U.S. Commercial Diplomacy

U.S. commercial diplomacy and the agencies that sponsor it are encountering increased opposition. Commentators from both the left and the right label attempts to boost U.S. exports “corporate welfare,” while free-traders deplore government meddling in the market. Yet with countries ranging from France to Japan to Korea vigorously promoting their own exports, can Washington afford to abandon its efforts?The Council on Foreign Relations assembled the Study Group on American Commercial Diplomacy in Asia, chaired by Jeffrey Garten of the Yale School of Management and Robert Zoellick of the Federal National Mortgage Association to assess the future of commercial diplomacy in the United States and abroad.These four background papers examining the history and effectiveness of the U.S. Japanese commercial diplomacy programs, and assess the efforts by U.S agencies involved in commercial diplomacy and U.S. agriculture policy.