WASHINGTON – Nancy McLernon, President and CEO of the Global Business Alliance (GBA), issued the following statement after attending the first meeting of the 2022-2024 U.S. Investment Advisory Council (IAC) today in Washington, D.C.:
“I am honored to serve on the IAC and partner with Secretary Raimondo, SelectUSA and a distinguished group of colleagues to ensure that the United States remains the most competitive location for foreign direct investment. Based on the discussion at today’s inaugural meeting, I’m excited with the action-oriented focus of the group.”
According to the latest BEA data, some benefits of inbound global investment include:
- International companies employ 7.9 million U.S. workers who earn an average of $84,836 annually, ten percent higher than the economy-wide average.
- Over the past five years, international companies added more than a million jobs to the U.S., while the U.S. private sector shed 414,000 jobs.
- International companies created some 400,000 new manufacturing jobs over the past five years, while overall, the United States shed more than 220,000 manufacturing jobs.
- International companies spend more than $71 billion on U.S. research and development (R&D) activities annually, representing 13 percent of all R&D performed by U.S. companies.
- International companies export $347 billion in goods, accounting for 24 percent of all U.S. exports.
The IAC serves an important role in advising the Secretary of Commerce on critical issues affecting inbound foreign direct investment. It was created in 2016 to provide private-sector recommendations on policies that will make the United States more competitive for inbound global investment. This 34-person panel consists of business executives, economic developers and business association leaders from across the country.
Nancy McLernon was an inaugural member of the IAC.