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# 									Remarks at the SelectUSA Investment Summit							

Video Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

June 8, 2021

Greetings everyone!

I’m delighted to have this chance to speak with you about investing in the United States.

We’re already the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment.

Now we want to go further and attract even more job-creating business investment here at home.

This is something I think about every day as Secretary of State.

And I’m grateful to Secretary of Commerce Raimondo for everything she and her team do to share with the world the competitiveness of the U.S. business climate.

I’ll just take a few minutes to lay out the business case – as I see it – for investing in the United States.

As you know, the United States is the world’s largest market for goods and services.

We’re also home to world-class colleges, universities, and technology centers.

We cherish our long-standing culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

And we’re proud to be a country of immigrants, generations of whom helped build American industry and prosperity.

Our economy is built on principles of fairness and a level playing field.

We have an independent, predictable, and transparent legal system that includes strong protections for intellectual property.

We value honest competition.

When you invest in the United States, you don’t need to worry that your innovation will be stolen and imitated elsewhere.

These are just some of the reasons why the United States is consistently ranked among the best internationally for overall competitiveness and ease of doing business.

Now we’re turning the corner on defeating and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, having achieved President Biden’s goal of administering 200 million vaccines in 100 days, saving lives and enabling us to reopen our economy.

And the Biden-Harris Administration has laid out an ambitious agenda for once-in-a-generation investments in American workers, families, and infrastructure.

This is an ideal time to bring your business and your investments to the United States.

Already, foreign investment supports more than 7 million jobs across the United States.

We want your investments to help us “Build Back Better” – and we’re confident that the resources our government is committing to the American workforce, infrastructure, and innovation capacity mean that the returns on those investments will be stronger than ever.

We’re also driving a race to the top when it comes to investment.

We’re taking steps to lead by example – by strengthening transparency laws, ensuring worker protections, and fighting for a more level playing field when it comes to taxation.

And we’re making a renewed effort – and significant investments – to produce more critical goods and materials here at home.

We’ve learned over the past year and a half how critical supply-chain resiliency is – both to the bottom line of individual firms and to the safety and security of our people.

In a time of growing uncertainty and potential instability, there is no safer or more resilient production base than the United States.

A recent study showed that close to 90 percent of all U.S.-based manufacturers are planning to bring production back – and they increasingly plan to seek a domestic supply of components for their production needs.

There are also new legislative initiatives, such as the CHIPS Act for semiconductors, to provide massive government investment in key areas of production.

This is a huge opportunity for foreign suppliers to gain access to one of the largest, most stable markets in the world – and to grow your businesses.

I’ve said that my number-one job as Secretary of State is to ensure that our foreign policy delivers for the American people.

Foreign investment brings jobs and opportunities to communities across the United States.

So it’s a top priority for me that the State Department does everything we can – together with our partners at the Department of Commerce – to support investments that create jobs and deliver opportunity for American workers and families.

The State Department has 200 Economics and Business Affairs officers in Washington, D.C. – and hundreds more in 190 countries worldwide.

And State Department officers work hand-in-hand with members of the Department of Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service in more 75 countries.

Our large presence and close coordination reflect our dedication to growing prosperity around the world.

Our ambassadors, embassies, and State Department staff are ready and eager to help.

We’re a resource you can draw upon – to answer questions and resolve concerns as you work to bring your investments to fruition.

Please use us.

Several U.S. Ambassadors have joined this investment summit.

They are our commercial champions overseas.

I encourage you to be in touch with them to talk about your experiences and how you can pursue promising investment opportunities in the United States.

And State Department consular officers are also participating in this summit.

They can answer any questions you may have about visas.

To our foreign guests – we hope that you find strong investment opportunities in the United States.

You won’t find a better place to do business anywhere in the world.

And to the U.S. business community – the State Department has a unique perspective on global affairs and resources to help U.S. companies abroad.

We want to be your partner, too.

I wish you all great success – and look forward to the new partnerships that we hope will be forged this week and in the months to come, as you explore opportunities to advance prosperity in your countries, in the United States, and around the world.****

Thank you very much.

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Bureau of Economic and Business AffairsBusinessInvestmentsThe Secretary of State

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