Publications: Trelysa Long

Over the last decade, U.S. trade performance has deteriorated significantly in advanced industries. That is a major problem because these industries have high fixed costs and require substantial investments in R&D, so they depend on large customer bases to achieve scale economies and remain globally competitive.

Maintaining R&D leadership in advanced industries is critical to U.S. economic competitiveness and national power. But on a size- and wage-adjusted basis, China is rapidly gaining ground. Congress needs to boost corporate R&D incentives to prevent America from falling behind.

The United States increasingly relies on foreign talent, specifically temporary visa holders who earn STEM degrees at American universities, to fill critical roles in advanced industries. Policymakers should implement an expedited green card process for these individuals, particularly in computer science and engineering, to ensure U.S. competitiveness and retain this highly skilled workforce.

One way to gauge how U.S. firms engage globally is by examining receipts from the rest of the world as a share of GDP. Policymakers should track foreign receipts as a share of GDP as a standard indicator of how U.S. firms’ global activity is evolving and whether it aligns with national economic interests.

Machine tools are key to and indicative of the health of a nation’s manufacturing sector. The United States lags behind in both the production and consumption of machine tools, especially compared with other high-wage economies.

Despite evidence to the contrary, a persistent narrative during the past two administrations has been that corporate power is getting increasingly concentrated, ergo antitrust breakups are warranted. But the latest Census Bureau data once again puts the lie to that argument.

Research and development (R&D) is central to a firm’s competitiveness, both domestically and internationally. Data from the National Science Foundation shows that U.S.-based firms have increased foreign R&D investment flows over the last decade.

U.S. R&D is becoming increasingly concentrated in a handful of states just as China accelerates its lead in advanced industries. Federal and state policymakers must expand R&D tax incentives and targeted academic research funding to reverse this trend, spur nationwide innovation, and bolster U.S. competitiveness.

The federal government has imposed a $100,000 fee on companies seeking to sponsor H-1B visas for foreign workers in specialty occupations, which could undermine U.S. efforts to attract top STEM talent. Policymakers should establish a program that grants green cards to temporary visa holders with non-social science STEM degrees.

U.S. export controls on semiconductor sales to China reduce U.S. chipmakers’ revenues, lower their R&D investment capabilities, and reduce industry employment. As such, U.S. policymakers should keep semiconductor export controls to a minimum.