Acting Secretary Blank Talks Insourcing and Job Creation at Economic Development Forum

Ed. note: This is cross-posted from commerce.gov.

This morning, I joined economic development leaders from around the country to discuss ongoing efforts to create jobs and grow the U.S. economy. The Economic Development Forum was hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department’s SelectUSA initiative, in partnership with the White House Business Council and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest professional organization of economic development practitioners.

The forum provided an opportunity to discuss the Obama administration’s efforts to support U.S. businesses and encourage companies to bring good jobs back to America, a trend called insourcing.

Acting Secretary Blank at International Economic Development Summit in Washington (by Department of Commerce)

Both American and international firms are increasingly looking for opportunities to invest in the U.S. And businesses are not only choosing to bring jobs back, but they are also making decisions to expand here instead of shipping jobs overseas. These investments mean that more products will be made in America. That means more jobs and greater economic security for families across this nation. In an effort to accelerate insourcing among U.S. companies, President Obama has called on Congress to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give tax breaks to companies that bring jobs back.

I’m very optimistic about the extent to which we will continue to see growth in insourcing and foreign investment in the U.S. America has the most innovative entrepreneurs and the strongest consumer-driven economy in the world. We have many skilled and productive workers. The outlook for abundant and lower-priced domestically-produced energy is growing.  For all of these reasons, and more, the business owners I’ve met with over the last several months increasingly say that they believe the U.S. is the best place for their next investment.

Commerce’s SelectUSA program is helping to leverage the full strength of the federal government to make sure that even more dollars reach our shores to build things and create jobs here at home. SelectUSA works in partnership with local and state economic development organizations to make it easier for businesses to choose the U.S. for their next investment. It provides a single point of contact at the national level to help international and domestic firms learn about U.S. opportunities and deal with issues that might arise related to Federal regulations or requirements. Among other activities, SelectUSA has worked to train U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service officers to promote investment in the U.S. and to link foreign firms with the information they need when considering a U.S. investment.

We must continue to find ways to foster an environment where businesses and communities across America have the tools they need to grow. President Obama’s top priority is strengthening the economy and creating jobs. At the Commerce Department we’ll continue to do everything we can to support more investment in the U.S, to help American businesses bring jobs back to the United States.