“We didn’t come here to start the conversation.
We came here to decide which conversations were real.”
That comment, from a European space tech company I spoke with at SelectUSA 2026, stayed with me.
Before they had even walked into the cavernous convention halls of the Gaylord Resort, they had already met several US economic developers through a SelectUSA roadshow in Europe. They had opened conversations, compared early propositions and arrived in Maryland with a clearer sense of which regions deserved more time.
That captures something important about this year’s Summit. After a period marked by tariff uncertainty, delayed investment decisions and a tougher global FDI environment, serious companies were still looking at the US. They were just looking differently.
FDI tourism has become too expensive. Companies are no longer flying across the Atlantic simply to browse booths and collect brochures. They are arriving with sharper questions, more developed plans and a clearer sense of what they need from states, cities and partners.
That made this year’s Summit feel more pertinent. Recent data underlines why. Global FDI fell by 11% in 2024, the second consecutive annual decline, while Reuters reported that FDI into the US fell sharply in Q1 2025, with tariff uncertainty weighing on investment decisions. Against that backdrop, the scale of SelectUSA 2026 mattered: more than 5,500 attendees from 100+ markets, over 1,100 economic developers, representation from all 55 US states and territories, and more than $56 billion in new and planned investment commitments announced or supported through the Summit.
As always, the Summit looked bustling from the outside. For many companies, SelectUSA remained their first serious introduction to the US market. Yet up close, a different pattern was also visible: more investors arriving with homework done, relationships started and sharper criteria for judging which US regions could genuinely deliver.
Companies are arriving prepared
One of the clearest shifts was how much work had already happened before companies arrived at National Harbor.
SelectUSA is increasingly becoming part of a longer investor journey, supported by embassies, consulates, trade teams and in-market programming. One European company we spoke with had already attended SelectUSA programing in Europe, met US economic development organizations through that channel, and spent several months building relationships before coming to Washington. By the time they arrived, they were weighing locations, partners and next steps. The US opportunity had already been accepted – the real question was where they would land.
That changes the role of the Summit. It is becoming less about first introductions and more about cultivated decision-making.
Ireland was a strong example of the clearly coordinated model. Enterprise Ireland brought its largest-ever SelectUSA delegation, with more than 50 companies attending across life sciences, digital technology, high-tech construction and climate tech. Minister Peter Burke led the delegation, with Enterprise Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland providing a visible institutional layer around the companies.
Singapore showed a similar pattern. Enterprise Singapore brought around 30 companies, its largest delegation in years, supported by Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation, the US Commercial Service and Singapore’s Ambassador to the US, Lui Tuck Yew.
For EDOs, that means the competition starts long before the conference floor opens.
This is where the political dimension matters. Countries are packaging companies, national capabilities and senior relationships together. For US states and regions, the competition increasingly starts months before the conference floor opens. SELECT USA is no longer about shooting fish within the National Harbor. It’s about reeling in fish you have been luring towards you months in advance often within their home waters.
Investors are building their own yardsticks
Several companies were also using SelectUSA in a more structured way. We spoke with three companies, including one already operating in the US, that were gathering information to shape their own RFI or RFP-style process. They wanted to meet EDOs, understand what support was available, test the quality of responses, and then ask regions to compete against criteria they had defined.
One line captures the shift: “SelectUSA is helping us work out what to ask for, who to ask, and how to compare the answers.”
That is a more sophisticated investor behavior. Companies are becoming better buyers of economic development support. They are setting the yardstick, then asking regions to prove themselves against it.
Greenfield is one route, not the whole story
The traditional FDI question has often been: where should we build? That still matters, a lot. But more companies are also asking who they should acquire, partner with, supply or use as a platform for faster market access.
M&A, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and customer-led expansion are moving closer to the FDI conversation. For companies navigating tariffs, higher costs, tight labor markets and regulatory complexity, buying capacity or partnering with an existing operator can sometimes be quicker than building from scratch.
One Asian company we met was clear that acquisition could be their preferred route into the US. The challenge was that much of the investment support ecosystem still seemed geared toward greenfield projects rather than helping them identify credible acquisition or partnership pathways.
For EDOs, this means the investment pipeline is wider than greenfield projects. Local acquisition targets, strategic partners, supply-chain gaps, corporate customers and private capital networks all matter.
What this means for EDOs
SelectUSA 2026 reinforced a clear point: the US opportunity remains powerful, but it is harder to win.
Investors are arriving better prepared. Governments and their delegations are more visible than before. Market-entry routes are more varied. Infrastructure constraints are more central. US regions are competing harder for the same companies and the same attention.
For economic development organizations, generic promotion will not be enough. The regions that stand out will bring sharper sector and sub-sector propositions, better evidence, clearer answers on energy and sites, and more tailored engagement with companies, governments and investors. And will probably have to meet the client on their home turf first.
