Business
18:23, 19-Jul-2017
Can Trump ‘make America great again’ without foreign investment?
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President Donald Trump's "America First" message has been loud and clear. He wanted to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
But those jobs have already been on the rise, and largely thanks to foreign firms.
Foreign investment in the US topped 3.7 trillion US dollars at the end of 2016, across a variety of industries, from autos to electronics. For example, BMW's largest production plant in the world is in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
But while companies like BMW are still pouring capital into the US, Trump’s rhetoric does have them worried about their investment. According to James Nolt, a senior fellow from World Policy Institute, if Trump’s rhetoric came true, it could have a very big impact in the future. But the policies so far have been fairly muted.
However, foreign firms like BMW have to plan for all scenarios. The automaker said it has been retooling factories in South Africa and China, reducing the company's dependence on its American operations if the US shuts its doors.