Last week, IIUSA participated in the 2nd Annual SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C. which was attended by 2,600 people including international investors from 70+ markets and U.S. public and private sector entities. With attendance more than twice that of the first SelectUSA Summit in 2013, it shows there is growing global interest in the United States as a place to launch and expand operations, invest in research and development, and create jobs.
Housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce, SelectUSA is a government-wide program established in 2011 to promote and facilitate business investment into the United States in order to create jobs, spur economic growth, and advance U.S. competitiveness.
IIUSA Sponsors SelectUSA Summit & Leads EB-5 Panel at SelectUSA Academy
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| On March 22nd, IIUSA Executive Director Peter D. Joseph moderated a panel at the SelectUSA Academy titled “EB-5: How Does it Fit with FDI?” Other panel participants included IIUSA members Angelique Brunner of EB5 Capital and Brent Raymond of the State of Vermont EB-5 Regional Center |
The conference kicked off with the SelectUSA Investment Summit Academy on Sunday March 22nd as IIUSA Executive Director Peter D. Joseph moderated a panel focusing on educating economic development organizations (EDOs) on EB-5 best practices. The other two panel participants were IIUSA members Angelique Brunner of EB5 Capital and Brent Raymond of the State of Vermont EB-5 Regional Center. In just 30 minutes, the presenters were able to convey to the audience the basics of EB-5 Regional Centers, steps for undertaking proper due diligence from the economic development, financial and immigration perspectives as well as review several case studies of EB-5 Projects in California, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
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| IIUSA Exhibit booth at the 2nd Annual SelectUSA Investment Summit, March 23-24, 2015. |
In addition, IIUSA sponsored and exhibited at the SelectUSA Summit for the first time ever. For two days, IIUSA staff members had the pleasure of explaining the EB-5 process to hundreds of investors and economic development professionals around the country. Furthermore, IIUSA added dozens of signatories to its public letter of support for immediate EB-5 Regional Center Program Reauthorization. To date, a cross-sector coalition of 543 supporters have already signed on – reflecting the broad bi-partisan support the Program enjoys from across the country. IIUSA encourages its members to reach out to its partners as well as state and local stakeholders and encourage them to support our grassroots advocacy efforts. With any questions, please contact us at advocacy@iiusa.org.
SelectUSA Summit Highlights
On Monday, President Obama announced some new initiatives to make investing and expanding operations within the United States even easier for foreign investors and companies. In particular, Obama announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase clarity around the adjudication of the L-1B non-immigrant visa that allows international companies to temporarily deploy workers with specialized knowledge when launching or conducting operations in the U.S. Read President Obama’s remarks here.
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| Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker introduces President Barack Obama at the SelectUSA Summit, March 23, 2015. Photo courtesy of SelectUSA. |
Earlier in the day, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker highlighted why the U.S. is the top destination in the world for foreign investment such as our rising job market; strong rule of law and intellectual property protections; world-class universities and our global leadership in R&D; stable financial markets and vibrant supply chains; and abundant and affordable energy supply. We also heard from Jeff Zients, Director of the National Economic Council, and a phenomenal panel of executives, discussing the resurging U.S. economy.
On Tuesday, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt spoke during a plenary session on “Training Your Skilled Workforce” and called on entrepreneurs from around the world to make more investments in smart phones and broadband networks.
Secretary of State John Kerry closed out the conference with remarks calling for increased global trade and investment. Kerry noted that in today’s interconnected world, America does better when everyone grows and that “economies around the world are increasingly and inextricably linked.” Read Secretary Kerry’s full remarks here.
