Evolution of FDI in the United States in the Context of Trade Liberalization and Regionalization

As the world economy has become globalized, the simultaneous move towards regionalization has been a striking feature of the past decade. Europe, Asia, and North America, among others, have developed a wide range of institutionalized arrangements to formalize the rising economic integration that has occurred between countries on a regional basis. The link between globalization and the growth of trade blocs is foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI represents a major strategic weapon for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in their struggle for the world’s appropriable surplus (Buckley, 1996). It is an important reality of the regionalized world economy that firms based outside trade blocs are highly discriminated against.