Obama urges businesses to bring jobs back to U.S. from abroad
President Obama on Wednesday urged businesses to bring jobs back from abroad and touted companies that have chosen to do more manufacturing in the U.S.
The White House is trying to promote more “in-sourcing” of jobs by U.S. companies after decades of outsourcing to foreign countries. In conjunction with a forum Wednesday in Washington on ways to boost domestic investment, the Obama administration announced steps to encourage more factory construction in the U.S. and more investment here by foreign companies.
“Today I am meeting with companies choosing to invest in the one country with the most productive workers, best universities, and most creative and innovative entrepreneurs in the world: the United States of America,” Obama said in prepared remarks to executives at the forum. “And I’m calling on those businesses that haven’t brought jobs back to take this opportunity to get the American people back to work.”
The White House said in the coming weeks Obama would propose new tax provisions to reward companies that bring back jobs to the U.S. or make new investments here, and would move to eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and several other top administration officials met near the White House on Wednesday with executives from companies that have chosen to build factories in the U.S. instead of abroad. The companies cited include large multinationals such as Ford Motor Co., Intel Corp., and Siemens as well as smaller firms like Chesapeake Bay Candle in Maryland and Lincolnton Furniture in North Carolina.
The White House noted that although many other countries solicit business investment at the national level, the U.S. traditionally has left that job to the states. The Obama administration is trying to change that.
Last year, it launched a program called SelectUSA to work with states to promote business investment. Obama will propose increasing the program’s budget by $12 million in the 2013 fiscal year.
In addition, the White House said the Small Business Administration would use its existing loan authority to educate small companies about government loans of up to $5 million that are available to in-source jobs. And the Commerce Department and the State Department will launch a pilot program in 10 countries to encourage businesses there to invest more in the U.S.
