United States

The United States of America is and will continue to be, at least for a considerable time, one of the ideal places for companies seeking both to diversify their assets and to gain access to a significant number of new clients. Through a robust market, this nation offers entrepreneurs a significant opportunity for growth and expansion.

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UNITED STATES PROFILE

Description of the country's economic outlook

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This country is one of the most attractive places for foreign direct investment in the world, since in addition to promoting free enterprise and competition, it is based on the principles of capitalism. According to the World Bank classification, the country was ranked as the sixth easiest place to do business among 190 economies analyzed, where it stood out for its good behavior in aspects such as the rules for opening a business, access to a location strategy, access to finances, participation in day-to-day operations and operating in a secure business environment.

The United States provides businessmen or investors interested in reaching its territory with access to approximately 800 million consumers, through national companies and free trade agreements with 20 other countries. In addition, it has a population with the highest household spending worldwide.

Another interesting aspect is the $370 billion dollars obtained from exports of goods from the United States from mostly foreign firms with operations in the United States.

For its part, the International Monetary Fund in its report, forecasts that the growth of this nation will reach 7% this year. Additionally, the agency also forecasts a growth of 4.9% by 2022, 1.4 additional percentage points than expected according to previous projections.

The White House, in one of its reports, emphasized that its nation's economy has recovered from the losses suffered in the last year and a half and has exceeded the peak of its pre-pandemic GDP. In fact, in the second quarter of this year the US Gross Domestic Product grew 6.5% compared to the previous year and 1.6% in the first quarter of this year. This puts the economy at its pre-pandemic level, according to data from the presidency.

Likewise, the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce (BEA) reported in its latest report that the country's economy grew at a solid annual rate of 6.5% in the last quarter, showing a constant recovery. This was especially the product of vaccination and government financial aid and made it easier for the economy to grow 12.2% so far this year.

The entity also highlights that between April and June of this year consumer spending increased, which was decisive in the United States economy, which reached an annual rate of 11.8%.

UNITED STATES PROFILE

Why invest in United States

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Attractive destination for foreign direct investment

According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, the United States ranked sixth among the 190 countries evaluated, thanks to the good performance of its business climate. This has also contributed to the fact that this nation continues to be recognized as one of the main economic powers in the world. Additionally, it is considered the largest international financial center and the third largest country on the planet in terms of population, since it has about 320 million people, who have a high GDP per capita.

Likewise, the United States, in addition to having a flexible and dynamic labor market, has the dollar, a currency that is the main reference for the world economic system. Another attractive aspect from the perspective of international investors is the development of regional nuclei, which consist of grouping together companies that belong to the same sector, in a certain geographic area.

According to the report on investment in the World of the UNCTAD last year, the flows that entered the country for FDI were 246 billion USD, a good figure compared to the current scenario. This shows that this nation is one of the main destinations for FDI and this has been achieved thanks to its large number of consumers, its efficient and transparent judicial system, highly trained human talent, a robust infrastructure and an ideal and desirable business environment that encourages innovation.

We can see that this nation continues to be an increasingly attractive destination for foreign direct investment. According to the AT Keamey Confidence Indices, the United States outperformed countries such as Brazil, India and China to become the country with the best projections for FDI in the world, ranked thus by 302 businesses, representing more than 28 countries and industries. Additionally, BCG concluded that 54% of US manufacturing companies with foreign production are considering relocating their production to US territory.

Wide access to domestic and global markets

Based on a study carried out by the World Trade Organization (WTO), it was highlighted that access to world markets in the United States is one of the main reasons why multinational industrial companies decide to locate in this nation. Proof of this is its participation in international economic organizations such as the G-7, G-10, G-20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), WTO, IMF, OECD, ICC, among others.

In this way and according to data from the United States International Trade Commission, among the nation's extensive network of trade relations, connections with countries such as Canada, Mexico, members of the European Union, China and Japan mainly stand out.

This is how the US economy continues to position itself as one of the largest in the world, which also has a median income per family of approximately $41,000 dollars, which represents one of the highest rates in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) and an important massive and permanent demand for a wide variety of products. In addition to domestic demand, US free trade agreements with more than 20 countries give US-based manufacturing companies access to distribution networks across the continent and the world.

The United States has a legacy of world-class ports and rail freight, as well as air transportation and highway networks with the ability not only to serve the vast domestic market, but to make the country a platform for exports. Export regulations are among the most comfortable in the world: in this nation the least amount of time is needed to comply with all the necessary procedures required for the export of goods between 185 countries according to World Bank studies. Foreign companies benefit from this access to global markets and its world-class structure to export more than $303 billion in goods, representing 20.5% of total US exports.

Highly qualified human talent

According to estimates from the United Nations Development Program, the American workforce ranks first in the world in average length of study, a global measure of human capital competitiveness. The Government has designed a strong education and training system for job-focused training, which includes a vast national infrastructure of high schools and colleges where academic programs take between two and four years.

In line with its high-level capabilities, the US workforce is among the most productive in the world: 30% more productive than Germany's and nearly twice as productive as South Korea's. This human talent, in turn, will continue to be a significant advantage, as your productivity growth remains stable.

World leadership in innovation

According to data from the Global Innovation Index 2021, for the third consecutive year the United States has positioned itself as a leader in innovation along with Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This is not surprising, since fifteen of the world's top 25 research universities and numerous outstanding research institutions are located in your country. These educational centers are key partners for companies that invest in research and development in the country.

The United States is also ranked in the top five countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, for its rank in investment and knowledge relative to its GDP. About 34% of the world's research and development investments are made in this nation.

In fact, this index currently shows that both governments and companies from various parts of the world have significantly increased its investments in innovation despite the consequences of the health crisis, thus reflecting the awareness of the importance of new ideas to overcome the pandemic and guarantee economic growth after it.

Alternative energies

The US Department of Energy (DOE), through its Solar Futures Study projects that by 2050, 45% of the energy consumed by the country will come from the sun. This is how the study shows that in order to achieve this objective, cost reduction, the support of public policies and large-scale electrification are essential.

In this way, it is evident that solar energy is an important source of American energy that, in addition to being cleaner, cheaper and fast growing, has a large production capacity capable of supplying all homes in the United States by the year 2035. Additionally, this sector generates approximately 1.5 million jobs.

The United States, in its services segment, is made up of solar energy, which would represent 37% of electricity by the year 2035 and the rest would be produced by wind energy in 36%, nuclear energy between 11 and 13%, hydroelectric 6%, biomass and geothermal (1%).

Main taxes

Below you can find some of the main taxes in United States, if you want to know in detail the country's tax information you can download our Global Taxes App.

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21%

Corporate taxes

15% to 20%

Taxes on capital gains and dividends

0.60% to 6.20%

Employment taxes

2.9% to 7.25%

Sales tax / VAT

40%

Inheritance and gift taxes

10% to 39.6%

Personal taxes

Sectors of interest and market opportunities

These are the sectors that offer the most investment opportunities in the country and that have the support of the government for their development.

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Aerospace and defense

The United States is currently the world leader in the aerospace sector, which is a key pillar of the country's industry and is one of the largest markets for aerospace and defense exports. In fact, there are several hubs located across the nation from Florida to Washington State.

Aviation, navigation and other specialized systems, as well as related command, control, communication and intelligence technologies are in high demand. In fact, the US Department of Homeland Security has promoted the expansion of the subsector of protection against biological, chemical and nuclear threats, since it needs products and services that help guarantee the security of borders and security structures of the nation.

According to ICEX Spain Export and Investment, an entity attached to the Spanish Secretary of State for Commerce, the American aerospace sector is made up of the production segments: development and manufacture of aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), ships space and rockets, as well as engines and the components that the aforementioned require, for the civil and defense markets. This is how the US aeronautical industry has great international recognition, since it exports more than half of its production through a globalized and very complex value chain.

Despite the decrease in US military spending and the paralysis of the civil subsector as a result of the health crisis, US demand in foreign markets decreased, however, an activation of aeronautical activity is becoming evident and it is expected that reach an annual rate of 3%, thanks to the demand for large civil aircraft, increasing global air traffic, the replacement of aircraft by a new generation of more efficient aircraft and the increase in US military spending.

For its part, the defense sector projects an increase in world defense spending of approximately 4%, reaching 2.1 trillion dollars in 2023, which has been driven by the interest of world governments in the modernization of their military equipment, in order to guarantee the security of their territory.

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Clean technologies

The American Clean Energy Association (ACPA) highlighted how the United States implemented a record 26 GW of clean energy projects last year, increasing the total to more than 170 GW.

Additionally, the agency emphasized that according to the Clean Power Annual, generating facilities also included 16,836MW of onshore wind power, 8,894MW of solar power to supply utilities, and 760MW of storage. The total represents 78% of the new energy installations from last year, where these clean energies supply 10.7% of the country's electricity.

In this way, the clean technology sector, attached to the environment and renewable energy industry, offers business opportunities in areas such as engineering and product development for water treatment, supply and conservation technologies and services for waste management Solid and industrial.

Another interesting aspect is that the clean energy sector offers well-paying jobs in all 50 states and currently has 415,000 jobs in wind and solar energy storage and maintenance on energy infrastructure nationwide.

As evidenced by this sector that is constantly expanding in addition to generating jobs, contributing to climate objectives and attracting investors.

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Attractive finance and real estate sector

Currently the real estate business is synonymous with profitability in the United States, since a great boom has begun in the sector thanks to the recovery from the health crisis. For example, the rental of offices in Manhattan this year had an increase in demand, signing agreements for 669,000 square meters in the third quarter of the year, which represents 59% more than the second quarter of the year.

This shows why the tertiary sector of the US economy, to which this area belongs, represents three quarters of the GDP (77.4%) and employs more than 79% of the country's workforce, that is, about 124.6 million of people. The finance, insurance, real estate, rental, professional services and leasing sectors also belong to this segment.

For a decade it has been observed that among the services that have contributed the most to the growth of the US GDP is, on the one hand, the sale of real estate, rentals and leases. On the other hand, professional, scientific and technical services are the second type of service that has contributed the most to GDP growth, especially computer system design services.

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Strong agricultural sector

The United States leads in the production of genetically modified crops. This is concentrated in the Midwest states with food production such as soybeans, corn, nuts, wheat, cotton, dairy and livestock.

Due to the political importance of these states, especially in the US Senate, agricultural policy has been encouraged to form a fundamental part of domestic economic policy, which revolves around the Farm Bill, its agricultural law that is updates every 5 years.

In this way, this nation has structured a highly industrialized productive sector with high levels of productivity that uses modern technologies. Among the most important related sectors are agriculture, machinery manufacturing, chemical products, among others.

In fact, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture, this segment together with related industries contributed 1,109 billion USD to the country's GDP and generated 22.2 million full and part-time jobs. The entity expects net farm income to reach $102.7 billion this year.

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Oil actor

According to data from the United States Energy Information Office (EIA), this country produced an approximate average of 11.1 million barrels per day this year, which when compared to the same period of the year last year showed an increase of 5.5%, that is, 583,000 barrels per day. This production was obtained in the American oil states of Texas and Dakota.

This good performance has been achieved thanks to the technological modernization process implemented in the exploitation of new reserves through the fracking method . This allowed it to increase the number of wells and position itself from 2019 to date as the world's leading oil producer, generating a production of 18.6 million barrels per day.

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Health and life sciences

The United States is the largest health market in the world. Its enormous capital resources and its ability to commercialize research and development services have made the country one of the most important destinations for life sciences companies. The sectors with the greatest opportunities vary by geographic region within the country. California has the largest biotech industry in the country. This region benefits from a strong academic environment, key research institutes, and a healthy business environment supported by government and industry associations. The best projections are for the subsectors of vaccines, therapeutics, nutraceuticals and medical devices, among others.

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Mining potential

According to data generated by the National Mining Association of the United States, this nation is the seventh largest producer of industrial metals and minerals in the world. Additionally, it ranks tenth in the production of metals such as copper, gold, silver, zinc and iron. According to the US Geological Survey, production of industrial metals and minerals last year reached $54.6 billion.

Currently, the United States and the European Union have reactivated the agreement they had agreed on steel and aluminum. In this new phase, according to Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce of the United States, the agreement will maintain the US tariffs of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum and will also allow the entry of a limited volume of these metals produced in the EU in the United States duty free.

On the other hand, steel production in the United States has been increasing, which in year-on-year terms showed an increase of 14.5% and the use of steelmaking capacity increased by 73.3%. According to the nation's American Iron and Steel Institute, it estimated an increase of up to 5 million tons in steel demand for every $100 billion invested.

Our advisors in United States

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Shutts & Bowen LLP

Shutts & Bowen LLP is a full-service law firm with a deep connection to Florida’s history, a commitment to excellent service for their clients and community, and a focus on diversity in the workplace.

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H&CO, LLP

Founded in 1992, H&CO LLP is a boutique CPA firm specialized in international corporate tax services, multi-national tax compliance, and superior on-demand accounting services.