Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an economic term used to describe when international companies build facilities, purchase equipment, hire workers and create products and services in the United States.
A few countries provided the lion’s share of the $4 trillion in cumulative foreign direct investment in the United States by the end of 2017.
The United Kingdom was the single largest international investor, constituting 15 percent of total cumulative FDI holdings. Canada made up 13 percent followed by Japan, which made up another 12 percent in 2017. Recent large investments from Canada pushed the Great White North up to second place.
UK-based BAE Systems recently began construction on a $45.5 million facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The facility is expected to create at least 300 new jobs, with half of their new operations dedicated to manufacturing and the other half to research and development efforts.
A leader in elevator manufacturing, Germany-based thyssenkrupp also recently announced plans in August of a new, state-of-the-art U.S. headquarters and innovation hub in Atlanta, Georgia. Thyssenkrupp’s three-building facility will support 900 jobs in the region.
Other European counties round out the list of top FDI investors in the United States. In fact, these eight countries account for three-fourths of total foreign direct investment in the United States. Investment from more than 100 other countries account for the remainder.
