State of American Business 2025: All business is local

In this year’s State of American Business keynote, US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said the foundation of America’s enviable economic growth is thriving businesses in your 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, it makes all business local,” Clark said. “This is true, of course, for the small businesses that line Main Street and the locally based businesses that employ hundreds, if not 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 technology company that makes the devices and Internet service provider that together enable you to work from your kitchen table or home office, and the manufacturers of energy that power vehicles so you can drive around town.”

Clark delivered her speech from Dallas, Texas, a region that has a booming economy with high growth, low unemployment and some of the world’s most innovative companies.

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“The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex — and similar vibrant regions across the country — have several things in common. A diverse industrial base, low unemployment and a deep talent pool, a healthy mix of small businesses and large, robust infrastructure and access to global markets and a thriving innovation ecosystem,” Clark said. “All of this fuels a growing economy, powered by businesses of all sizes – and, in turn, attracts more people as they seek opportunity and progress in their lives.”

However, other communities are missing out on the same opportunities, Clark said.

“We all know there are a lot of places, a lot of communities, that don’t feel the energy, that don’t see the growth,” Clark said. “We must be a nation where local communities are not left behind. Where there are no food deserts, where crime does not preclude 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 increase 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 our problems, but we can’t solve any of them without it. So we need more growth and fast,” Clark said.

Clark noted that in an era of slowing economic growth globally—America is bucking the trend—but it could do better. For example, the US economy grew by close to 3% in 2024. The outlook for 2025 is increasingly positive, but in the long term there are significant economic headwinds, with most major economists expecting this growth to fall below 2% this decade.

Clark said that when the US economy grows by 3%, someone born today will see their standard of living double by their early 20s. But with only 2% growth, the standard of living would not double until one is in one’s mid-30s.

“One additional point of growth accelerates economic progress in people’s lives by more than a decade,” Clark said. “And that’s the message Americans sent in November — no matter who they voted for, people signaled to Washington that they want more growth and opportunity for themselves and their families.”

All politics is local

To help local communities thrive, Clark said 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:

• Reversal of over-regulation.

• Preservation of the 2017 competitive tax provisions.

• Participation in the global economy.

Clark said it is 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 flow into the lives and pockets of Americans through higher prices, lower wages and fewer jobs,” Clark said. “That’s why we’ve fought over regulation 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 passed in 2017 to expire, as planned, at the end of 2025 would have a massive negative effect on both businesses and communities, resulting in higher taxes and losses work.

“Higher taxes reduce spending power, lower 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’ve been educating new members of Congress on the high stakes… It’s critical that they understand what these policies will mean for the people they represent.”

Clark said that to spur economic growth, America must participate in the global economy, which already supports 40 million US jobs and makes the goods and services we all need more affordable. She warned against the widespread use of tariffs.

“Tariffs can be a tool — for example, to counter unfairly traded goods — those subsidized or dumped on our market,” Clark said. “However, blanket tariffs would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis, forcing Americans to pay even more for everyday essentials like groceries, gas, furniture, appliances and clothing… The bottom line is this: tariffs are a tax on paid for by Americans, and their widespread 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 story of North Texas growth and opportunity — but make no mistake, this is an AmericanHistoRypowered by the system of free enterprise that has enabled our country to build the most innovative, dynamic and resilient economy in the world,” said Clark. “We love every place – urban, suburban or rural – coastal or middle America. Sun Belt or Northern Plains, red or blue—to reach its unique potential for growth… It’s what Americans everywhere deserve. And this is what our future requires. Let’s make 2025 the year we grow.”