30 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Advancing U.S. Economic Interests Overseas in an ERA OF RISING TARIFFS When tariff policy is a primary tool of economic statecraft, U.S. diplomats have a unique role to play. BY DANIEL CROCKER Daniel Crocker is a former Senior Foreign Commercial Service officer who served as deputy assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasia and as executive director for Western Hemisphere at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In a more than 20-year diplomatic career, he served in Europe and Latin America, as well as in Washington, D.C. He now works as a senior counselor for Veracity Worldwide. Economists and other experts are writing extensively on the advisability of the current administration’s use of tariff policy as a primary tool of economic statecraft. Some have spelled out the history of America’s use of tariffs, while others debate the feasibility of the new tariffs. Far fewer deal with how career U.S. diplomats can successfully advance U.S. national interests abroad at a time when the administration is seeking to use tariff policy aggressively. For career diplomats, gathering information and reporting to Washington, D.C., on developments and trends in the host country, including responses to U.S. policy, is a basic responsibility. Under the circumstances, this field reporting role will become proportionately more important, particularly because implementation of tariffs can often cause disproportionate changes, especially in the developing world, where economic and political stability are significantly more fragile. Historically, economic statecraft has been an important instrument of warfare, so it is essential for U.S. diplomats to dig deep to understand and share what is happening on the ground, the impacts, and the secondary consequences of changes in tariffs. To do so effectively, however, two important shortcomings need to be addressed: First, U.S. diplomats need to improve the competence and quality of their intelligence gathering; and secFOCUS ON ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY ART–ISTOCKPHOTO/HANSCHE
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=