Spotlight: FDI: Facilitating Business Investment in the United States

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays an important role in the U.S. economy by helping to create jobs, increase wealth and living standards, and by helping to stimulate the overall growth and innovation that drives U.S. economic competitiveness. Many communities and regions across the nation have made attracting FDI a key component in building out their economic development strategies and EDA has helped to drive these strategies forward.

The U.S. is the largest recipient of FDI in the world according to SelectUSA, a government-wide program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce designed to promote and facilitate foreign business investment in the U.S. Since its inception, SelectUSA has facilitated US $30.7 billion in investment, creating and/or retaining tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.

*Position (UBO) = The cumulative value of all FDI in the United States at year-end, tracked by the country of ultimate beneficiary owner (UBO).

*Flow = The value of FDI into the United States within a given time period (one year in this chart).

Besides the investments the agency makes to support local efforts to attract FDI, EDA is pleased to help inform our stakeholders about the incredible resources available to them through the SelectUSA program. Of note, EDA is today working with SelectUSA today to develop a toolkit that will help communities implement more effective FDI attraction and export promotion practices. Stay tuned for more information on this project.

In addition, EDA is pleased to work with our economic development organization stakeholders to encourage their participation in the annual SelectUSA Investment Summit.

This year, the Summit will take place June 20-22. For those attending, make sure to join the “International Engagement Ready Communities Research Summary, Toolkit Preview and Information on EDA” (PDF) panel session happening June 20, to hear EDA grantees from Chester County, South Carolina discuss how infrastructure investments helped them bring a major Singapore tire manufacturer to the region. Also participating is EDA’s Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship which will focus its panel (PDF) on trends, best practices and resources that drive innovation and entrepreneurship focused economic development.

As the global economy continues to grow and develop, the United States must stay competitive in attracting and retaining FDI. EDA works closely with its grantees and state and regional partners to support their FDI strategies. In fact, FDI attraction is included in EDA’s investment priorities.