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Misson and Contacts:
Fact Sheet released in May 1999 by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
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Message from Alan P. Larson, Assistant Secretary Welcome to the State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB). EB formulates and carries out U.S. foreign economic policy in cooperation with U.S. companies, other U.S. Government agencies in Washington and with our embassies abroad. Coordinating with the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Export-Import Bank and others, we work to integrate U.S. economic interests with the overall foreign policy goals of the United States. We carry out these policies by lobbying and negotiating agreements with foreign governments bilaterally and by advancing U.S. positions in multilateral venues such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The U.S., as the world's largest exporter, has a strong interest in the economic policies of other nations and the existence of sound multilateral agreements that establish the rules for conducting business and investment worldwide. EB, as part of the U.S. Government's economic team, seeks to create an "architecture" of agreements, laws and regulations for international trade and finance that promotes free markets, is transparent, and allows U.S. firms and investors to compete on an equal basis with local and third country counterparts. Our bureau is divided into five units or deputates: Communications; Energy, Resources and Sanctions; Finance and Investment; Trade; and Transportation (aviation and maritime). The five Deputy Assistant Secretaries who lead these units develop U.S. policy, administer programs, negotiate, and represent the Department before Congress, U.S. business and industry, and international organizations. The 180 Civil and Foreign Service officers and support staff in EB come from all corners of the U.S. and bring a wide variety of educational and private sector backgrounds to the bureau. In our embassies overseas, economic officers lay the groundwork for negotiations, make demarches, report on economic trends and the commercial climate, and maintain constant contact with foreign governments so that U.S. interests are clearly represented and economic policies can be coordinated for maximum benefit. Among our wide range of duties, EB officers lead our government's negotiations on bilateral civil aviation treaties, and are working within the WTO to establish fair rules of trade in service industries such as telecommunications. Our bureau, in partnership with USTR, negotiates bilateral and regional investment treaties. We are also in the forefront of our government's efforts to combat bribery in international commerce, and we coordinate issues related to economic sanctions. If you are looking for information on how the State Department can assist U.S. businesses or for information on how to do business in foreign countries, please see the Business Services section on the State Department's home page. We welcome suggestions on how to improve our web page, but unfortunately we're not able to respond to individual requests for information. Please forward your E-mail comments to the address below. Thanks for visiting us at EB - I hope you find our offerings useful and informative.
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