Methinks a still-dropping dollar is not conducive either to investing in America. Once the dollar stabilizes at a lower rate, though, who knows?The push comes amid a weakening in the U.S. of foreign direct investment, or investment of foreign assets into domestic organizations and structures such as manufacturing facilities and real estate. Such investments peaked in 2000 with $321 billion invested by foreign firms, but fell off after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, hitting $184 billion in 2006.
The decline has coincided with a growing perception overseas that the U.S. is hostile to foreign investment. Those concerns have been fueled by controversies surrounding foreign companies' efforts to buy assets in the U.S. An outcry erupted last year when a Dubai-owned company tried to buy operations at five American ports, and complaints flew in 2005 when a state-owned Chinese company, Cnooc Ltd., tried to buy Unocal Corp.
In response, Congress moved to revamp the way the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, reviews foreign investments with national-security implications. The House recently passed legislation strengthening U.S. scrutiny of such investments and the Senate is expected to act within weeks.
Mr. Paulson attributed the decline in foreign investment to a number of factors, including a belief overseas that the U.S. doesn't welcome foreign investment and a sense that doing business in the U.S. might come with unnecessary burdens.
Paulson: US Welcomes FDI
♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Trade
at 5/10/2007 02:25:00 AM
Us Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is pushing for more foreign investment in the US after several years of declines attributed to "security" reasons in the wake of September 11: From the WSJ: