Treasury goal: competiveness, job creation, promoting international financial stability and balanced global growth
The complete language of the goal is: Enhance United States competitiveness and job creation along with promoting international financial stability and more balanced global growth. This goal of the Treasury Department is appropriate given the financial aspects of the objective. Our country needs to become more competitive than it presently is but the right methods need to be developed and used. If established methods are not working new ones need to be implemented. The key to achieving any objective is implementing a strategic plan along with the methods to achieve it. While the words of this goal are admirable how this objective is accomplished involve four sub elements. The first is promoting free trade, open markets and foreign investment opportunities. In this aspect the state department is the focal point to a large extent of this kind of activity but the treasury may have some involvement.
Contributing treasury programs include international affairs, tax policy and economic policy. The program mentioned associated with economic policy plays a large part not only in what objectives are created but the methods used to achieve the. The strategies associated with this sub element involve supporting negotiations for free trade agreements in an effort to level the playing field for United States businesses. Any trade agreement must or should be a win win situation for all the parties involved.
Additionally reducing or eliminating barriers to market access for products and services produced through securing commitments through bilateral engagements is also part of this sub element. Examples include such commitments as the United States and India Economic and Financial Partnership and the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue. Negotiating tax treaties which could involve agreements associated with taxing imports from one country to another. Recently we have also seen in the news about foreign countries or businesses making investments in our country by purchasing companies. While this is good in the sense that it sometimes increase job potential but it can have an impact on the prices of products. This is especially true if it involves creating an outlet to manufacture products which are now imported, prices could fall. This type of investment involves evaluating national security risks through this department.
Protecting global economic and financial stability along with pressing for market-determined foreign exchange rates is part of a second sub element. In accomplishing this aspect the contributing program involved is the International Affairs organization. Strategies involved in this endeavor include such things as monitoring and reporting on the international economic and exchange rate policies of major trade partners with the United States. Another aspect involves leveraging the United States leadership position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an attempt to securing international financial stability along with global monetary cooperation. The one problem with the leadership aspect is that it appears our leverage as a country is less than it once was in years past. Other activity is involved along with the strategies identified above. Evaluating this aspect under this goal involves completing reviews of IMF country programs quality and effectiveness. The information from this activity is reported to Congress in semi-annual reports on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies after analysis of the information are completed.
A third sub element of the overall goal includes the need to advance U.S. economic, financial and national security goals by leveraging multilateral mechanism. The strategies to accomplish this aspect are supported by programs associated with International Affairs and Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Part of the strategies which must be evaluated include promoting private sector development solutions like public-private partnerships along with advocating innovative financial approaches to promoting political stability and economic growth. The focus is on strategic regions and includes loan guarantees and debt forgiveness.
Evaluating progress of this sub element involves grant and loan project proposals containing satisfactory framework for measuring project results per a treasury review. Any time funds are disbursed from a government entity they need to be evaluated. This includes and operations and policies associated with lending levels in the poorest nations. This occurs through the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies Annual Report.
The last sub element of this goal involves providing technical assistance to developing countries working to improve public financial management and strengthen their financial systems. This element raises some questions as to how our country can give assistance when our deficit keeps growing with at this point no end in sight. The contributing treasury program to assist in this activity is the International Affairs. There are two basic strategies involve with this element. The first involves focusing on core technical assistance areas such as revenue policy and administration, budget and financial accountability, government debt issuance and management along with banking and financial services including economic crimes. The evaluation aspect centers on how well the assistance projects achieve the goal (s) and how well the extent assistance brings about changes in behavior among project counterparts and other country participants.
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