New government-wide initiative will help remove federal investment barriers in support of a stronger economy and new jobs U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced today - at an event hosted by the Business Roundtable - the first coordinated federal effort to aggressively pursue and win new business investment in the United States. Created by Executive Order, SelectUSA will be housed at the U.S. Department of Commerce and online at www.SelectUSA.gov , and highlight why the United States is the premier place to do business globally and help attract business operations to the U.S., spurring economic growth and job creation.
“We applaud Secretary Locke and the Obama Administration for taking a crucial step to ensure the United States remains the most attractive place in the world for global companies to invest,” said Nancy McLernon, President and CEO of the Organization for International Investment. “The U.S. subsidiaries of global companies employ more than 5 million Americans—and if ever there was a time to aggressively market the U.S. as a place to do business, the time is now. In the race to ‘win the future’ – it’s the country that successfully attracts the world’s investment that will ultimately win.” The Commerce Department is uniquely suited to spearhead SelectUSA, with a global network of personnel in the United States and nearly 80 countries around the world working to drive business growth and development. Barry Johnson comes from the department’s Economic Development Administration where he was a senior policy advisor focused on smarter use of federal resources to support the development of 21st century communities where innovation, business investment and job creation flourish. He has experience as a former corporate executive at both a U.S. firm and a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign-owned firm and has led several Obama administration regional innovation initiatives that leverage resources from across federal agencies.
Supported by a comprehensive website, SelectUSA (www.SelectUSA.gov ) will offer government-wide information on federal programs and services available to companies that invest in the United States in one, easy-to-access location. The website will also provide snapshots of the competitive landscape in major U.S. industries and a direct line to state and local economic development agencies.
Both domestic businesses and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign firms play an important role in the U.S. economy. U.S. subsidiaries of foreign firms support over 5 million jobs – accounting for over 10 percent of U.S. private-sector capital investment – nearly 15 percent of annual research and development expenditures, and nearly 20 percent of U.S. exports. The Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration released a report Tuesday summarizing recent foreign investment in the U.S. that identified several opportunities for growth.
Please see here the President’s Executive Order establishing SelectUSA.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
