U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) on May 29 sponsored legislation that would establish a new specialized team with private-sector, financial, and business expertise to support American companies in overseas markets and advance U.S. economic interests.
“U.S. businesses are competing for America on the world stage. They deserve a team that goes to bat for them,” Rep. Kim said. “As chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, I have seen firsthand that economic security is national security. This bill helps ensure America leads the global economy.”
The congresswoman introduced the Building Overseas Opportunities & Strategic Trade (BOOST) for American Business Act, H.R. 9062, to also protect critical American industries from foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party.
“The BOOST for American Business Act empowers our embassies to strategically advocate for American companies, open doors in foreign markets, and defend U.S. economic interests abroad,” said Rep. Kim.
If enacted, H.R. 9062 would create a cadre of specialists within the Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department dedicated to commercial diplomacy and distinct from other career paths of the Foreign Service. The professional commercial diplomacy workforce would be trained in commercial advocacy, market access, trade barriers, and business intelligence, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Kim’s staff.
Additionally, the measure would expand hiring authorities to recruit trade and economic experts and grow the commercial diplomacy workforce to 500 officers by 2028, while strengthening coordination between the State Department and the U.S. Department of Commerce to reduce duplication and better align America’s commercial diplomacy efforts abroad.
H.R. 9062 also would elevate economic diplomacy as a national security priority and position the State Department to more aggressively advance U.S. economic interests overseas, the summary says.
The bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.