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Drew Maloney is a partner at Ogilvy Government Relations, one of the largest bipartisan lobbying firms in Washington D.C.; James W. Moeller is the managing director of Global Public Affairs at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

by Drew Maloney and James W. Moeller
(China Daily, June 7, 2006)

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

For long-time observers of American politics, the current fear of foreign-owned firms operating in the United States brings to mind the classic misstatement of baseball great Yogi Berra: "It's deja vu all over again."

United States goes through waves of economic nationalism every few years whenever the economy is underperforming. Replace Dubai World Ports or CNOOC with Toshiba in the 1980s or British Telecom in the 1990s and the situation, as Berra hinted, is remarkably similar.

The situation heightens the challenge for all foreign firms, not just Chinese ones, doing business in the United States. However, there are a few ways companies can effectively position themselves in this difficult climate.

The challenge for foreign firms seeking to do increased business in the United States is that they are being caught in a political squeeze play from both left and right. While government statistics demonstrate that the US economy is humming along, public opinion polls show that there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction. Many Americans worry that the economy is sluggish.

Key to this is recent data that suggests that growth in wages is not keeping pace with productivity gains. In short, firms are asking staff to work harder, but wages are not keeping pace with gains in output. Add to this the fact that companies are reducing healthcare benefits, fears over technology and white-collar jobs moving overseas, numerous companies ending long-established pension programmes, and many American workers are fearful about their future.

Moreover, with ongoing discontent over the war in Iraq and continuing fears of potential terrorist attacks, there is a general sense of public unease on the national security front.

Given this is an election year, both political parties are trying to benefit from the current situation. On the left, unions and liberal Democrats continue to convert the fear of fewer jobs and lower wages brought about by globalization into votes for their candidates. They are also opposing mergers involving so-called "critical" economic sectors, such as transportation and energy, to show that they are tough on national security.