Deloitte Center for Cross-Border Investment responds to President Obama’s statement on U.S. Commitment to Open Investment Policy

New York — Responding to the Statement by the President on United States Commitment to Open Investment Policy, Robert Kimmitt, Independent Chairman of the Deloitte Center for Cross-Border Investment (DCCBI), welcomed the president’s statement, which affirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that the United States continues to be the most attractive place for businesses to locate, invest, grow, and create jobs.

“This statement sends a clear signal that the United States welcomes the investment flows that can help spark exports, unleash job creation, and stimulate higher levels of economic growth,” said Kimmitt. “It is proven that cross-border investment influences growth by raising productivity and guaranteeing the more efficient use of resources. This is true not just for the United States but for all countries. Remaining competitive in this global economy will significantly depend on nations’ ability to resist protectionist tendencies.”

President Obama’s statement highlights that U.S. subsidiaries of global companies employ more than five million Americans. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the average annual compensation at these jobs was US$73,023 in 2009—approximately one-third more than the economy-wide average. And more than 37 percent of these jobs were in manufacturing, a share far higher than manufacturing’s 10.7 percent share of all jobs in the overall U.S. private sector today.

“President Obama’s statement is important because the options that the world presents to global firms have expanded dramatically in recent years,” said Matthew J. Slaughter, Senior Adviser to the DCCBI, and Associate Dean for the MBA Program and the Signal Companies’ Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. “The United States cannot rest on its past success—there’s more competition to attract investment. Indeed, according to the BEA, in 2009 there were 7.1 percent fewer Americans working in the U.S. subsidiaries of global companies than seven years earlier.”

Established in 2009, the DCCBI promotes the benefits of the free flow of capital across borders and serves as a connect point for organizations needing assistance related to significant commercial cross-border investment activities, such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and Greenfield investments. For more information on the DCCBI, please contact Mark Garay, Executive Director.
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