Donald Trump appoints Australian Andrew Liveris as head of manufacturing advisory body

US President-elect Donald Trump has named Darwin-born Andrew Liveris as the head of the Manufacturing Council, a private sector group that advises the US secretary of commerce.

Mr Trump made the announcement during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and introduced Mr Liveris to the crowd as “a man who cares greatly about the state”.

Mr Liveris, 62, will head the US manufacturing panel “tasked with finding ways to bring industry back to America,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Liveris, a dual Australian-US citizen, praised Mr Trump's economic plans.

“You're paving the way ... with your policies to make it easier to do business in this country, not a red-tape country but a red-carpet country for American businesses,” he told the crowd.

“We’re going to put you all to work.”

Mr Liveris earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Queensland and was appointed CEO of Dow Chemical Co, a Michigan-based chemical corporation, in 2004.