NOVEMBER 16, 2023 FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Highlights Nearly $200 Billion of Private Sector Investments from the Asia-Pacific into the United States Since Taking Office

 NOVEMBER 16, 2023

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Highlights Nearly $200 Billion of Private Sector Investments from the Asia-Pacific into the United States Since Taking Office

Bidenomics and President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – including historic legislation signed into law, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, have catalyzed companies from around the world—and especially the Asia-Pacific— to make significant investments in American communities. These investments, driven by a range of companies across APEC and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) economies, not only facilitate domestic economic growth, but help to tackle the climate crisis, build a secure and resilient U.S. economy, and create good paying American jobs that deliver on President Biden’s vision to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

Today, as a part of APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and the APEC CEO Summit, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Director of the White House National Economic Council Lael Brainard, Chair of the U.S. Export–Import Bank (EXIM) Reta Jo Lewis, and Deputy Assistant to the President & Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell co-hosted an “Investing in America” and SelectUSA event that highlighted examples of significant job-creating investments in the United States by companies based in the Asia-Pacific.

BY THE NUMBERS

Historic Investments: Foreign direct investment in U.S. manufacturing has almost doubled annually compared to pre-pandemic levels. Companies based in the Asia-Pacific have announced almost $200 billion of investments into the United States since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, which will support tens of thousands of good new jobs for American workers.

Industries of the Future: Companies based in Asia-Pacific economies have contributed to roughly one third of all major announced clean energy and semiconductors investments in the United States. This is directly tied to investments President Biden and partners in Congress have made through the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.

Rising Exports: U.S. exports to Asia-Pacific economies have increased 25 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, helping U.S. businesses expand and hire more workers.

RECENT & NEW INVESTMENTS

The “Investing in America” event highlighted recent and new investments, including in the clean energy and semiconductor sectors, that demonstrate how U.S. economic ties with the Asia-Pacific and President Biden’s policies are helping to grow the American economy. They also show that the U.S. economy is attracting investment from not only large, global companies, but also smaller and medium-sized companies.

CEO Joo Sun Choi of Samsung Display, a South Korea-based technology company, highlighted Samsung’s investments of over $17 billion to build a new semiconductor site in Texas and $12 billion with partners to build electric vehicle (EV) battery plants in the U.S., creating thousands of jobs. He also highlighted Samsung’s recent acquisition of a New York-based company that specializes in advanced micro display technology, which is used in consumer and defense applications.

Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest of Fortescue, a global green metals, energy and technology company, announced today new investments to drive innovation and create jobs across the U.S. clean energy ecosystem, including a new facility in Michigan to design and manufacture batteries for electric transport and heavy industry applications, and electrolysers for green hydrogen production, which is expected to create up to 600 jobs; a new New York-based green energy investment accelerator platform, Fortescue Capital, which intends to raise funds for projects focused on scaling green energy technologies; and details on a green hydrogen production facility in Washington that could help replace tens of millions of gallons of diesel per year with green energy, to power American industry and transportation.

CEO Thuy Le of VinFast, a Vietnam-based automotive company, highlighted $4 billion in recent investments to build a factory in Chatham County, North Carolina to make all-electric SUVs creating more than 7,000 jobs. Today VinFast shared details about its plans to build a manufacturing complex in North Carolina that will produce both electric vehicles and batteries. In partnership with the local community colleges, the facility will train and develop U.S. workers for high-paying jobs in the clean transportation industry.

CEO Amanda Lacaze of Lynas Rare Earths, an Australia-based supplier of sustainable rare earth materials, highlighted its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to invest $258 million to build in Texas the only major Heavy Rare Earths separation plant outside of China, creating 100 well-paying skilled jobs. The facility will help to establish a globally resilient, safe and environmentally responsible rare earths supply chain and provide inputs that the U.S. technology and national security sectors need.

Chief Business Officer Astrea Ocampo of Neolpharma, a Mexico-based pharmaceutical company, highlighted its investment of $16 million to expand its pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico, creating specialized local jobs and helping to develop a pipeline of skilled workers for the future.

Additionally, today the U.S. Export–Import Bank (EXIM) announced a new $169M export promotion loan to BETA Technologies, a Burlington, Vermont-based company, which will enable it to expand its U.S.-based production of electric-powered aircraft and create an estimated 400 high-paying clean energy economy jobs. The loan was approved in part because of the company’s high growth trajectory, enabled by current and potential customers in APEC and IPEF economies such as New Zealand, India, Japan, and Canada. BETA Technologies demonstrates the importance of the Asia-Pacific as an export market to growing American businesses, while creating good jobs for American workers.

ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS

Companies based in the Asia-Pacific have announced almost $200 billion of investments into the United States since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, which will support tens of thousands of good, new jobs for American workers. Listed below are just a subset of the many major investments from companies in APEC and IPEF economies into the U.S. over the Biden-Harris Administration across clean energy, batteries, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and more. The SelectUSA program at the Department of Commerce has helped facilitate many of these investments, including over $55 billion in foreign direct investments supporting more than 35,000 jobs in 2023 alone.

Chang Chun Group, the Taiwan-based chemicals company, announced a $300 million investment to build a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, which will produce electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide, a key element in semiconductors, and create over 200 jobs.

CS Wind, a South Korea-based wind turbine tower manufacturer, broke ground on an over $200 million expansion to their Pueblo, Colorado wind tower manufacturing facility, creating 850 jobs.

Element 25, an Australia-based battery & power generation materials producer, announced a $290 million investment to build a facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, that is expected to create 150 jobs and supply up to 32,500 metric tons of manganese sulfate annually to support the annual production of more than 1 million EVs in North America. The company plans to further develop the facility with an additional investment of $190 million to supply anticipated future demand growth.

Epsilon Advanced Materials, an India-based manufacturer of graphite, an essential component in electric vehicle batteries, announced a $650 million investment in a synthetic graphite manufacturing facility in Brunswick County, North Carolina, expected to create 500 jobs.

Global Wafers, the Taiwan-based semiconductor wafer manufacturer, announced a $5 billion investment to build a wafer manufacturing plant in Sherman, Texas, creating 1,500 jobs.

Hanwha Q CELLS, a South Korea-based energy solution provider, announced a $2.5 billion investment in Georgia to expand their plant in Dalton and build a new plant in Cartersville that will produce critical components for solar panels, as well as complete panels, creating 2,500 jobs.

LG Chemical, the South Korea-based company, announced plans to invest $3.2 billion in a plant to manufacture EV battery materials in Clarksville, Tennessee, which will create more than 850 jobs. The plant aims to produce enough cathode battery materials to power 1.2 million EVs annually.

LG Energy Solution, a South Korea-based battery manufacturer, announced a $5.6 billion investment in Queen Creek, Arizona, to build two advanced battery manufacturing facilities, creating 2,800 jobs. The company also announced a $3 billion investment in its Holland, Michigan battery manufacturing plant to install new production lines for battery cells, which is expected to create 1,200 jobs.

Maxeon Solar Technologies, a Singapore-based solar energy company, announced an investment of over $1 billion into Albuquerque, New Mexico to build a silicon solar factory, creating 1,800 jobs.

Orbia and Solvay, the Mexico and Belgium-based chemical producers, announced a $672 million investment—in concert with a $178 million Department of Energy grant— to build a new plant in Augusta, Georgia to produce polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a lithium-ion binder that will be used for more than 5 million EV batteries per year, creating hundreds of jobs.

Panasonic Energy, a Japan-based battery cell producer, began construction on a new $4 billion facility in De Soto, Kansas, which will manufacture lithium-ion batteries, creating up to 4,000 jobs.

SK Hynix, a South Korea-based semiconductor and memory chip maker, made a commitment to invest $15 billion to the semiconductor industry through research and development programs, materials, and the creation of an advanced packaging and testing facility.

Sunlit Flou & Chemical Co., Ltd, a Taiwan-based semiconductor chemical supplier, announced a $50 million investment in a manufacturing facility, in Deer Valley, Arizona to produce hydrofluoric acid and other high purity grade industrial chemicals as well as enable material purification.

TSMC, a Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer, announced a $40 billion investment in Phoenix, Arizona for a second chip plant, leading to 4,500 high-paying high-tech jobs by 2026.

UNDBIO, a South Korea-based pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetic care, announced a $100 million investment into Morgantown, West Virginia to create an insulin production manufacturing facility, resulting in 200 jobs over the first three years of the project.

VSK Energy LLC, a consortium backed by India-based solar module manufacturer Vikram Solar, announced an up to $1.5 billion investment into the U.S. solar energy supply chain, creating approximately 2,400 jobs. The investment will go towards a $250 million factory based in Brighton, Colorado—which will produce two gigawatts worth of modules and create 900 jobs—and an upcoming second $1.25 billion factory, which aims to create more than 1,500 jobs.

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