OFII launches proactive push with top policymakers in Congress and the White House
WASHINGTON – Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment (OFII), issued the following statement after meeting with President Obama and eight foreign companies investing in the United States:
“In the past, individual states such as Ohio had to compete with countries like Singapore in the global race for job creation. Thankfully, President Obama and Secretary of Commerce Pritzker are making foreign direct investment a national economic priority. Foreign investment is fueling America’s economy, and initiatives like SelectUSA have helped bring high-quality jobs to our shores.”
In addition to today’s White House meeting, OFII highlighted the critical role foreign direct investment plays in America’s economy through constituent meetings with 60 congressional leaders. This bipartisan push is intended to draw attention to five specific ways Congress can help unleash the benefits of foreign direct investment in the United States.
Insourcing companies – foreign companies that operate and create jobs in the United States – have an outsized impact on the U.S. economy. They account for less than one percent of all U.S. businesses with payrolls but employ five percent of America’s private-sector workforce, pay 14 percent of all U.S. corporate taxes, produce nearly 20 percent of America’s exports, and compensate employees with a 34 percent premium above the U.S. private-sector average. Currently, global investment in the United States directly supports 5.6 million jobs.
Over the past decade, however, America’s share of foreign direct investment has shrunk by more than half, from 37 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2012, which is why prioritizing foreign direct investment today is critically important.