Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Lawler Delivers Opening Remarks at Hearing on Strengthening U.S. Commercial Diplomacy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Mike Lawler delivered opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing titled "Helping American Businesses Win Abroad: Strengthening U.S. Commercial Diplomacy."
-Remarks-
Today, we examine the Department of Commerce's foreign commercial service. We will learn how the service currently functions from a workforce and management perspective, and contemplate potential structural reforms to improve the current systems. Commercial diplomacy is a valuable diplomatic tool to both advance U.S. business interests overseas and strengthen our economic security.
Foreign Service Officers employed by Commerce work to help advance these diplomatic pillars, specifically helping U.S. industry compete in markets abroad and developing the relationships to attract more investment into the US. The foreign commercial service is an essential aspect of U.S. diplomacy, and it's Congress' job to ensure the service itself is structured to deliver results. We should be asking whether the current system, particularly within the economic cone, is producing the level of expertise needed to support U.S. businesses abroad, and whether officers are being incentivized to prioritize this work.
As Congress considers broader reforms to the Foreign Service, commercial diplomacy needs to be part of that conversation. Whether that means strengthening the existing structure or building new capacity, the workforce cannot be overlooked. This also matters for how we compete globally, including whether countries that take a far more integrated approach to economic statecraft. Our effectiveness will depend on whether we are fully leveraging the people we have in the field.
I'm interested in hearing from our witnesses about how these dynamics play out in practice. Where are the gaps in training, incentives, and staffing? And what changes would have the greatest impact? At the end of the day, if we are serious about strengthening commercial diplomacy, we need to ensure the State Department is rightly prioritizing this mission. I thank you and look forward to hearing from our witnesses.
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