March 2011

Welcome to the latest update from Invest in America, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s program to promote foreign direct investment to the United States This monthly update is meant to provide a few quick points highlighting some activities of Invest in America.

Invest in America Outreach

Invest in America will participate in:

• April 3 – 8: U.S. Trade & Investment Pavilion at Hannover Messe 2011 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, Commercial Service and Invest in America have partnered to lead a U.S. Trade & Investment Pavilion to HANNOVER MESSE 2011, the world’s largest industrial technology showcase in Hannover, Germany.
• April 5: USA: Going Green – Opportunities for Italian Investors – The seminar sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission in Rome, Italy will focus on current and future investment opportunities in the U.S. clean-tech industry.
• April 19 – 20: U.S.-China Metro Growth Forum – In conjunction with the National League of Cities (NLC) Leadership Academy on Local Economic Competitiveness in a Global Era, the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury and NLC will hold a U.S.-China Metro Growth Forum in Seattle, Washington for mayors from the U.S. and China to share best-practices on economic development and FDI attraction.
• April 27: SIDO America 2011 Forum in Washington, DC
• May 3: Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S. – How Will It Impact the Future – a workshop organized by the Industrial Asset Management Council’s Spring 2011 Professional Forum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• May 12: International Local Council Forum at the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo – The NAR expo will be held on May 9 – 14 in Washington, DC. The Forum will take place on Thursday, May 12 to highlight the industry’s global and multicultural outreach efforts.

Recent Invest in America participation:

• March 23: Invest in America’s Briefing on Federal Issues for FDI Attraction – Targeted for U.S. economic development organizations, the briefing was held in Washington, DC and featured presentations by private- and public sector experts on federal policies and initiatives that affect FDI in the United States.
• March 20 – 22: International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) Federal Economic Forum – IEDC’s 2011 Federal Economic Development Forum will focus on the emerging importance of partnerships in federal economic development policy.
• March 15: Investment Opportunities in Aviation Alternative Fuels – Representatives from Invest in America, USDA, the alternative fuels industry, and U.S. airlines held a webinar to review recent developments in this industry, as well as a rule change at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that now makes foreign investors eligible to benefit from USDA programs to support the bio fuel sector.

Other Upcoming FDI-Related Events:

• May 12 – 13: 3rd German American Energy Conference 2011 Renewable energy and system integration conference in Berlin – The German American Chambers of Commerce (GACC) and the German Energy Agency are hosting the 3rd German American Energy Conference in Berlin. Select business and political experts and decision makers will report on the topic “Global Energy Challenges – Transatlantic Business Opportunities.” For registration and more information:www.gae-conference.com.
• May 19 – 20: The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will be holding a Korea Overseas Investment Fair (KOIF) at COEX in Seoul. The event will be an opportunity for economic development organizations to promote themselves as a destination for foreign direct investment to Korean companies in attendance. For more information please emailyuhyunju@kotra.or.kr or call +82 2 3460 7358.

Reports of Note

• BEA Releases U.S. International Transactions: Fourth Quarter and Year 2010 – The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce released new data indicating that foreign direct investment in the United States totaled $194.5 billion in 2010, an increase from $134.7 billion in 2009. According to the BEA, the increase was more than accounted for by a pickup in reinvested earnings. The United States received $55.8 billion of FDI the fourth quarter of 2010.
• OFII releases its annual State Jobs Study – In its report released on March 21, the Organization for International Investment (OFII) detailed job information in each state attributable to FDI. California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania reported having the greatest number of jobs through FDI. California is home to nearly 600,000 employees of U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-owned firms. Across the country, these firms employ 5.6 million Americans with an annual payroll of approximately $408.5 billion. Employment through FDI accounts for 13 percent of total American manufacturing jobs. Not only do foreign firms locate in the U.S. to access the world’s largest single country market, the U.S. presents an unparalleled export platform. Close to 19 percent of total U.S. exports come from U.S. operations of foreign firms.

Data

• Inquiries to date in 2011: 54
• Ombudsman cases in 2011: 6

Invest in America’s ombudsman program has achieved a number of successes in working across the federal government to address investor concerns and issues involving federal agencies. If a foreign investor has a federal-level issue that is jeopardizing an investment in the United States, please contact Aaron Brickman at 202-482-5199 or email Invest in America ataaron.brickman@trade.gov.

We invite you to connect with us through the “Invest in America” group on Linkedin.com.

Please address all comments and suggestions to info@investamerica.gov. For more information about Invest in America, please visit our website at www.investamerica.gov.