U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service

A proposal before Congress would abolish the Commerce Department's United States & Foreign Commercial Service and return primary responsibility for overseas commercial work to the State Department. Although GAO has not assessed the cost-effectiveness of the Service or the cost savings that might result from a transfer of commercial work, State faces fundamental barriers to performing this type of work. These impediments led to the transfer of responsibility for commercial work from the State Department to the Commerce Department and the creation of the Service. If promoting export and monitoring foreign government compliance with trade agreements are to remain a priority, evaluation of the merits of transferring these functions should consider the State Department's ability to carry them out.