The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

64 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 B OOKS Leveraging the Global Marketplace Commercial Diplomacy and the National Interest Harry W. Kopp, American Academy of Diplomacy/Business Council for International Understanding, 2004, $9.95, paperback, 140 pages. R EVIEWED BY E. A NTHONY W AYNE Both national-interest-divining dip- lomats and profit-seeking business operators will take away important lessons from former FSO Harry Kopp’s new book, Commercial Diplo- macy and the National Interest , which includes a survey of best practices for this important area of American diplomacy. First, he makes a strong case that the U.S. national interest is well served by working to leverage our diplomatic assets to help secure markets for American companies. Second, and equally important, the new release furnishes practitioners with a sensible “how-to manual” for constructive pri- vate-public sector partnering along these lines. The interview-based cases that Kopp presents firmly ground this book in the practical challenges our embassies and companies face in an increasingly interconnected world. This publication is a cooperative endeavor of the Business Council for International Understanding and the American Academy of Diplomacy. In the first chapter, aptly titled “the basics,” Kopp describes growing American reliance on the global econ- omy as a “fact of life,” supporting his argument with both economic data and vivid examples. At the macro level he notes, for example, that U.S. imports and exports of goods and ser- vices and earnings on foreign invest- ment now register around 30 percent of the $11-trillion U.S. economy. In this highly competitive global market- place, Kopp advocates U.S. govern- ment activism overseas on commercial issues as a win-win proposition to help increase U.S. exports, bolster Ameri- ca’s employment base, and to broaden and deepen links between the United States and other countries. The author focuses on identifying successful strategies based on first- hand accounts collected from former ambassadors, experienced diplomatic hands, and savvy business representa- tives. As Kopp puts it, this art of com- mercial diplomacy is “practiced at two levels. One — call it the macro level — involves the negotiation of princi- ples and rules that guide global trade and investment without reference to specific companies, deals or projects. Another — call it the micro or trans- actional level — involves the contest for sales and contracts and for enforce- ment in particular cases of prior agree- ments.” Kopp’s book cogently ad- dresses both levels. In addition to presenting both deal- specific and longer-range market strat- egy case-studies, various chapters review broader market access issues, investment disputes, protection of intellectual property rights and the impact of foreign government corrup- tion. Cases have been selected to highlight successes and challenges. Many are highly topical, such as the discussion of intellectual property dif- ficulties in China or references to Boeing-Airbus competition in third- country markets. What Kopp makes clear is that developing diplomatic strategies to get at and ultimately resolve perennial systemic issues is critical to realizing potential economic benefits — not just for individual U.S. companies, but also for our economy as a whole. The treatment of these systemic business-climate issues serves primarily to underscore their significance and is not intended to be comprehensive. Kopp’s book does not attempt an in- depth presentation of how government is organized to take on the commercial diplomacy task. Instead, he highlights basic reference points such as the Foreign Service Act of 1980, the statu- tory authority for U.S. government export-promotion efforts. The 1980 Act vests the Department of Com- merce as the lead federal trade promo- tion agency, and specifies that “each chief of mission to a foreign country shall have as a principal duty the pro- motion of U.S. goods and services for export.” Because Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service operates princi- pally in large markets, U.S. missions in many less prominent destinations rely on dual- or sometimes multi-hatted State Department “economic-com- mercial” officers to advance commer- cial interests. Now, more than 20 years after the Act’s ratification, Kopp’s book offers ample food for thought for adopting effective techniques and strategies to help us meet this legisla-