- May 24, 2022
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Economy
The United States is by far the world’s premiere destination for foreign direct investment—a privilege not to be taken lightly. Economic openness, political stability, commitment to the rule of law, and a reasonably manageable business climate have been among America’s greatest selling points in the global competition to attract FDI. With those attributes less assured and evidence of deglobalization increasing, the U.S. economy will suffer while many smaller economies will do even worse.
In 2020, over 26% of the global FDI stock was invested in the United States. By comparison, the second most popular destination, China (including Hong Kong), accounted for only 9.2%. The dividends accruing to the U.S. economy from FDI have been enormous, especially in the manufacturing sector. Over 40% ($1.9 trillion on an historical cost basis) of the U.S. stock of FDI is invested in U.S. manufacturing, most of which takes the form of foreign-headquartered…
