The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

It’s fair to say that I was shocked by the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election. In fact, confident in a Clinton win, I had turned in my January column ahead of schedule. Throughout 2016, polls and pundits predicted a close-fought race but that, eventually, Hillary Clinton would prevail. But on Nov. 8, America chose a different path and elected Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. What I learned that night is that polls are just that: polls. They are not Results Matter FCS VP VOICE | BY STEVE MORRISON AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FCS VP. Contact: steve.morrison@trade.gov or (202) 482-9088 real—until they are traded for actual votes, something concrete and actionable, as we saw in November. The same goes for trade promotion, right? Until you actually help a company close that sale or secure that contract, you really haven’t accomplished your goal. And that is why, in spite of the unexpected election results and the enormous changes that will come with a new administration, I am encouraged by the idea that our business-centric metrics and value-added counseling will not only help us survive the transition but perhaps even help us prosper. It has been a long time since we’ve seen radical new developments on the trade promotion front. But one of the things I remember most was when Director General Sue Schwab (under her sagacious, forward-looking “Strategic Review” dur- ing the George H.W. Bush administration) introduced export successes (or per- haps they were called export “actions” back then) and value-added counseling. Those two develop- ments—along with the advent of the Gold Key Ser- vice and the end of Export Now, all quantifiable and measurable—put us on the road of differentiation and success that we are now on. So I’ll toss out my insights into what a Hill- ary Clinton administration might have looked like. Our most important job now is to stay focused on getting results for American busi- ness and workers, and to continue to promote foreign direct investment in the United States, and the rest will take care of itself. We have much to be proud of, and our results and business-like metrics will speak for themselves. n 50 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA Dues Change for 2017 AFSA has increased dues for 2017 by 1.5 percent for all individual membership cat- egories. In concrete terms, this amounts to an increase of between 5 and 25 cents per pay period, depending on an individual’s member- ship category. AFSA policy, in accor- dance with Article IV of the AFSA bylaws, is to increase dues by no more than the cumulative increase in the national Consumer Price Index, published by the Department of Labor, since the effective date of the pre- vious dues increase. AFSA last increased its member- ship dues rate in January 2015. This increase will provide the association with a stable and predictable income source, giving AFSA the resources needed to carry out its multifacted mission. Active-duty and retired members paying dues via payroll and annuity deduc- tion will see a small increase in the amount automatically deducted from their pay- checks and annuities. Those paying annually will be billed the new rate on their regularly scheduled renewal date. n