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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 08:30 a.m. EDT, Friday, July 12, 2024
Technical:
Media:

Jason Sutterley
Ryan Smith
Connie O’Connell

301-278-9548
301-278-9246
301-278-9003

BEA 24–31
Jason.Sutterley@bea.gov
Ryan.Smith@bea.gov
Connie.OConnell@bea.gov

New Foreign Direct Investment in the
United States, 2023
Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $148.8
billion in 2023 (chart 1), according to preliminary statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis. Expenditures decreased $57.4 billion, or 28 percent, from $206.2 billion (revised) in
2022 and were below the annual average of $265.6 billion for 2014–2022. As in previous years,
acquisitions of existing U.S. businesses accounted for most of the expenditures.
In 2023, expenditures for acquisitions were $136.5 billion, expenditures to establish new U.S. businesses
were $7.4 billion, and expenditures to expand existing foreign-owned businesses were $5.0 billion.
Planned total expenditures, which include both first-year and planned future expenditures, were $175.9
billion (table 1.2).
In 2023, employment at newly acquired, established, or expanded foreign-owned businesses in the
United States was 110,000 employees (table 4.2).
Billions of dollars

Chart 1. New Foreign Direct Investment by Type, 1999–2023

500
450
400
350
300
250

Expansions*

200

Establishments

150

Acquisitions

100
50
0

* Expansions are included in 2014 to present.
Note. The survey used to produce these statistics was not conducted between 2009 and 2013.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

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Expenditures by industry, country, and state (tables 1.2, 2.2, and 3.2)
By industry, expenditures for new direct investment were largest in transportation and warehousing,
but its value is suppressed due to confidentiality requirements. 1 The manufacturing sector, at $42.9
billion, accounted for 28.8 percent of total expenditures. Within manufacturing, expenditures were
largest in chemical manufacturing ($17.8 billion) and electrical equipment, appliances, and components
($6.6 billion). There were also notable expenditures in professional, scientific, and technical services
($16.0 billion).
The country 2 with the largest investment was Canada, with expenditures of $53.4 billion. Japan ($14.6
billion) was second, followed by Sweden ($8.4 billion). By region, Europe contributed 33.8 percent of
new investment in 2023.
By state, Missouri received the most investment in 2023, but its value is suppressed due to
confidentiality requirements. California received the second-most investment ($12.8 billion), followed
by New Jersey ($12.1 billion) and Texas ($10.1 billion).
Greenfield expenditures (tables 1.2, 2.2, and 3.2)
Greenfield investment expenditures—expenditures to establish a new U.S. business or to expand an
existing foreign-owned U.S. business—were $12.4 billion in 2023. By industry, greenfield expenditures
were largest in manufacturing, totaling $8.9 billion, led by electrical equipment, appliances, and
components ($2.7 billion), which includes batteries. By region of investor, Asia and Pacific ($8.8 billion)
and Europe ($2.1 billion) had the largest expenditures. By U.S. region, the Southeast received the
highest level of greenfield investment ($6.0 billion). 3
Total planned expenditures for greenfield investment initiated in 2023, which include both first-year and
future expenditures, were $39.5 billion. By industry, total planned expenditures for greenfield
investment were largest in manufacturing, with expenditures of $35.1 billion, primarily electrical
equipment, appliances, and components, which includes batteries. By region of investor, Asia and Pacific
had the largest total planned expenditures. By U.S. region, the Southeast had the largest total planned
expenditures.
Employment by industry, country, and state (tables 4.2, 5.2, and 6.2)
In 2023, current employment of acquired enterprises was 106,100. Total planned employment, which
includes the current employment of acquired enterprises, the planned employment of newly
established business enterprises when fully operational, and the planned employment associated with
expansions, was 132,500.
By industry, manufacturing accounted for the largest number of current employees (25,100). Within
manufacturing, employment was largest in food manufacturing (7,900) and chemicals manufacturing
(5,200). By country, Canada (28,000), the United Kingdom (23,500), and Germany (13,000) accounted
BEA is required by law to publish its survey-based statistics in a manner that does not disclose the identity of any
survey respondent.
2
As measured by country of ultimate beneficial owner (UBO; see Additional Information for a description).
3
U.S. region is highlighted rather than U.S. state due to confidentiality requirements.
1

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for the largest number of employees. By state, California (12,800) had the largest employment resulting
from new investment, followed by Texas (8,200) and New York (7,900).

Table 1. Updates to 2022 Expenditures for
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
(Billions of dollars)

Previously published

Revised

First-year expenditures
U.S. businesses acquired
U.S. businesses established
U.S. businesses expanded

177.5
169.4
3.8
4.4

206.2
193.1
5.2
7.9

Planned total expenditures
U.S. businesses acquired
U.S. businesses established
U.S. businesses expanded

255.1
169.4
28.2
57.6

292.4
193.1
31.0
68.3

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Next release: July 2025
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, 2024

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Additional Information
Resources
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Additional data on the expenditures and activities
of newly acquired, established, or expanded U.S.
businesses are available on BEA’s website.
Stay informed about BEA developments by
reading The BEA Wire, signing up for BEA’s email
subscription service, or following @BEA_News on
X, formerly known as Twitter.
Historical time series for these estimates can be
accessed in BEA’s Interactive Data Application.
Access BEA data by registering for BEA’s Data
Application Programming Interface.
For upcoming economic indicators, see BEA’s
news release schedule.
For more information about the survey of new
foreign investment in the United States and the
statistics produced from it, see “New Foreign
Direct Investment in the United States in 2021” in
the Survey of Current Business, BEA’s online
journal.
Additional information on new foreign direct
investment in the United States in 2022 will be
published in August in the Survey.
More information on foreign direct investment
statistics is provided in U.S. International
Economic Accounts: Concepts and Methods.
See the FAQ “What is the relationship between
BEA’s new investment statistics and its other
statistics on foreign direct investment in the
United States?” for a comparison of BEA’s new
investment statistics and its other statistics on
foreign direct investment in the United States.

Definitions
Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment
associated with a resident in one economy having control
or a significant degree of influence on the management of
an enterprise resident in another economy. Ownership or
control of 10 percent or more of the voting securities of an
entity in another economy is the threshold for separating
direct investment from other types of investment.
A U.S. affiliate is a U.S. business enterprise that is at least
10 percent owned by a single foreign person or entity.
A foreign parent is the first person or entity outside the
United States in a U.S. affiliate’s ownership chain that has a
direct investment interest in the affiliate.

The ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) is that person or
entity, proceeding up a chain of majority ownership (where
the entity above owns more than 50 percent of the entity
below), beginning with and including the foreign parent,
that is not owned more than 50 percent by another person.
Unlike the foreign parent, the UBO of an affiliate may be
located in the United States.
An acquisition occurs when a foreign entity acquires a
voting interest (directly, or indirectly through an existing
U.S. affiliate) of at least 10 percent in a U.S. business
enterprise. Acquisitions of additional voting interest in
existing U.S. affiliates in which a foreign entity already has
a 10 percent voting interest are excluded.
An establishment occurs when a foreign entity, or an
existing U.S. affiliate of a foreign entity, establishes a new
legal entity in the United States in which the foreign entity
owns 10 percent or more of the new business enterprise’s
voting interest.
An expansion occurs when an existing U.S. affiliate of a
foreign parent expands its operations to include a new
facility where business is conducted.
Greenfield investment includes establishments and
expansions.

Statistical conventions
The statistics of new investments by foreign direct investors
are based on data reported in the Survey of New Foreign
Direct Investment in the United States (BE–13), conducted
by BEA.
The statistics include transactions resulting from corporate
inversions. A corporate inversion occurs when a U.S.
corporation that is currently the ultimate owner of its
worldwide operations takes steps to become a subsidiary of
a foreign corporation. BEA’s direct investment surveys do
not collect information on whether a U.S. corporation
became foreign owned as a result of a corporate inversion.
Using publicly available information, such as commercial
databases and press reports, BEA estimates that newly
inverted U.S. corporations accounted for a significant share
of first-year expenditures in 2015 but not in subsequent
years. For more information on how corporate inversions
affect the new investment statistics, see “New Foreign
Direct investment in the United States in 2016” in the
Survey.

Related statistics

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Statistics on new foreign direct investment are one part of
a broader set of U.S. International Economic Accounts that,
taken together, provide a comprehensive, integrated, and
detailed picture of U.S. international economic activities.
Statistics on direct investment and multinational
enterprises (MNEs) include annual statistics on the
activities of U.S. MNEs and U.S. affiliates of foreign MNEs as
well as detailed annual and quarterly statistics on direct
investment.
The International Investment Position (IIP) Accounts are
released quarterly. The IIP is a statistical balance sheet that
presents the dollar value of U.S. financial assets and

liabilities with respect to foreign residents at a specific point
in time.
The International Transactions Accounts (ITAs) are released
quarterly. The ITAs are a statistical summary of economic
activity between U.S. residents and the residents of other
countries.
Statistics on international services, released annually,
include detailed annual information on trade in services and
on services supplied through the channel of direct
investment by affiliates of MNEs.
U.S. international trade in goods and services, released by
BEA and the U.S. Census Bureau, provides monthly statistics
on trade in goods and services.

News release tables
Table 1.1 and 1.2. First-Year Expenditures and Planned Total Expenditures, Industry of Affiliate by Type of Investment
Table 2.1 and 2.2. First-Year Expenditures and Planned Total Expenditures, Country of UBO by Type of Investment
Table 3.1 and 3.2. First-Year Expenditures and Planned Total Expenditures, State by Type of Investment
Table 4.1 and 4.2. Current and Planned Employment of U.S. Businesses Acquired, Established, and Expanded, Industry of
Affiliate by Type of Investment
Table 5.1 and 5.2. Current and Planned Employment of U.S. Businesses Acquired, Established, and Expanded, Country of UBO by
Type of Investment
Table 6.1 and 6.2. Current and Planned Employment of U.S. Businesses Acquired, Established, and Expanded, State by Type of
Investment

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