Download Locations:
Summary:
Since 2002, the dollar has depreciated against a broad basket of currencies and against the euro. This depreciation has prompted some observers to question whether the "cheap" dollar is leading to a "fire sale" of U.S. firms, especially of those firms that can be identified as part of the Nation's defense industrial base. Congress has displayed a long and continuing interest in foreign direct investment and its impact on the U.S. economy. Since September 11, 2001, Congress has demonstrated a heightened level of concern about the impact of foreign direct investment in critical industries or in sectors that are vital to homeland security. In the 110th Congress, Members are considering H.R. 556, the National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act of 2007, which was adopted by the full House on February 28, 2007. The measure reflects a heightened level of concern about the presence of foreign investors in the economy by increasing Congressional oversight over federal reviews of foreign direct investment and by expanding the current areas of review to include homeland security and critical infrastructure. Academic research and analysis has been relatively limited on the topic of the relationship between a depreciated dollar and any impact on foreign purchases of U.S. firms. There is also a relatively limited amount of information on this topic. Nevertheless, direct investment transactions as a whole seem to be tied more directly to the relative rates of economic growth between economies, as well as expected long-run rates of return and other economic factors, than to relatively short-term movements in the exchange rate of the dollar. Actual and expected movements in the exchange rate may influence the timing and the magnitude of foreign investors' decisions, but little research has been done on this issue. Firms also engage in a variety of tactics to nullify or mitigate the effects of movements in the exchange rate, which would weaken the linkage between movements in the exchange rate and direct investment transactions. U.S. and foreign multinational firms have come to raise a significant part of their investment funds in the capital markets in which they are investing, which also lessens the impact of movements in the exchange rate. Furthermore, U.S. and foreign multinational firms have become skilled at using various techniques to hedge the risks of changes in exchange rates. This report assesses the current state of knowledge concerning the role of exchange rate movements in direct investment transactions, presents data on some of the major factors that influence direct investment, and provides an overview of some of the factors that influence the way in which firms finance their investments. This report will be updated as events warrant.
