ALPHABET SOUP
WHO DAT?
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
WE ARE THE WORLD
THE BASICS
100

This Commerce Department bureau promotes U.S. exports, attracts foreign investment, and helps American companies compete in global markets.

What is the International Trade Administration (ITA)?

100

If an American company needs help from a U.S. embassy identifying distributors and potential customers in a foreign market, this Commerce organization would be a logical first stop.

What is the U.S. Commercial Service?

100

A government places an additional tax on imported steel in order to make the imported product more expensive.

What is a tariff?

100

Headquartered in Washington, this multilateral development institution finances projects and programs intended to promote development and reduce poverty.

What is the World Bank?

100

The deliberate use of economic relationships, resources, institutions, and instruments to subvert foreign-policy or national-security objectives.

What is economic coercion?

200

This independent U.S. government agency provides financing to support exports of American goods and services when private financing may be unavailable or insufficient.

What is the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)?

200

This Cabinet department contains OFAC and plays a central role in financial sanctions and U.S. relationships with the IMF and World Bank.

What is the Department of the Treasury?

200

The United States freezes the U.S.-based assets of designated individuals and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting transactions with them.

What are sanctions?

200

This Geneva-based organization administers the international rules-based trading system and provides a forum for negotiating and resolving trade disputes.

What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

200

In economic statecraft, possessing something another actor needs—and having the ability to affect that actor's access to it—creates this.

What is leverage?

300

This U.S. government agency funds feasibility studies, technical assistance, and pilot projects that can help overseas infrastructure projects become commercially viable while creating opportunities for U.S. companies.

What is the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)?

300

This office in the Executive Office of the President leads the development and coordination of U.S. trade policy and conducts trade negotiations.

What is the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)?

300

The United States restricts the transfer of certain advanced semiconductor technology to a foreign country because of national-security concerns.

What are export controls?

300

A country facing a severe balance-of-payments and foreign-exchange crisis would be more likely to seek stabilization assistance from this institution than financing for a new highway.

What is the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

300

Oil, technology, capital, markets, shipping, critical minerals, and financial networks can all create this condition when one actor relies upon another.

What is economic dependency or interdependence?

400

This U.S. government institution uses tools including loans, equity investments, political-risk insurance, and technical assistance to mobilize private investment in developing and emerging markets.

What is the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)?

400

Despite the similar acronym, this independent, quasi-judicial federal agency investigates matters involving tariffs, imports, trade remedies, and injury to U.S. industries; it does not promote American exports.

What is the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC or ITC)?

400

Two countries negotiate reciprocal rules governing tariffs, market access, and other conditions affecting commerce between them.

What is a trade agreement?

400

The World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank all belong to this general category of institution.

What are multilateral development banks (MDBs)?

400

Sanctions are unlikely to change behavior merely because they impose this; policymakers must connect the economic effect to a political objective.

What is economic cost or pain?

500

Located within the Commerce Department, this bureau administers U.S. export controls on dual-use and certain advanced technologies.

What is the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)?

500

A U.S. company bidding on a major foreign government contract wants high-level U.S. government advocacy because it is competing against a foreign state-backed company. This Commerce office coordinates that advocacy.

What is the Advocacy Center?

500

Rather than punish another country, the United States offers financing, market access, assistance, or another economic benefit in exchange for desired behavior.


What is positive economic statecraft / an economic incentive?

500

This form of multilateral financing generally allows least developed borrowing governments to access funds for projects at low interest rates and may even include grants.

What is concessional financing?

500

Before asking “Which tool should we use?”, the analytical framework developed in this course says policymakers must answer this question first.


What do we want? / What is our objective?

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