How is Geopolitical Fragmentation Reshaping U.S. Foreign Direct Investment? Accessible Data

Figure 1. U.S. Outward FDI to Select EMEs, percent of total outbound DI, annual averages

Percent of total U.S. outward DI

Country ODI share for 2014-2017 ODI share for 2022-2023
UAE 0 0
China 2 2
Hong Kong 1 0
Indonesia 0 0
India 1 1
Morocco 0 0
Mexico 2 3
Poland 0 0
Vietnam 0 0

Source: BEA data on U.S. Direct Investment Abroad.

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Figure 2. U.S. Outward FDI in Advanced Manufacturing, percent of total U.S. outward advanced manufacturing FDI, annual averages

Percent

Country ODI share for 2014-2017 ODI share for 2022-2023
Canada 9 9
China and Hong Kong 12 7
Major Asia 18 17
Major Europe 16 21
Mexico 2 4
United Kingdom 10 13

Note: The major European countries used in this graph are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium and Austria. The advanced Asian economies are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Advanced manufacturing is computed by summing the following industries: computer and electronic product manufacturing; electronic equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing; machinery manufacturing; transportation equipment manufacturing; and chemical manufacturing.

Source: BEA data on U.S. Direct Investment Abroad.

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Figure 3. Allocation of U.S. MNE Activities in Select Major EMEs, percent of total

Left panel: Percent of total MOFA CapEx. Right panel: Percent of total MOFA employment

Country Year Percent of total MOFA CapEx Percent of total MOFA Employment
China 2009 4 9
China 2010 5 10
China 2011 4 11
China 2012 4 11
China 2013 4 11
China 2014 4 12
China 2015 5 12
China 2016 6 12
China 2017 6 12
China 2018 6 12
China 2019 5 9
China 2020 6 9
China 2021 7 9
China 2022 6 9
India 2009 1 5
India 2010 1 6
India 2011 1 7
India 2012 1 7
India 2013 1 8
India 2014 1 8
India 2015 2 8
India 2016 2 9
India 2017 2 9
India 2018 3 9
India 2019 2 10
India 2020 2 10
India 2021 3 11
India 2022 3 12
Mexico 2009 3 9
Mexico 2010 3 9
Mexico 2011 3 9
Mexico 2012 3 9
Mexico 2013 3 9
Mexico 2014 3 9
Mexico 2015 4 10
Mexico 2016 4 10
Mexico 2017 5 10
Mexico 2018 5 10
Mexico 2019 4 10
Mexico 2020 4 10
Mexico 2021 5 11
Mexico 2022 5 11

Note: Measures presented are the country-specific percentages of total activities by majority-owned foreign affiliates (MOFAs) of U.S. multinationals.

Source: BEA data on the Activities of U.S. Multinational Enterprises, 2009-2022.

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Figure 4. Comparing U.S. exposure to China through DI and MNE data

Billions of 2017 USD

Year DI position MNE assets MNE net equity DI flows MNE CapEx MNE R&D
2009 61 216 69 -8 7 2
2010 66 234 78 6 9 2
2011 59 268 87 -2 9 2
2012 59 284 97 -1 9 2
2013 64 310 109 8 9 2
2014 85 386 144 11 10 3
2015 95 402 155 6 10 4
2016 99 419 159 9 11 3
2017 105 441 163 8 12 4
2018 105 452 170 6 12 4
2019 105 424 168 7 10 4
2020 111 462 183 9 10 4
2021 105 471 189 -1 12 5
2022 104 438 185 7 10 5
2023 104     4    

Sources: BEA data on Activities of U.S. Multinational Enterprises, and BEA data on U.S. Direct Investment Abroad. Converted to 2017 dollars using the U.S. GDP deflator.

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Figure 5. Domestic Shares of U.S. MNE Activities

Domestic share

Year Industry CapEx, domestic share Employment, domestic share
2009 All industries 1 1
2009 High-tech 1 1
2009 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2010 All industries 1 1
2010 High-tech 1 0
2010 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2011 All industries 1 1
2011 High-tech 1 0
2011 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2012 All industries 1 1
2012 High-tech 1 0
2012 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2013 All industries 1 1
2013 High-tech 1 0
2013 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2014 All industries 1 1
2014 High-tech 1 0
2014 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2015 All industries 1 1
2015 High-tech 1 0
2015 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2016 All industries 1 1
2016 High-tech 1 0
2016 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2017 All industries 1 1
2017 High-tech 1 0
2017 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2018 All industries 1 1
2018 High-tech 1 0
2018 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2019 All industries 1 1
2019 High-tech 1 0
2019 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2020 All industries 1 1
2020 High-tech 1 0
2020 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2021 All industries 1 1
2021 High-tech 1 0
2021 Advanced manufacturing 1 1
2022 All industries 1 1
2022 High-tech 1 0
2022 Advanced manufacturing 1 1

Notes: The share of each variable is computed as the amount reported by the U.S. parent and its domestic subsidiaries (consolidated) divided by itself and the amount reported by majority-owned foreign affiliates. Advanced manufacturing is computed by summing the following manufacturing industries: computer and electronic products; electronic equipment, appliances, and components; machinery; transportation equipment; and chemicals. High-tech is computed by summing: computer and electronic product manufacturing; pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing; data processing, hosting, and related services; and computer systems design and related services. The vertical line marks 2018, when both trade conflicts and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect.

Source: BEA data on Activities of U.S. Multinational Enterprises.

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Figure 6. Foreign sourcing share of U.S. MNEs' intermediate inputs

Import share

  Foreign cost share
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
All industries 0.10276 0.11292 0.11931 0.12157 0.11842 0.10563 0.10432 0.10279 0.09583 0.09439 0.08491 0.08244 0.0853 0.08386
Computer and electronic product manufacturing 0.1781 0.19574 0.17483 0.16964 0.1678 0.19706 0.19393 0.20457 0.19099 0.19677 0.16978 0.16639 0.16631 0.16006
Advanced manufacturing 0.1968 0.2046 0.20793 0.20904 0.20873 0.21223 0.21911 0.22609 0.20582 0.21088 0.20525 0.20605 0.22206 0.21595

Notes: The share of each variable is computed as the ratio of goods imports by U.S. multinationals and their domestic subsidiaries to their expenditures on intermediate inputs, which are computed as the difference between sales and value added. Advanced manufacturing is computed by summing the following manufacturing industries: computer and electronic products; machinery; transportation equipment; and chemicals. This graph omits electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing, for which BEA obscured the data before 2014.

Source: BEA data on Activities of U.S. Multinational Enterprises.

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Last Update: April 10, 2025