Rep. Young Kim on Reforming Economic Statecraft for National Security

The Evolution of Economic Statecraft

• 📜 For over 170 years, the Department of State historically led economic statecraft.
• 🏛️ In 1961, President Kennedy shifted functions to create new agencies, like the United States Trade Representative, to better support US businesses and ensure fair trade.
• ⚠️ This separation has led to challenges, effectively splitting economic interests from diplomatic priorities.

Challenges in Market Access and Competition

• 📉 The Foreign Commercial Service and Foreign Agricultural Service have limited personnel and are often not aligned with foreign policy priorities.
• ✈️ Officers frequently spend time on trade shows and events rather than directly securing market access for American businesses.
• 🔗 Being siloed from diplomatic efforts restricts the use of broader diplomatic tools to assist US companies.
• 🛡️ The American market is left vulnerable to predatory foreign competition, hindering the protection of domestic businesses and workers.

Need for Structural Reform

• 🗣️ Both President Trump and President Obama recognized that economic policy is foreign policy and called for structural reforms.
• 🤝 Bipartisan administrations have independently concluded that the current structure for economic statecraft needs reform.
• 🔑 The key question is identifying the necessary structural reforms to reflect the prioritization of economic security as national security.
• 📝 The committee plans to address these reforms in their first comprehensive state authorization legislation in over 20 years.