FDI Meets America First: The Return of Strategic Capital

As President Donald Trump resumes leadership in the White House, the United States is embarking on a bold and deliberate restructuring of the global economic order. Under the revived America First doctrine, the administration is pushing forward with a sweeping set of protectionist and industrial revival policies, including the imposition of a proposed 60% blanket tariff on Chinese imports and additional strategic tariffs across sectors deemed critical to national security and economic independence.

This is not simply a continuation of prior trade disputes — it marks the beginning of a systemic decoupling from adversarial supply chains and the aggressive reshoring of industries previously lost to globalization. The strategy is designed not only to neutralize geopolitical threats but to catalyze a new American manufacturing renaissance that reasserts the country’s global leadership through strength, sovereignty, and strategic foresight.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable resurgence of inbound foreign direct investment (FDI). According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the FDI position in the United States reached $5.39 trillion at the end of 2023, growing by $227 billion year-over-year. The manufacturing sector is leading this expansion, accounting for over 41% of total FDI, with the most significant inflows targeting electronics, chemicals, transportation equipment, and energy-related infrastructure. This data aligns closely with the Trump administration’s realignment agenda: rebuilding U.S. industry from the ground up.

In the automotive sector, production lines are steadily moving back across the border from Mexico and Canada. For decades, automakers — both domestic and foreign — optimized costs by leveraging NAFTA's trade provisions and outsourcing assembly to lower-wage zones. But today, under tariff threats and incentives for domestic manufacturing, this model is being reversed. Major players like Ford and General Motors are reassessing supply chains, while international companies such as Toyota, Honda, and BMW are increasing U.S.-based production and ramping up capacity at facilities in Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas. The strategic shift isn’t limited to traditional vehicles—electric vehicle (EV) and battery production is being retooled and expanded in U.S. plants to secure a future-ready, domestically integrated auto ecosystem.

Advanced technology industries are also undergoing a dramatic transformation. Semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and supercomputing hardware are no longer commercial commodities — they are the front lines of great-power competition. Recognizing the vulnerabilities exposed by dependence on East Asian chip production, the Trump administration is doubling down on reshoring cutting-edge microelectronics.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s leading chipmaker, has pledged $100 billion to expand its operations in Arizona, including three chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a new R&D center. These investments are expected to generate more than 40,000 construction and technical jobs, creating an innovation hub that will anchor the U.S. chip ecosystem for decades. Meanwhile, Apple has committed $500 billion in total U.S. investments over the next four years, including the construction of a new 250,000-square-foot AI hardware manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, intended to support its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence capabilities. These moves send a strong message: America is reclaiming technological dominance by building it at home.

Germany’s Siemens, responding to Trump’s call for industrial reinvestment, has announced $285 million in U.S. manufacturing expansions, including new production lines for automation systems and AI-integrated power solutions in California and Texas. These announcements coincide with a broader global reappraisal of America as the most stable and strategically sound destination for long-term industrial capital.

In parallel, the steel and aluminum industries — the essential foundation for autos, defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding — are experiencing a major revival. With tariffs originally imposed during Trump’s first term still in effect, and new investment incentives layered on top, the U.S. steel sector is seeing a rare renaissance. South Korea’s Hyundai Steel is constructing a $5.8 billion plant in Louisiana with a planned capacity of 2.7 million tons per year to serve Hyundai Motor Group’s growing U.S. production footprint. Domestic firms are also restarting idled steel mills and bringing advanced automation into their manufacturing processes. Steelmaking communities in the Midwest, long regarded as the “Rust Belt,” are now rebranding as part of the American Resurgence Corridor.

In the health sector, the pandemic laid bare America’s dangerous dependence on foreign pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly from China and India. The Trump administration’s America First health security initiative is targeting this vulnerability head-on. Johnson & Johnson has announced a $55 billion U.S. investment plan, including the construction of four new domestic production facilities, starting with a plant in Wilson, North Carolina focused on cancer and neurology treatments. Eli Lilly is following suit with a $27 billion expansion across four new U.S.-based manufacturing sites, with a strong emphasis on injectable therapies, diabetes medication, and sterile active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). These investments reflect a direct response to bipartisan demands to restore pharmaceutical sovereignty and ensure that the United States is never again held hostage by foreign disruptions to critical drug supply chains.

Maritime security and shipbuilding are also experiencing a strategic revival. China today controls over 95% of the global container production market and more than half of total shipbuilding capacity. Should conflict or geopolitical escalation disrupt maritime access, America’s import and export capabilities — as well as naval deployment — would be severely compromised. Recognizing this existential risk, the Trump administration is restoring the U.S. shipbuilding industry through a national reinvestment strategy. Initiatives include federal subsidies for commercial shipyards, modernization of military ship production, and training programs to rebuild America’s maritime workforce. Ports in Virginia, Louisiana, and California are already seeing increased federal infrastructure funds and private-sector interest.

The underlying economic logic of this realignment is reinforced by manufacturing’s multiplier effect. As estimated by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Department of Commerce, every $1 of manufacturing output generates between $2.00 and $2.60 in total GDP impact. Manufacturing doesn’t just produce goods — it builds communities, restores middle-class prosperity, and sustains the economic base necessary for global leadership. By reviving domestic industry, Trump’s America First strategy is not merely about trade — it is about rebuilding the engine of American civilization.

The influx of FDI across strategic sectors is not a coincidence. In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the United States Investment Accelerator within the Department of Commerce, designed to streamline permitting, offer federal support, and expedite approval for FDI projects exceeding $1 billion. Since then, inbound capital has surged, with new announcements from Siemens, TSMC, Hyundai, and others now part of a policy-driven trend rather than isolated corporate moves.

China, by contrast, faces cascading risks. The loss of the U.S. market, high-end technology leakage, and declining confidence among foreign investors are triggering systemic imbalances. The rapid withdrawal of capital from China’s manufacturing base threatens its innovation capacity, while falling trade surpluses and rising financial stress are placing strain on Beijing’s foreign exchange reserves. With multinationals redirecting their long-term capital toward friendlier and more predictable jurisdictions, China’s era as the “world’s factory” may be entering permanent decline.

America First is no longer a campaign slogan — it is a global economic reality. The strategic reshoring of industry, the restoration of domestic supply chains, and the alignment of foreign capital with American national priorities signal the beginning of a new era of industrial patriotism. The Trump 2.0 administration is not simply reacting to global trends — it is reshaping them. And as the rest of the world adjusts to a post-globalist age, the United States is once again proving that economic sovereignty and national greatness are inseparable.