Published
January 16, 2025
In this year’s State of American Business keynote address, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said the foundation of America’s enviable economic growth is the thriving businesses in your own town, city, and neighborhood.
“The State of American Business is local because businesses serve people where they are,” Clark said. “Wherever a company, a service, a product, or a solution originates, its impact is always local. Because local is where we live our lives.”
All Business Is Local
“If you think about it, that makes all business local,” Clark said. “That’s true, of course, of the small businesses that line Main Streets and the locally headquartered businesses that employ hundreds, or even thousands, of people in a community and drive its economic ecosystem.”
“It’s also true of the national chain restaurant where you had your first job, the tech company that produces the equipment and the internet service provider that together enable you to work from your kitchen table or your home office, and the energy producers that power your vehicles so you can drive across town.”
Clark delivered her speech from Dallas, Texas, a region home to a booming economy with high growth, low unemployment, and some of the most innovative companies in the world.
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“The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex—and similarly vibrant regions across the country—have a few things in common. A diverse industrial base, low unemployment and a deep pool of talent, a healthy mix of small businesses and big businesses, robust infrastructure and access to global markets, and a flourishing innovation ecosystem,” Clark said. “All of that fuels a growing economy, powered by businesses of every size—and, in turn, draws more people in, as they seek opportunities and advancement in their own lives.”
However, other communities are missing out on those same opportunities, Clark said.
“We all know there are too many places, too many communities, that don’t feel the energy, that don’t see the growth,” Clark said. “We must be a nation where local communities aren’t left behind. Where there are no food deserts, where crime doesn’t crowd out commerce, where private investment is welcome, where young people want to stay and return, and build businesses and careers, where people can get ahead and provide for their families.”
Why We Need More Growth—And Fast
Getting that growth should be a top priority for everyone—not just Washington policymakers and community leaders—because it can help solve real-world problems, Clark said.
“Growth won’t solve all of our problems, but we can’t solve any of them without it. So, we need more growth, and fast,” Clark said.
Clark pointed out that in an era of slowing economic growth globally—America is bucking the trend—but could do even better. For example, the U.S. economy grew at close to 3% in 2024. The outlook for 2025 is increasingly positive, but over the longer term there are major economic headwinds, with most major economists expecting that growth to cool to below 2% this decade.
Clark said that when the U.S. economy grows at 3%, someone who is born today will see their living standard double by their early 20s. But at just 2% growth, the living standard wouldn’t double until someone is in their mid-30s.
“One additional point of growth speeds up economic advancement in people’s lives by more than a decade,” Clark said. “And that is the message Americans sent in November—no matter who they voted for, the people signaled to Washington that they want more growth and opportunities for themselves and their families.”
All Policy Is Local
To help local communities thrive, Clark said that D.C.-based policymakers must do their part. She called on the 119th Congress and the new administration to focus on three immediate pro-growth priorities:
- Rolling back excessive regulation.
- Preserving the competitive tax provisions of 2017.
- Participating in the global economy.
Clark said it’s vital to roll back “the regulatory onslaught of the past four years” and the far-reaching negative impact it has had on local communities.
“This unprecedented bureaucratic micromanagement of business will cost the economy $1.4 trillion and trickle down into Americans’ lives and pocketbooks through higher prices, lower wages, and fewer jobs,” Clark said. "That’s why we’ve fought overregulation in the courts and will continue to work with the administration—as we did in President Trump’s first term—on this shared priority.”
She also made clear that allowing the tax reforms enacted in 2017 to expire, as scheduled, at the end of 2025 would have a massive negative effect on businesses and communities alike, resulting in higher taxes and lost jobs.
“Higher taxes decrease spending power, depress wages, discourage investment in job-creating projects, and drive companies to relocate to more competitive markets overseas…taking jobs and economic activity out of the U.S.,” Clark said. “Over the past year, we have been educating new members of Congress on the high stakes…It’s critical they understand what these policies will mean for the people they represent.”
Clark said that to boost economic growth, America must participate in the global economy, which already supports 40 million U.S. jobs and makes the goods and services we all need more affordable. She cautioned against the broad use of tariffs.
“Tariffs can be a tool—for instance, to counter unfairly traded goods—those subsidized or dumped in our market,” Clark said. “However, blanket tariffs would worsen the cost-of-living crisis, forcing Americans to pay even more for daily essentials like groceries, gas, furniture, appliances, and clothing…The bottom line is this: tariffs are a tax paid by Americans and their broad and indiscriminate use would stifle growth at the worst possible time.”
In closing, Clark urged listeners to come together as Americans to promote growth and prosperity for all.
“Today, we told the North Texas story of growth and opportunity—but make no mistake, this is an American story made possible by the free enterprise system that has enabled our country to build the most innovative, dynamic, and resilient economy in the world,” Clark said. “We want every place—urban, suburban, or rural—coastal or middle America. Sunbelt or Northern Plains, Red or Blue—to achieve its unique potential for growth…It’s what Americans everywhere deserve. And it’s what our future demands. Let’s make 2025 the year we get growing.”
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About the authors
Thaddeus Swanek
Thaddeus is a senior writer and editor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's strategic communications team.
