Invest in America Week
May 5-9, 2008

Photo Gallery

The inaugural Invest in America Week was held May 5-9, 2008, featuring events spanning the United States.  These events highlighted the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) for jobs and economic growth through a series of site visits to foreign investor-owned facilities in states across the country.  Invest in America facilitated Invest in America Week activities and all 50 states were invited to participate. A list of participating states can be found below.

The Department of Commerce launched Invest in America last year. It is the first federal-level U.S. investment promotion effort in a generation.  Invest in America coordinates across U.S. Government agencies to promote inward investment and address federal issues that may impede investment. Through Invest in America, the Department of Commerce promotes the United States as the best place in the world to do business and reinforces the unequivocal and long-standing commitment by the United States to open investment policies.

Historically, the United States is the world’s largest recipient of FDI.  The total stock of FDI in the United States in 2006 was nearly $1.8 trillion, or the equivalent to approximately 15% of U.S. GDP. In the United States, over five million Americans work for companies headquartered overseas.  Despite representing less than five percent of our workforce, these jobs account for 10 percent of U.S. capital investment, 15 percent of U.S. annual research & development investment, and nearly 20 percent of U.S. exports.

Participating States:

Additional supporters:
Nebraska

(Note: This list will be updated as further information on individual state events is received.)

To find out how many jobs FDI supports in your state, visit BEA’s International Economic Accounts - Financial and Operating Data for U.S. Affiliates of Foreign Multinational Companies.