Economic Bedrock
How international companies boost America's economic advantage and build American opportunity.
WASHINGTON – The Organization for International Investment (OFII) published a study today that offers a new look at the impact international companies have on U.S. job creation, worker wages and benefits, U.S. exports and overall economic competitiveness.
“This new research illuminates the critical role that international companies play in strengthening America’s economy and local communities,” said OFII president and CEO Nancy McLernon. “It goes beyond the seven million U.S. jobs and the 24 percent higher wages and benefits that those workers earn from international companies operating in the United States. It explores more than a decade’s worth of data and uncovers some pretty remarkable facts. For example, international companies have led a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing, creating new opportunities for U.S. workers, providing retirement security and dramatically increasing their contributions to local communities.”
The report, Economic Bedrock: How International Companies Boost America’s Economic Advantage & Build American Opportunity, shows that international companies with major operations in the United States have increased their contributions to the U.S. economy over the past 15 years, far outpacing the overall private sector:
Economist Daniel J. Ikenson, director of the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, authored the report.
“The U.S. economic growth and dynamism stemming from investments in the U.S. by international companies cannot be overstated,” Ikenson said. “Typically, these international companies are world-class operations that have succeeded first in their home markets and risen to the top of their respective industries. They are, in effect, conduits for global best practices. Their higher-than-average employee wages, benefits, and profit-sharing contributions, along with the infusion of new skills and know-how, increase the returns to U.S. workers.”
In conjunction with the Economic Bedrock report, OFII has unveiled an “action plan” designed to grow U.S. competitiveness for policymakers.
“Anyone who questions the value of trade should remember that international companies—and the seven million Americans they employ—have a $4 trillion stake in boosting America’s economic success,” McLernon added. “They demonstrate the importance of cross-border connections. They are foundational to American prosperity.”
Visit OFII’s website (ofii.org/bedrock) to explore the report and an action plan for policymakers, as well as stories highlighting how communities greatly benefit from foreign direct investment in the United States.
