The Foreign Service Journal, May 2016

12 MAY 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Commerce Department Dispatches Digital Attachés T he Department of Commerce is piloting a network of “digital attachés” to promote digital market access around the world. Six Foreign Commercial Service officers assigned to ASEAN, Brazil, China, Japan, India and the European Union will be designated as digital trade officers to help U.S. compa- nies increase exports, access the global online marketplace and navigate digital economy challenges. The digital attachés will amplify current FCS work helping American businesses navigate complex foreign regulations and requirements concerning e-commerce and international data trans- fers and tackle digital market barriers. In announcing the program, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said: “These officers will enhance efforts to advance commercial diplomacy, and they will work to ensure that U.S. compa- nies can participate in the global digital economy and reach markets worldwide.” According to the Department of Com- merce, the value of U.S. digital exports in 2014 totaled $400 billion. —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Assistant Global Connect Initiative Aims to Close the Digital Divide O n April 14, World Bank President Jim Kim and Secretary of State John F. Kerry hosted a conference at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., to discuss steps to advance the State Department’s new Global Connect initiative. Launched in September 2015, Global Connect seeks to bring 1.5 billion people around the world online by 2020 and establish the idea that Internet access is critical for economic development. “The Internet is not a luxury, but a necessity,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry told international finance ministers from 27 countries, technology and nongovern- mental organization executives, heads of multilateral development banks and others. “When we talk about infrastructure today, we have to include the Internet, right alongside roads and ports and bridges and dams and airports and the power grid.” Kerry noted that Global Connect is the international equivalent of Franklin Roo- sevelt’s electrification program 80 years ago, when there was “a conscious effort by the government to say we are going to connect Americans to electricity; we are going to change life.” “For every 10-percent increase in Broadband access, a developing coun- try can see up to a 2-percent increase in Gross Domestic Product,” the Secretary stated, citing a the World Bank’s 2016 World Development Report. On launching the new initiative last fall, Under Secretary of State for Eco- nomic Growth, Energy and the Environ- ment Catherine A. Novelli, a former vice president of Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple Computer, stated that U.S. development agencies would prioritize Internet access in their work and partner with other governments as well as private industry to come up with innovative solu- tions and country strategies. Currently, nearly three dozen coun- tries support 65 initiatives that promote connectivity and access to affordable broadband. World Bank President Kim noted in his address that Global Connect will be financed through government loans, public-private partnerships, fair taxa- tion, structural efficiencies and financial incentives in the affected countries. —Ken Fanelli, Publications Specialist Are Embassies Still Relevant? A ccording to the Lowy Institute’s new Global Diplomacy Index (see Site of the Month on p. 16), the world’s 42 most powerful countries have 6,000 TALKING POINTS Secretary of State John F. Kerry speaks on the Global Connect initiative from the World Bank Executive Board Room on April 14. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE