The Foreign Service Journal, January 2013

18 JANUARY 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FCS and State economic officers have, for the most part, learned to contain the inevitable frictions that stem from overlapping functions. ably resilient. With good leadership and adequate resources, this organization could come surging back. Second, the Commercial Service retains the mandate of Congress to promote exports and protect American business interests overseas. Congress will, in due course, wonder why the State Department now duplicates many of the functions it gave to FCS in the 72 coun- tries where FCS operates. The National Export Initiative encourages agencies to enhance job creation through innova- tion, not wasteful duplication. Third, Commercial Service officers would bring strong managerial and cul- tural diversity to enrich the Foreign Ser- vice talent pool at State. Equally, the new generation of State officers could benefit from rotational tours doing hands-on commercial work. Finally, and most importantly for creating jobs, the Commercial Service has spent more than three decades developing core competencies and recruiting people with the skills and personalities to provide outstanding ser- vice to American companies. Over these 30-plus years, Foreign Commercial Ser- vice officers and Locally Employed Staff have proudly claimed a distinct identity, rooted in an entrepreneurial culture and intense client focus. Our culture is so interwoven with our mission to serve the business community that the two can hardly be separated. State, by contrast, has a policy-centric culture, focused on serving internal (U.S. government) clients. While State can imitate Foreign Commercial Service pro- grams to a degree, its risk-averse culture will not easily replicate the core compe- tencies and business-focused culture of FCS. But what about our stakeholders in the business community? An inte- grated system under which businesses can find trade promotion, trade policy, advocacy and inbound investment sup- port under one roof should be easier to use and more cost-effective for the taxpayer. Duplication of efforts, and split geographic coverage, by contrast, confuse American companies and waste resources. That said, big organizations have a history of acquiring nimble, smaller firms for their expertise, then crushing them under the load of big company bureaucracy. State’s 1999 takeover of the U.S. Information Agency serves as a cautionary tale. In principle, State control provides greater efficiency in messag- ing, but opportunities at posts are often passed over in the rush to keep Washing- ton happy. In other words, any merger with State must protect the entrepreneur- ial culture that truly serves the business