Virginia Economic Review

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a sometimes overlooked, but vital, cornerstone of the U.S. economy. Investments from overseas create high-quality, skilled jobs that pay higher-than-average wages. In 2022, foreign direct investment to acquire, establish, or expand U.S.

When Dutch secondary packaging solutions provider BluePrint Automation decided to open a U.S. location in 1987, the company chose a site in Chesterfield County near Richmond, due in part to the regional talent market and multiple nearby ports that could facilitate importing.

When Ryan Buzzy was a child, his passion was to take radios apart to see how they worked. At 25, he’s not a kid anymore, but his passion for seeing how things work never changed.

Dennis Meseroll is co-founder and executive director of Tractus Asia Limited, a global foreign direct investment advisory firm based in Thailand that specializes in advising and assisting companies with investment and location decisions in Asia.

Foreign companies looking to invest in Virginia go through the same considerations as their domestic counterparts — site evaluation and selection, workforce availability, and logistical issues, to name a few.

How much does Dutch aviation and aerospace giant Airbus value Washington Dulles International Airport? Enough to pick nearby Loudoun County as a center of its U.S.-based spare parts distribution operations not once, but twice.

Jasjit Singh is the executive director of SelectUSA, a U.S. government program housed within the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration that works to attract foreign direct investment to the United States.

The LEGO Group’s new manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County is designed to support the company’s sustainability ambitions. From building practices to construction materials to operating functions to landscaping, the LEGO Group’s only U.S.

The word is out that Pulaski County is a “center for international business,” says Jonathan Sweet, administrator for the western Virginia county. Among the 33,000 people who call Pulaski County home is a large community of expatriates hailing from countries around the world.

In 2020, roughly 12 years after Volkswagen relocated its North American headquarters from the Detroit area to Fairfax County, the company faced a choice. With the end of the lease on its Herndon office space looming, would it move to Atlanta, where its Porsche subsidiary is located, or another city?

Ambassador Alexander Yui took over as the Taiwanese representative to the United States at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) in December 2023.

A Conversation With Ambassador Mark Brzezinski Ambassador Mark Brzezinski has served as the U.S. ambassador to Poland since 2021. He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden from 2011–2015.

Virginia Offers Best-in-Class Export Assistance for Companies' Complete Life Cycle Exporting can be a strong strategy for connecting companies with demand or diversifying their market bases to better weather economic conditions.

The last year has been challenging to all aspects of the logistics industry, and The Port of Virginia was not immune.

International trade is beneficial for American consumers and businesses alike. Benefits for consumers include lower costs and a greater variety of goods available in their local markets.

John Keppler is chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Enviva, the world's largest producer of woody biomass and one of Virginia's largest exporters out of its private terminal in the city of Chesapeake.

With Initial Funding Approved and Bold Goals on the Horizon, Virginia's International Trade Strategic Plan is Moving Forward The fundamental conditions are in place for Virginia to significantly grow its international trade. Now, the Commonwealth is setting a course to capitalize on those assets.

Stephen Edwards joined The Port of Virginia as CEO and executive director in January 2021. Before joining the port, he was president and CEO of TraPac, which operates container terminals in California and Florida.