The Foreign Service Journal, May 2009

M A Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 dad before the surge says it was “a different ball game” than what he’d done previously. It wasn’t easy to promote U.S. products in a war zone. He believes that from a de- velopment perspective, the work was vital to U.S. interests: “We were not just talking about helping U.S. exporters but also trying to gener- ate commerce, period. We were helping Iraqis go to trade shows. We were helping them to export.” Hale says that, increasingly, the FAS aims to help build trade capacity in countries not yet ready to be major U.S. trading partners. It’s an investment in future economic growth, she says, as well as a means of improving Amer- ican foreign relations. “Trade relations help build good political relations,” she says. FAS is also spending more time studying food security, Hale says. The importance of this issue — the availabil- ity of, and access to, adequate food supplies worldwide — was on display last year when com- modity prices spiked, prompting riots in various foreign countries. “It’s better for U.S. national se- curity to have stability,” she says, noting that the Foreign Agricul- tural Service can play a key role in forecasting future strife. Building Future Economic Growth Trade also can help the United States develop the ex- port industries of the future. Curtis, for example, has led a Commercial Service initiative to promote the sale of new green energy products overseas. He quotes Energy Department estimates that exports in the sector could in- crease by $40 billion, generating 750,000 new jobs at U.S. companies, not to mention the benefits for the environ- ment. With increased exports, green technologies will, assuredly, become less expensive to produce, accelerating their adoption. “It’s a strategic priority of the United F O C U S Commercial and agricultural trade between countries is one of the most effective forms of diplomacy.