Reshoring and FDI Surging in 20167

The rate of jobs coming from offshore is up 200+% since the 2016 presidential election (Fig.1) Fig.1 Data on reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) from the Reshoring Initiative Library. We made a great start in 2017, but even at this higher rate, it will take 30 years to bring back five million jobs and eliminate our $700 billion non-petroleum goods trade deficit. A National Manufacturing Strategy is needed to ensure the current progress is maintained and further accelerated.

Our Current Initiatives Help define the National Manufacturing Strategy: Complete the Reshoring Survey The Reshoring Initiative has been helping companies do the best they can despite the tilted playing field. At the same time, we are working with the government and companies to eliminate the tilt and improve overall U.S. competitiveness. The Reshoring Initiative and Plante Moran have launched the “Manufacturing Reshoring Survey” to identify: (1) why companies produce and source so much offshore; (2) how big the price gap is, U.S. vs. offshore; and (3) what national and corporate policy changes are needed to make more reshoring viable for individual companies. We ask for your participation in the survey: Tell Washington what policy changes would motivate you to reshore. Long-term planning needed In conjunction with the survey, the Initiative is working on a Toolkit to improve U.S. competitiveness. We are seeking other organizations to partner with us in refining the program and presenting it to the administration and Congress. Please visit the Competitiveness Toolkit blog to see if you can help. Also see Industry Week: 40% Increase in US Manufacturing is Achievable for a description of the logic behind the Toolkit.