The Foreign Service Journal, April 2005

C O V E R S T O R Y 20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 5 T oday’s U.S. Commercial Service was foreshadowed in 1897 when the Department of State created the Bureau of Foreign Commerce and approved for the first time public distribution of diplomatic, consular and commercial reports. Also in 1897, U.S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge sounded a theme for the next century: “American factories are making more than the American people can use … fate has written our policy for us — the trade of the world must and shall be ours.” Although many today may reject this jingoistic rhetoric and espouse instead the mutual benefits of trade, the central role of trade in our politics and in our economic prosperity seems beyond question. This timeline reflects on the role played by the 1,800 men and women of the U. S. Commercial Service in carrying out their mission to promote U.S. goods and services and to protect U.S. business interests around the world. 1897 The U.S. Department of State establishes the Bureau of Foreign Commerce and orders distribution to the public of diplomatic, consular and other commercial reports. 1903 The U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor is established, subsuming the State Department’s Bureau of Foreign Commerce and the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Statistics. 1912 The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the predecessor of the International Trade Administration, is creat- ed in the Department of Commerce and Labor. 1913 The Departments of Commerce and Labor become separate departments. 1927 The Foreign Commercial Service is established “for promotion of foreign and domestic commerce.” 1928 Ms. Addie Viola Smith is appointed Trade Commis- sioner of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, assigned to Shanghai. Smith was the first female Trade Commissioner in the bureau, was paid comparably to her male peers, and received constant commendations on her work and diplomacy. Despite all this, she was still regarded as handi- capped because of her gender. 1939 President Roosevelt abolishes the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and all other non-State Department foreign services. The commercial officers are reabsorbed into State. 1979 In June, President Carter signs the “Trade Agreements Act of 1979,” which transfers overseas commercial programs from the Department of State to Commerce. 1980 The Foreign Commercial Service is established under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The name is changed to the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service in 1981 in order to empha- size the linkage of domestic and overseas operations under a single organizational purpose. 1983 As international trade fairs are privatized, the Commercial Service begins the Certified Trade Fair Program to provide trade fair participants with a support network, a set of standards and official U.S. endorsement. 1985 The Matchmaker, one of the most popular Com- mercial Service programs, is launched. The program brings small- and medium-sized U.S. exporters into direct contact with foreign importers, resulting in hundreds of sales and contracts. 1990 The Gold Key Service, conceived in the late 1980s by the Commercial Service in Paris, becomes widely available to U.S. exporters in 1990. The GKS offers U.S. exporters custom- tailored overseas services. Today, the Gold Key Service is avail- able in 104 countries and averages over 1,000 meetings per year. 1992 Funding from the 1992 Freedom Support Act and USAID helps create American Business Centers. The ABCs are designed to operate in the developing markets of Russia and the Newly Independent States to stimulate economic growth and create jobs in the U.S. 1993 The U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership is formed. Working with USAID, the Commercial Service launches the USAEP program to focus U.S. government resources on the quickly growing environmental products and services sector, in which U.S. companies excel. 1994 Four pilot U.S Export Assistance Centers open in Baltimore, Chicago, Long Beach and Miami. Today there are 106 USEACs throughout the nation that offer export counseling, market research, trade events and international finance solu- tions to U.S. exporters. 1994 The first Commercial Centers open in Sao Paulo in July, and Jakarta in November. Later, more centers open in Shanghai and Johannesburg. These facilities offer U.S. firms a place to take advantage of all Commercial Service programs and services, as well as rental office space, computers, fax and phone, and display space. 1995 The new Commercial Service’s official logo is un- veiled. The logo is suggestive of the flag of the United States in motion. Three oversized stars represent the major components of the Commercial Service: the Office of International Operations; the Office of Domestic Operations; and Global Trade Programs. 1995 Commercial Service Teams are created to better lever- age internal resources. Today, there are 17 teams, each with three main focus areas: Industry, Geographic, and Outreach. Teams network within the Commercial Service to integrate domestic, international and global trade programs to best serve clients. 1995 A Department of Commerce grant issued to the state of Georgia helps develop Commercial Service videoconferenc- The U.S. Commercial Service: A Quick History