Posted on 07/25/2019 3:56:31 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The costs of America’s trade disputes with the world continue to mount. Academic studies document clearly, for example, that new U.S. tariffs on washing machines and other products have raised U.S. consumer prices of those goods, thereby cutting into Americans’ real incomes.
New government data suggest that another cost is building. Foreign direct investment into America by multinational companies headquartered abroad is falling.
In 2015 and 2016, America’s FDI inflows totaled $482 billion and $486 billion, respectively. Soon after taking office in January 2017, President Trump launched several new trade disputes; that year FDI into the U.S. tumbled nearly 40% to $292 billion. As many of these trade disputes persisted and deepened throughout 2018, FDI inflows slumped further, down 8.2% to $268 billion. Earlier this month, the Commerce Department reported that first-quarter FDI inflows for 2019 were down another 5% from the previous quarter. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in 2018 America’s share of global FDI flows fell for the first time since 2008, from 25% to 23%.
Not surprisingly, FDI into the U.S. from China—the country with which America is on the verge of full-blown trade war—plummeted 87.9% from 2016 to 2018, to $5.4 billion.
Why does declining FDI matter? Because multinational companies headquartered outside America create high-quality jobs inside America.
According to the Commerce Department’s most recent data, in 2016 more than 7.1 million Americans—5.6% of all private-sector workers—were employed at the U.S. affiliates of global multinationals. That year those affiliates spent $258.9 billion on property, plant and equipment, 16.4% of total U.S. private-business capital expenditures. They conducted $60.1 billion in research and development, 16% of total U.S. business R&D. Much of this activity is in manufacturing. Thirty-five percent of Americans working for foreign multinationals, nearly 2.5 million people, are in manufacturing
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
SPOT ON, and worth repeating.
Lies, damned lies and statistics.
They try to make the FDI slowdown look like an isolated American (i.e. Trump) problem, when it was a global phenomena.
Worldwide, FDI dropped $700 billion/year worldwide from 2016 to 2018.
What happened? US tax reform.
What they don’t mention, is that it also resulted in a huge inflow of money, from US corporations that were holding their profits overseas. Bloomberg reported on the repatriation from the tax reform yesterday:
“U.S. corporations brought back about $876.8 billion over 2018 and the first quarter of 2019” (chemical and electronics companies accounted for almost half of that).
So the real bottom line is that MORE money came into the USA during 2016-2018. A significant increase - the opposite of what the story implies.
It is unclear yet how relatively efficiently it was/will be invested into productive capacity, but FDI is not all increases in productivity either (it includes foreigners buying houses here, and such).
Another bottom line indicator - US GDP growth rates moved up during this timeframe.
How come an antonymous “loser” like me is the only one that tells the truth about trade? Why is it then that no MSM outlet ever bothers to present the other side of the trade argument? Fox is the worse.
an antonymous = an anonymous
Inflation isnt tbe only thing here. Take into account the tax burden and how it has increased on every business paying the $15 per hour. This is foisted upon business by by the gov which increases the payroll tax and increases expenses dramatically.
FDI or Foreign Direct Investment was not part of America during WWII nor did we have much of it until the likes of Chinese who were offered citizenship if they’d buy a business at a X $’s or more.
But the MBAs and other verminous executives are just too greedy to ever consider paying to *train* employees, right?
Pass the bill and take it off the table. It is a loser position for the GOP.
As usual, the only bad tariff is an American tariff...
Just shut up WSJ. We need to be able to build things
I searched on the author, and found the first other article of his in the results was “How to Save Globalization” in Foreign Affairs magazine (more of a political, rather than business/economics publication).
In that article, he focuses on “inequality”, and his proposed Government “solutions” for it. Sounds like a real CFR, America last, never Trumper type.
Axe to grind much?
Foreign direct investment can be anything. It can be wealthy Chinese buying multi million dollar homes so they can qualify for a green card That’s not an “investment“ that results in high paying jobs creating automobiles, airplanes, computers, etc.
Seems to me they were already elsewhere. But elsewhere means they are no longer in China and that is a good thing. Send more elsewhere.
This is crap. Lets just start by saying we have about all the jobs we can handle. So no problem there. Then there is the fact that the stronger the dollar gets, the lower other currencies get. So if they are investing 5% less, its because their currency is less valuable. Its not that foreigners don’t want to invest here.
The WSJ is just trying to find fault with Trumps great economy. But we have higher wages and more jobs. Inflation is low. And more tariffs would mean a lower national debt. Thats what we need. More tariffs on countries that don’t play fair, like China. Tariffs aren’t bad if they are used correctly.
Hey, NeverTrumper, have you found your candidate for 2020 yet?
Getting a 404 error.
The poster said in 2017 that she wants another candidate in 2020.
The word “consumer” in such a context reminds me of how the phrase “useless eater” was used.
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