WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke announced a new initiative called SelectUSA, the first-ever government-wide program to aggressively pursue and win new business investment in the United States by both domestic and foreign companies.
More than 5 million Americans are directly employed by foreign companies in the U.S., according to Locke, but at a time when competition for business investment is more intense than ever, the U.S. is the only developed economy in the world without a national-level investment program and advocacy program, he said.
“In recent years we have been losing ground in attracting and retaining business investment to better coordinated foreign competitors,” Locke said. “SelectUSA, established by Executive Order of the President, will leverage existing resources of the federal government to ramp up promotion of the U.S. as a prime investment destination to create jobs at home and to keep jobs from going overseas. We will be working with governors, mayors and legislative leaders around the country who are trying to attract business investment. We will also be a troubleshooter for those dealing with red tape and federal hurdles to bringing or keeping business operations and investment in their communities. Too often, businesses and local governments have difficulty navigating federal agencies in pursuit of permits, tax information and directives on regulatory compliance, delaying new investment. We know that, because we’ve heard directly from businesses about it. SelectUSA will help turn this around.”
The program will be coordinated by the U.S. Commerce Department and will target three types of firms: foreign firms looking to expand, domestic firms looking to expand and foreign and domestic firms looking to reorganize or return their operations to the United States. Locke emphasized that the program will not advocate one state over another.
“We just want new business investment and the jobs that come with it,” he wrote in a blog announcement about the new program.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President for International Economic Affairs Frank Vargo issued a statement on Commerce Secretary Locke’s announcement of the creation of the SelectUSA program.
“Ensuring the United States is the best country in the world to headquarter a company or to attract direct foreign investment is one of the main goals of our manufacturing strategy. Manufacturers believe that the SelectUSA program will be a useful tool to encourage more foreign and domestic companies to invest in our country.
“Encouraging additional foreign and domestic investment will help boost the economic recovery, lead to better innovation and create quality manufacturing jobs for American workers. While the SelectUSA program is a good start to reducing obstacles for businesses, more still needs to be done to ease the regulatory burden on large and small manufacturers, which dampens job growth.
We look forward to working with the Administration to ensure SelectUSA is as effective as possible for manufacturers and in addition to policies which will improve manufacturers’ global competitiveness.”