The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) is excited to launch a new Global Economic Hub to deepen the understanding and connection that economic security is national security.
- Guided by an Economic Fellow, the USGLC will work across the organization with coalition stakeholders nationwide, engage policymakers and opinion leaders, and conduct fresh research on the risks to our national security if America does not show up in the world and deploy our full economic toolkit.
- We will seek to better understand the links between America’s national security and our nation’s engagement in economic statecraft, trade and international economic forums, investments in diplomacy and development, and other economic tools.
- Activities of the Global Economic Hub will include synthesizing learnings from the USGLC’s unique broad-based coalition, as well as research, policy engagement and storytelling, and convenings to demonstrate the impact between America’s global leadership and our economic and security interests here at home.
WHY NOW
The global threats to U.S. national security grow by the day with our adversaries and competitors working together to sow chaos and disruption, not just on the military front, but more and more economically – and they are playing to win. Yet, too often, security and economic threats are addressed on separate tracks, not recognizing the connection between our economic security and national security, and how these threats impact the interests of American families in our increasingly interconnected world.
Over the past several years, we have seen this linkage repeatedly. Most recently, when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, U.S. gas prices and grocery prices spiked here at home. During the global pandemic, supply chain disruptions posed economic and security threats. Over the past decade, China alone has increased its development investments in the developing world by 525% and yet we forego trade expansion opportunities too easily or cut our investments in economic tools, leaving America, at times, without a seat at the table – literally and figuratively.
While Americans don’t want to be the policeman of the world, we do want to protect our interests – and we need to understand how using our full diplomatic, economic, and development toolkit – alongside our allies – is essential for preventing bad actors from filling the void and to stopping threats from reaching our shores.
ECONOMIC SECURITY IS NATIONAL SECURITY
Now is the time to understand the link between U.S. national security and what’s at stake for our economic security. This includes how we engage in economic statecraft to create American jobs, strengthen supply chains, bolster infrastructure in emerging economies, leverage technology and diplomacy, and ensure the U.S. is setting the rules of the road on everything from trade to energy to artificial intelligence. These are just some of the questions we can explore:
- The risks are growing with increased competition among our adversaries, who are playing to win, too often creating growing transnational threats. How can U.S. economic tools – from economic statecraft to engagement on trade to foreign assistance and development partnerships – contribute to supporting U.S. foreign policy and strengthening America’s national security?
- The stakes for America’s geostrategic interests are increasingly tied to how the U.S. leverages our economic and commercial tools – and depends on whether America has a seat at the table. Does it matter if America participates or not in a trade agreement or an economic forum, and what happens geopolitically if we give up a “seat”?
- America has a range of ways it can “show-up” in the world economically that can enhance our security – from engaging our alliances to prioritizing economic growth in our diplomatic strategy to utilizing the range of economic statecraft tools. What role do these engagements – including those with U.S. businesses – have for creating opportunities to foster partnerships, create favorable market conditions for U.S. goods and services, and ultimately impact America’s national security? What priority should expanding U.S. economic opportunities abroad be at the State Department and in our embassies and missions?
ELEVATING THE ISSUE WITH KEY AUDIENCES
The USGLC’s Global Economic Hub is a focused effort that will engage current and future policymakers in the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill along with private sector and NGO leaders around the country. This new effort will aim to build upon the USGLC’s broad coalition in Washington and beyond, prioritizing the following strategies:
- Research and Marquee Report: Building the understanding of why strong international economic engagement matters to our national security and domestic economic interests through a combination of fresh or underappreciated research, data collection and synthesis, culminating in a marquee report to be distributed to Congress, current and likely future Administration officials, and beyond.
- Policy Engagement and Storytelling: Strengthening support of U.S. economic statecraft and security by conveying and amplifying compelling policy and storytelling by leveraging the strong and impactful USGLC communications toolkit.
- Convenings: Connecting the dots of how global economic engagement matters to U.S. local kitchen table issues and leveraging the USGLC’s unique and extensive platforms and networks to reach key audiences and expand the coalition and conversation across the country.
The USGLC is grateful to Amazon for their generous support and expertise to help drive this project.
