WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama appealed to more than 2,600 investors and business executives Monday to take advantage of opportunities in the U.S. market.
"America is proudly open for business, and we want to make it as simple and as attractive for you to set up shop here as is possible,” he said at the SelectUSA Investment summit in Maryland. “The American people like doing business and they respect business, and they're looking forward to working with you to make sure that your companies succeed.”
The two-day gathering was the latest in a series of meetings initiated by the administration in 2011 to help facilitate foreign investment in the U.S.
“We're committed to SelectUSA for the long haul. We are committed to building partnerships with you so that our companies and our communities can thrive together,” he said.
Foreign companies accounted for some $67 billion per quarter of the U.S. economy during the past three quarters, up from a 2009-2013 quarterly average of $49 billion, according to the White House.
The administration has been attempted to emphasize U.S. economic growth and declining unemployment. The U.S. added nearly 3 million jobs in the past year alone.
"After a decade of outsourcing, we're starting to bring good jobs back to America," Obama said.
Obama announced Monday that the U.S. will seek to revise its current L-1B visa program, which allows international companies to temporarily bring workers into the U.S. to live and work.
“This could benefit hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant workers and their employers; that, in turn, will benefit our entire economy and spur additional investment,” he said.
The White House said the U.S. immigration services department will clarify the visa procedure.
Obama also used the forum to emphasize the need for immigration reform, which he said would boost the U.S. economy, and increase security.
“I'm going to continue to push and prod and poke and cajole friends in the Republican Party to get on board and help us get this done. We need to get immigration reform done here in the United States of America. That's who we are,” he said to applause.
