Commerce to Launch New Federal Initiative to Attract Foreign Investment

For Immediate Release: March 7, 2007
Contact: Charlie Skuba/Matt Englehart (202) 482-3809

COMMERCE TO LAUNCH NEW FEDERAL INITIATIVE TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT

U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Frank Lavin today announced the creation of a new U.S. Government Invest in America initiative, housed in the International Trade Administration, which will promote the United States as a destination for foreign investment. This initiative will be the primary U.S. Government mechanism to manage inward investment promotion.

“The United States welcomes foreign investment and the jobs and prosperity it creates here,” said Lavin. “We are seeing increasing global competition for investment flows and we need to make sure that international investors understand the unique advantages of the United States, including the best workforce in the world.”

Commerce’s Invest in America initiative will highlight the advantages of investing in the United States. Investment from foreign subsidiaries employs more than 5 million American workers. U.S. subsidiaries also spent $29.9 billion on research and development activities in the United States in 2005.

The Invest in America initiative will have three key responsibilities:

Outreach to the international investment community
Serve as an ombudsman in Washington, D.C., for the concerns of the international investment community as well as work on policy issues that affect the attractiveness of the United States to foreign investment
Supporting state and local governments engaged in foreign investment promotion

The initiative will also include the creation of a task force within the International Trade Administration charged with the responsibility of educating and coordinating the efforts of the 2,300 ITA employees in offices around the world on inward foreign investment.

The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration is responsible for developing U.S. trade policy, identifying and resolving market access issues, administering U.S. trade laws, enhancing the global competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing and services sectors, and coordinating U.S. trade advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. business. For additional information regarding the Invest in America initiative, please visit www.investamerica.gov.

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