Guest blog post by Brian Lenihan , Acting Executive Director of SelectUSA

On February 20, Vice President Mike Pence led the second meeting of the National Space Council at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Vice President Pence reiterated the Trump Administration’s dedication to making the United States the global leader in the burgeoning commercial space industry.

“It's here today, in the 21st century, that the modern marvels that launch from these grounds will prove that the public and private sectors are achieving far more today than we ever have before," Vice President Pence told the Council.

The Trump Administration is focused on maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration and technology through public-private partnerships between the Federal government and international companies. By reviving the National Space Council in July, signing Space Policy Directive 1 in December, signing Space Policy Directive 2 in May, and authorizing an increase in NASA’s budget, President Trump is positioning the United States for a return to the Moon and a venture to Mars and beyond.

“As the President said, space is the ‘next great American frontier’ – and it is our duty – and our destiny – to settle that frontier with American leadership, courage, and values,” Vice President Pence said at the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council in October.

Settling that frontier will take human ingenuity and innovative technologies, both of which the United States has in abundance. The world’s top companies are drawn to the innovation culture of the United States. By encouraging entrepreneurship and risk taking, this culture offers an added competitive edge to the business community and leads to technological breakthroughs.

Simply put, the U.S. aerospace industry is a global powerhouse. International firms are drawn to its skilled and educated workforce and extensive distribution systems. World-changing technology is made in the USA, including technologies that rove the surface of Mars and make it possible to study galaxies millions of lightyears away. In 2016 alone, the industry contributed $147 billion in export sales to the U.S. economy, which led to a positive trade balance of $90.5 billion -- the largest of any manufacturing industry.

Through the President’s Space Policy Directive 2, the Department of Commerce recently announced its intent to create a new Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration, which  will create a new “one stop shop” within the Department for promoting, administering, and regulating commercial space activities.   The SPACE Administration, to be housed within the Office of the Secretary, will  advance pro-growth policies affecting commercial space activities. This flourishing industry will also be a focus of the 2018 SelectUSA Investment Summit (June 20-22), the top foreign direct investment event in the United States. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross will lead a panel of industry experts to discuss the latest updates in a rapidly changing field and how domestic and foreign companies can utilize U.S. resources to join a new commercial space race.

This June, global companies—from aerospace to agriculture—will join high-level government officials, business executives, thought leaders, and economic developers from across the United States for the Investment Summit in Washington, D.C. To learn more about how you can attend the top foreign direct investment event in the country, please visit selectusasummit.us. Additionally, please visit selectusa.gov for more information on how—and why—to invest in the United States.