“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
–Gwendolyn Brooks
The SelectUSA conference is being held in Washington this week to promote foreign direct investment in the United States. The Bush and Obama administrations started this work to promote the United States as a place to do business as China and other economies continued to rise. Fast forward to 2022, after a global pandemic and the first land war in Europe since World War II, and it appears that the United States is still the clear choice for companies choosing where to invest and seek future growth.
Hundreds of significant companies will assemble to discuss how to enter, compete and succeed in the United States marketplace. The diversity of our population, our broad talent base, competitive cost of energy, legal protections, and demographic durability continue to set the United States apart from other markets. One of our distinct advantages is that our states are in constant competition to be the most attractive location in the country. In fact, at the SelectUSA conference, each individual state will be promoting their unique advantages to attract these new companies. The constant gamesmanship between states is one of the things that makes the whole country more attractive.
These advantages should not be taken for granted or dismissed as inconsequential. Maintaining our advantages is not only good for the United States, but it helps to raise the bar around the world. We are very focused on the Columbus Region and Ohio, but our state-to-state competition should only be outpaced by a unified push to increase the overall competitiveness of the United States. Thoughtful immigration policies and systems should provide a gateway to talented people from around the world to continue to come here, investments in critical industries like semiconductors (CHIPS Act), and competitive tax policies that encourage U.S. companies and foreign investors alike to invest in the United States make us more competitive, unify us in our efforts, and advance freedom well beyond our borders.
Please pay attention for some great announcements from the conference, and let’s continue to make our cities, states, and the United States the best place for business investment and for talented people to live and work.
-Kenny McDonald