Foreign Investment in U.S. Industry

Although the total amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S. is small relative to U.S. direct investment abroad, it is growing rapidly and may have a large effect on some industries and geographic areas of the U.S. The two main issues raised by FDI in the U.S. are first, shall Congress require more extensive data collection efforts than are already underway, and second, should laws be enacted to limit foreign direct investment in the U.S. These two issues turn in substantial measure on whether the benefits of additional data collection and/or restrictions on FDI in the U.S. exceed the costs. This report discusses the legislative history of the issue, the magnitude and distribution of FDI in the U.S., the existing data collection efforts, the potential implications for the U.S., the motivations for FDI in the U.S., and U.S. policy regarding FDI