The Foreign Service Journal, April 2005

role was the failure of the 1979-1980 organizational reforms to create strategic executive branch leadership in this area. In fact, those reforms actually created a dynam- ic that produced an increasingly balkanized program mix spread out among the 19 federal agencies charged with trade promotion activities. Thus, despite the establish- ment of an interagency mechanism, the Secretary of Commerce’s Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, to coordinate their activities, there is no strategic vision or overarching oversight. Also important to note is that by the late 1990s public and congressional support for trade liberalization had eroded to a very considerable extent, so that calls for action from Congress were more to ensure that other countries comply with existing trade agree- ments than to set up more trade promotion programs. The premier government program to promote U.S. commercial interests overseas remains the Foreign Commercial Service, of course. USFCS has been given three statutory missions: to increase exports, to increase the number of exporters and to defend U.S. commercial interests. Yet while its overseas offices remain fully com- mitted to carrying out that comprehensive mission, the organization over the last decade has focused more and more of its energy on the challenge of increasing the number of exporters. This change in direction reflects, among other things, the need to create a sustainable role for its domestic offices. Unfortunately, the best way to achieve this part of the mission is to serve as a public-sector consulting firm. Understandable as the focus on domestic client develop- ment is in terms of a rationale for domestic offices, it is a function with very little connection to the administra- tion’s overall economic and trade liberalization agenda or national security strategy. It also subjects the entire orga- nization to pressure from the Office of Management and Budget, among others, to recover more of its budget from user fees charged to U.S. companies. Despite these developments, FCS programs have remained more or less intact thus far. But without an over- arching vision of their importance to U.S. policy, they are C O V E R S T O R Y A P R I L 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 25 Get Your Finances In Line With SDFCU Online You can depend on State Department Federal Credit Union for the ultimate in security and convenience with SDFCU Online banking. This FREE service allows you to access your Credit Union accounts via the Internet anytime, from anywhere in the world. Just go to www.sdfcu.org and click the SDFCU Online logo. You can conduct the following Credit Union business: Transfer funds between accounts Check current account balances View your account history over the last 15 months View check images View and pay your credit card bill online Pay Bills and much more!* See just how easy SDFCU Online is! Visit us at www.sdfcuonline.org and check out the easy demo! If you’re interested in becoming a member of State Department Federal Credit Union, give our Member Service Center a call at 703- 706-5000 , or outside the D.C. Metro area at 800-296-8882 . You can also email us at sdfcu@sdfcu.org . SDFCU Online puts us at your service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever you need us the most. Sign up today! *The Bill Payer service is available at no charge for Capital Club members. Otherwise, there is a low monthly fee of $3.95 for unlimited transactions.