On May 4th, 2026, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick opened the SelectUSA 2026 Investment Summit with his remarks: “Donald Trump has made the United States the hottest place in the world to invest, the hottest place to build…the hottest place to grow.”

In some respects, Lutnick is not wrong. The United States has been the world’s largest consumer for over a century. But before listening to the speech in its entirety, tread carefully, or this heat will burn you. 

The SelectUSA Investment Summit is a national event, bringing in thousands of the world’s largest companies to attract foreign direct investment to the United States. At the forefront of the Trump Administration—and by extension, Secretary Lutnick– supply chains aim to be aggressively reshored, secured, and domesticated per the 2026 Economic Report of the President. One way to do this? Greenfield investments. By targeting international companies that already have an existing sector profile, these companies can rapidly expand and grow from the ground up in new “green” fields. This is exactly who Lutnick’s opening remarks aimed to captivate.

Through his speech, the Commerce Secretary aims to assure foreign companies that the United States holds stability, exactly what investors want to hear. He goes on, “We have a great legal system that is reliable. The rule of law in America is foundational. You can invest here…. Think about it… Because you will never get a better administration to help you than the one you have under Donald Trump.” However, a strong rule of law is not a slogan that can be used without proper backing. 

Lutnick’s strongest claim is almost his most vulnerable. For many foreign investors, a strong rule of law is a predetermining condition that makes long-term investment possible. A company looking to expand, especially in a new country, is not placing all its eggs in one administration; it allocates them to strong democratic institutions that remain reliable after a president is gone.

A study by Pew Research showed multiple indicators of a decline in the health of American democracy in 2025. Pew further notes that the U.S. Freedom House score dropped to 81 in 2025, down from 84 in 2024, and that the U.S. has not returned to its pre-2016 score of 90 or higher. Coincidence? Probably not to investors.

The second part of Lutnick’s statements claims there will never be a better administration than Donald Trump’s. If investors will “never” get a better administration than the one ending in 2028, what happens next? Perhaps this framing was a suboptimal choice. If this really is the best administration investors will see, Lutnick is not selling the permanence of American stability, but instead a political window for investors to get their foot in the door. Greenfield investments require years of planning, construction, permitting, hiring, visa-securing, supply chain coordination, and lots of money. Investors do not need a government that simply welcomes them today. They need one whose rules will remain predictable tomorrow.

Beginning at this point, Lutnick’s investment proposal for the U.S. will begin to oppose the real economic objectives that the U.S. Administration has put into place. The very same firms that have been invited to develop projects in the U.S. are now also being requested to operate within an environment that has been influenced by the imposition of tariffs, pressures to “reshore,” and security concerns. Why does this matter for investors? Greenfield investments do not allow a firm to eliminate its global value chain. So, although a foreign firm may establish manufacturing operations in the U.S., it can still rely upon imports from other countries in order to produce its products. As such, if these components become more costly or less secure, the potential for stability as a result of establishing a new facility weakens.

Lutnick makes this tension clear when he asks, “Doesn’t it make sense that we need to produce our own steel? … You need to have steel, or you can’t make a missile.”

The piece reveals the buzzword in many federal tariff conversations: national security. Lutnick is not only telling foreign companies that America is open for business, but also that the United States must protect itself from foreign dependence. This argument has merit; critical industries like steel, semiconductors, pharma, and energy do raise legitimate concerns for many countries. But for foreign investors, the concern is not whether the United States has security interests. They question whether those security interests will be illegitimately used to justify sudden tariffs or changing rules that they cannot predict. A company cannot confidently build a supply chain if the administration treats it like a threat.

Lutnick’s comments are ultimately self-contradictory. On one hand, he is encouraging foreign capital into the U.S., on the other hand, he is defending an economic agenda that is based upon a distrust of reliance on foreign resources. As such, there will continue to be no reliable environment in which to invest. Rather than providing a clear investment opportunity for businesses, his comments create uncertainty. Businesses are invited to come to the U.S. as investors, yet at the same time, they can be punished for their “vulnerabilities” if they have foreign-based suppliers.

While there are certainly many good things about doing business in the U.S., such as large markets, world-class universities, abundant capital, and innovation, Lutnick’s comments do not provide evidence that Trump has created a stable investment environment. Rather, the comments indicate that the Administration recognizes that stability is what investors want, so the Administration will attempt to convince them that it exists regardless of realities.

Photo Credit: Rod Lamkey / AP