WASHINGTON — In a recent conversation with Ed Royce, Co-Chair of the Consensus for Development Reform and former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ambassador Dan Negrea, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, shared insights on the State Department’s Trade Over Aid initiative and its potential to reshape the U.S. approach to global development.

Read the full interview below: 

Royce: Well, Ambassador, it’s a pleasure to get a chance to ask you these questions. The State Department’s Trade Over Aid initiative reflects an effort to rethink how the United States approaches international development. What is the central idea behind the initiative, and what prompted the administration to make it a priority?

Negrea: First of all, it’s an immense honor for me to talk to you, Mr. Chairman. I’ve read about you and I followed your exceptional and distinguished service in Congress. Thank you for your service.

The Trade Over Aid initiative is the Trump Administration’s revolutionary, transformative approach to looking anew at how we are engaging with developing countries. The old model simply didn’t work. So President Trump is putting American interests first. We want to engage with other countries by creating opportunities for American businesses to promote their services overseas and to do business with the private sector in those countries. And when this happens, it’s beneficial to both parties, both American businesses and the countries in which they do business.

Royce: When Ambassador Mike Waltz and you launched Trade Over Aid at the New York Stock Exchange, the initiative signaled a greater role for trade and investment in development partnerships. You now have 46 countries that have signed on. What progress have you seen so far, and what comes next?

Negrea: So Ambassador Waltz and I started with 35 countries. There were 46 countries in July. There are 50 countries now. We need to increase this number significantly. I think countries understand that it is much better to step up the relationship from being recipients of charity from the United States to becoming the business partner of the United States. This creates better opportunities for their country and for American companies.

Royce: Trade and investment can create jobs, as you pointed out, and certainly create markets. They support long-term economic growth, while traditional development assistance can address urgent needs and help build the foundations for that growth. How can the United States bring these approaches together to help partner countries become more self-reliant?

Negrea: This is an excellent question. The ultimate objective is self-reliance. Permanent aid doesn’t work for America and doesn’t work for the recipient countries. And Trade Over Aid does not mean trade and no aid, and it doesn’t mean trade instead of aid. America continues to provide humanitarian aid. And even in the area of supporting economic growth in other countries, the United States is making strategic investments in very large and very impressive numbers. For example, to promote peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the United States invested hundreds of millions of dollars to show these two countries how they can work together toward more prosperity for both countries, and for peace in an area where it’s in the interest of the United States to have peace.

Royce: American businesses have expertise, technology, and capital that can contribute to economic growth around the world. What opportunities does Trade Over Aid create for U.S. companies, and how can the State Department help connect American businesses with markets where their participation can advance both commercial and development goals?

Negrea: We at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, led by Ambassador Waltz, are great believers in the old adage that it is the job of every ambassador to also be a commercial officer. So, we are promoting American business. One of the practical ways I’ve done this is that we created a capacity-building library in which American companies show the products they are offering to developing countries. Some of them are, say, training programs, which are free, but others are at cost, and the cost may be financed or subsidized by a charitable organization. But it’s American companies that can promote their goods on the platform we created.

Royce: Development finance, export assistance, and other tools can help make investment in emerging markets more viable. Which tools do you see as most promising for encouraging private-sector investment, and how can the U.S. government help reduce the barriers that often keep businesses from entering these markets?

Negrea: Well, we are going to be successful if we work together with the interagency, if we get all the economic statecraft tools to work together toward our goal. The Development Finance Corporation has great responsibilities for financing opportunities in other countries. The Export-Import Bank is financing exports. The U.S. Department of Commerce has programs to support American exports and increase business. But many agencies also have assistance programs. For example, the Department of the Treasury helps other countries manage their balance sheets. All these agencies, in the end, work for the American taxpayer and for American companies, to help them do business overseas and increase prosperity in America.

Royce: Congress has a significant role in shaping U.S. foreign assistance, trade policy, and development finance. What should members of Congress and their staff be watching for as Trade Over Aid moves forward, and where could bipartisan cooperation make the greatest difference, in your opinion?

Negrea: Well, Congress represents the American people. We need to convince Congress that we are doing a good job. Congress has passed bills with bipartisan support encouraging this administration, and any administration, to support exports. So initiatives of that sort, and appropriations for programs supporting exports, have been and will continue to be very important.

Royce: Ultimately, what would success look like for Trade Over Aid five years from now? What outcomes should policymakers, businesses, and partner countries look for to determine whether the initiative is delivering on its promise?

Negrea: With this initiative we are promoting a vision for international economic growth. And this is a vision that is profoundly American. It is based on free markets in which free people do business with reasonable regulation. And this is a vision that is different from those promoted by other countries and our adversaries. Success will be measured by whether more countries sign up to our declaration of principles, which is a manifesto for free enterprise, and whether over time we see concrete business transactions that result from people becoming aware of the Trade Over Aid initiative.

Royce: Thank you, Ambassador.

Negrea: Thank you, sir. It’s a great honor.

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