Throughout my international work assignments as a United States commercial service officer, I saw first-hand how local governments, industries, and institutions fiercely compete to attract and retain foreign direct investment (FDI). Property owners and economic development leaders work tirelessly to attract foreign companies to their communities, with visions of dignified ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking events. Success comes later, once those new companies recruit and hire talented workers who set about generating new sources of local tax revenue. While working in Brazil, Romania, Canada, and stateside in Louisiana, I worked with local governments to hone two unique approaches to winning FDI, ones that gave their jurisdictions the competitive edge.
First, I fashioned a uniquely North American approach to a time-honored form of subnational diplomacy. While posted in Canada, I fostered collaboration between some of Canada’s Indigenous First Nations and United States Native American Corporations. Economic leaders from within these communities gathered at matchmaking sessions, tribal council gatherings, and trade events to promote and exchange business models to generate export revenue for tribal members and diversity for these communities. Along with these economic opportunities, new educational and vocational training opportunities arose holistically.
Second, I observed how subnational engagement between states, counties, provinces, and major cities stokes the FDI engine worldwide. Trade missions expand upon the time-honored Sister Cities cultural exchange model to spur mutual investments across borders. Mega-states such as California, São Paulo, Ontario, and cities such as Los Angeles, Barcelona, and London stand on their own as global trading leaders. I organized and hosted dozens of trade missions to and from the United States on behalf of these local jurisdictions, many of whom employ their own international business strategists as nations do. Recently, the Brookings Institute launched its Metro program that coaches and supports several such metropolises on attracting global trade and FDI directly, over and above the international trade programs of their respective states and provinces. The Brookings’ Global Cities Initiatives empowered some 30 metropolitan areas to create global export and promotion plans.
In June 2024, I attended an FDI promotional event hosted by economic development agencies within greater Los Angeles to welcome and inform international delegates who were en route to participate in the U.S. Commerce Department’s SelectUSA Investment Summit. Participants learned about this mega-region’s educational, transportation, and workforce attributes. Later that week, I moderated a panel of international company officials at the Investment Summit in Washington
the panelists had recently established U.S. subsidiaries and shared “know before you go” tips on preparing and collaborating on successful expansion. Among their lists? Prepare your internal teams, polish your best pitches to lure prospective employers, gravitate toward where your supply chain and key customers reside, engage exhaustively with local government officials, and ensure the presence of critical professional services in finance, law, and transportation. Top of that list? Choose a place with a high quality of life where employees and supply chain partners will enjoy their daily lives.