The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 23 E conomic statecraft and economic diplo- macy involve using diplomatic skills with economic tools to advance a country’s economic, political and strategic goals. The overarching economic statecraft and the day-to-day economic diplomacy are enormously important parts of the United States’ international policy. Get- ting this right can provide a huge boost, just as getting it wrong can be very costly. Economic statecraft and diplomacy are much broader than support for sales from U.S. farms and businesses overseas or support for the investments Americans make in other coun- tries, as important as that work is for America’s prosperity. They include the use of economic sanctions to punish or deter bad actors in the world, ranging from terrorist financiers and drug smugglers to corrupt officials. They involve mobilizing inter- national assistance and financing for partner countries emerg- ing from conflicts or natural disasters. They involve building support to set and enforce international rules and norms so that corruption and bribery are less acceptable, for example, or to make trade in “conflict diamonds” and other smuggled minerals more difficult, or to facilitate international air transportation or telecommunications (think internet and cell phone) connectiv- ity. Economic statecraft forges policies to decide which countries merit U.S. financial and development assistance, howmuch and under what conditions. Then U.S. economic diplomacy negotiates What IsEconomic DiplomacyandHow Does ItWork? Earl Anthony “Tony” Wayne retired from the Foreign Service as a Career Ambassador in 2015. He served as ambassador to Mexico and Argentina, deputy am- bassador in Afghanistan, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and assistant secretary of State for economic and business affairs, among other positions. He is a member of the 2017-2019 AFSA Governing Board and serves as the association ’ s treasurer. The U.S. Foreign Service is at the forefront of crafting policy and carrying out economic diplomacy to advance the strategic and security interests of the United States. BY TONY WAYNE ECONOMIC DIPLOMACYWORKS FOCUS