The Foreign Service Journal, January 2003

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 21 F O C U S O N F C S ’m from the government and I’m here to help.” For most Americans, that’s a one-line joke, designed to provoke a wry smile from people cynical about the role of government in their lives. But for the clients of the U.S. Commercial Service, that line usually rings true. The organization, a part of the Commerce Department and an unusual hybrid of domestic and Foreign Service components, seems to grow more popular every year. Members of Congress frequently request that the Commercial Service open offices in their districts, and ambassadors demand Commercial Service officers. And last year, over 34,000 U.S. businesses met “ I Jeff Moores T HE B USINESS OF A MERICA I S E XPORTS O VERALL , PROSPECTS FOR THE C OMMERCIAL S ERVICE LOOK GOOD . B UT A NUMBER OF SHORT - TERM AND LONG - TERM FACTORS COULD THREATEN THE WORK OF THE AGENCY . B Y B OB G ULDIN