allows us them to reinvest? If I were to look at one model we ought to look at carefully around the world, it's Canada — the easiest place to do business. It doesn't matter which party is in power, even in their provinces, i.e. their states. With the national government, Prime Minister Harper gets it, the leaders in Ottawa get it. They drive down through and make it very easy to do business there. You're going to see us grow our business there as well as invest overall.

So I think it's one of business confidence. I do think that is the wild card that can make a difference whether we'll grow (gross domestic product) at 2 percent, give or take a little bit, or get it back where it belongs at 3 percent plus. The companies do have the cash to spend if they have the confidence to invest.