International Relations and Trade Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1997-99
(Letter Report, 05/01/97, GAO/IAP-97-6).

GAO presented its International Relations and Trade issue area plan for
fiscal years 1997 through 1999.

GAO plans to focus its work on: (1) foreign affairs structures and
management of functions and resources; (2) U.S. bilateral programs to
assist and influence other countries; (3) U.S. participation in
multilateral institutions; (4) international agreements, arrangements,
and programs to promote U.S. security interests; (5) programs to promote
and finance U.S. overseas business interests; and (6) trade agreements
and efforts to improve U.S. access to foreign markets.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-97-6
     TITLE:  International Relations and Trade Issue Area Plan--Fiscal 
             Years 1997-99
      DATE:  05/01/97
   SUBJECT:  International relations
             Arms control agreements
             International trade
             International organizations
             Federal aid to foreign countries
             Federal agency reorganization
             Globalization

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


National Security and International Affairs Division

June 1997

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND TRADE
ISSUE AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS
1997-99

GAO/IAP-97-6



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DOD - Department of Defense
  EXIM - Export-Import
  NAFTA - North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
  NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  HIV/AIDS - Human Immunial Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune
     Deficiency Syndrome
  OECD - Organization for Economic Corporation and Development
  OPIC - Overseas Private Investment Corporation
  WTO - World Trade Organization

FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

As the investigative arm of the Congress and the nation's auditor,
the General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes.  Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help the Congress target budget reductions; assess
financial information management; and alert the Congress to
developing trends that may have significant fiscal or budgetary
consequences.  In fulfilling its responsibilities, GAO performs
original research and uses hundreds of databases or creates its own
when information is unavailable elsewhere. 

To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing the Congress, each of GAO's 32 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes the significance of the issues it
addresses, the objectives, and the focus of its work.  Each issue
area relies heavily on input from congressional committees, agency
officials, and subject matter experts in developing its strategic
plan. 

The International Relations and Trade issue area covers programs of
the Department of State, the U.S.  Agency for International
Development, the U.S.  Information Agency, the U.S.  Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency; international programs of the Department of
Defense, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of
Agriculture; the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Office
of the U.S.  Trade Representative, the U.S International Trade
Commission; and various related government organizations.  The issue
area is also responsible for examining U.S.  participation in
multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, the World
Bank, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

Our work in this issue area seeks to assess the cost and
effectiveness of foreign affairs and international trade activities
in promoting and protecting U.S.  international interests.  Our work
focuses on

  -- foreign affairs structures and management of functions and
     resources;

  -- U.S.  bilateral programs to assist and influence other
     countries;

  -- U.S.  participation in multilateral institutions;

  -- international agreements, arrangements, and programs to promote
     U.S.  security interests;

  -- programs to promote and finance U.S.  overseas business
     interests; and

  -- trade agreements and efforts to improve U.S.  access to foreign
     markets. 

Our key planned work on these important issues is described in the
following pages. 

Our planning process allows for updating and the flexibility to
respond to emerging, significant events.  If you have any questions
or suggestions about this plan, please call me at (202) 512-4128. 

Benjamin F.  Nelson
Director, International Relations and
 Trade Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

6


   TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4

7


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issues                        Significance
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
Foreign Affairs Management:   Opportunities for restructuring, reengineering
Are the functions and         functions, eliminating nonessential functions, and
resources of U.S. agencies    improving resource management need to be
structured and managed to     identified in order to ensure that resources are
reflect new foreign policy    available to protect vital interests.
priorities and fiscal
realities?



Bilateral Assistance and      Questions continue to be raised about how U.S.
Influence:                    programs are managed, whether long-standing
Are programs achieving        programs are achieving the intended results and
objectives and effectively    helping advance current U.S. objectives, and if
advancing U.S. interests      alternative programs could be more effective.
overseas and are they
managed efficiently?



Participation in              Efficient management and more effective strategies
Multilateral Institutions:    for advancing U.S. interests through multilateral
How can U.S. participation    institutions such as the United Nations and World
in multilateral institutions  Bank are key congressional concerns. Objective
more effectively advance      analyses are needed to guide decisionmakers who
U.S. interests at reasonable  often have differing views on U.S. participation
cost?                         in these institutions.

Promoting U.S. Security:      The United States is relying more on multi-
How are international         billion dollar international security arrangements
agreements, arrangements,     and programs to (1) counter the spread of
and programs addressing       dangerous weapons/technologies and terrorism and
security threats and are      (2) promote stability. Analyses are needed to
they affordable and           answer questions on the efficacy, costs, and
efficiently managed?          management of these arrangements and programs.



Trade Promotion and           Fifteen U.S. agencies spend over $2.5 billion and
Finance:                      provide over $25 billion in loans, guarantees, and
Are U.S. government           insurance to support U.S. international trade.
international trade and       Decisionmakers need to ensure that these U.S.
finance programs and          resources are achieving the intended results and
agencies efficiently managed  are managed efficiently.
and effective in promoting
U.S. economic interests?


Trade Access and Policy:      International trade agreements affect hundreds of
How are U.S. trade policies   billions of dollars in trade and millions of U.S.
advancing economic interests  jobs. Critics have expressed concerns that the
and are trade agreements      United States has not been sufficiently aggressive
increasing U.S. access to     in negotiating agreements and that some agreements
foreign markets?              may not achieve intended benefits, may adversely
                              affect certain economic sectors, and could
                              compromise U.S. sovereignty. Objective analyses
                              are needed to answer questions on how U.S. and
                              other countries' trade polices are affecting U.S.
                              interests.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                    Focus of Work
----------------------------  --------------------------------------------------
 Determine the                Plans to restructure the foreign affairs
compatibility of foreign      agencies.
affairs agencies' functions    Agencies' reform and reengineering efforts.
with new priorities,           Agencies' plans/budgets for essential
budgets, and capabilities.    functions.
 Identify ways to cut costs   Major cost drivers.
and improve management of
the foreign affairs
apparatus and individual
agencies.
 Analyze justifications for
funding requests.

 Identify the cost, impact,   Large, highly visible, or controversial country
progress, obstacles, and/or   assistance programs and initiatives.
policy options for specific    International drug control programs.
initiatives and programs.      Reauthorization of Foreign Assistance Act.
 Identify management
improvements and potential
legislative and regulatory
changes aimed at cost-
effectiveness.

 Assess the costs and         U.N. costs and reforms.
benefits of U.S.               Opportunities for more effective U.S.
participation in              participation.
multilateral institutions.     Refugee and humanitarian assistance.
 Assess the effectiveness
of selected institutions and
programs.

 Determine costs, progress,   Programs to contain the spread of weapons of
and obstacles to U.S.         mass destruction.
strategies and programs to     Peacekeeping missions.
counter emerging security      Bilateral and multilateral security agreements/
threats.                      treaties.
 Identify management          U.S. export control regime.
improvements and cost-         Major international arms transfers.
saving measures.
 Identify programs that are
not serving intended
purposes.

 Identify ways to improve     Organization of agencies (overseas and
the effectiveness and cut     headquarters) that support U.S. international
the costs of U.S. trade and   economic interests.
finance programs.              Agriculture's export programs.
 Identify ways to improve     Reauthorizations of Overseas Private Investment
governmentwide strategic      Cooperation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank
planning, budgeting, and      (EXIM).
interagency coordination.

 Evaluate whether             NAFTA, Uruguay Round, and other multilateral
participation in specific     agreements.
trade agreements advances      Bilateral trade agreements with major trading
U.S. interests.               partners.
 Identify barriers to U.S.    U.S. efforts to reduce nontariff trade
access to foreign markets.    barriers.
 Analyze how U.S. policies    Integration of non-market economies into World
and programs impact on U.S.   Trade Organization (WTO).
economic interests.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3

Issue                    Planned Major Jobs Starts
-----------------------  -------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Affairs           Assessment of security requirements and costs at
Management develop a     diplomatic posts.
modern/eff affairs        Analysis of efforts to icient foreign system\a
information in           (ongoing).
implementing over major   Effectiveness of cost-sharing arrangements at
overseas suppo           overseas posts.
                          Agencies' progress seas staffing models.
                          Opportunities to reengineer rt functions (ongoing).

Bilateral Assistance      Effectiveness of enterprise funds in assisting
and Influence seek       countries' transition to market economies.
economic develo of U.S.   Options to pment in sub-Saharan Africa.
and internat              Effectiveness ional programs to combat HIV/AIDS
                         (ongoing).
                          Impact of U.S. foreign aid programs.

Participation in          Effectiveness of the United Nations Office of
Multilateral             Internal Oversight Services\a (ongoing).
Institutions              Progress of reform at the United Nations.
                          U.N. pay and compensation.

Promoting U.S. Security   Effectiveness of international nuclear controls and
U.S. security assist     safeguards.
cooperation in comba      Costs to expand NATO (ongoing).
                          Rationale for current ance apparatus.
                          International tting terrorism.
                          China's proliferation performance.
                          Management of DOD's counterproliferation programs.
                          U.S. agreements and commitments in the Persian Gulf.

Trade Promotion and       Reauthorizations of EXIM and OPIC (ongoing).
Finance representation    Assessment of U.S. erseas economic interests.
of ov promotion of        U.S. and competitors' s interests in Asia.
busines                   Options to reduce costs of Agriculture's export
                         programs.

Trade Policy and Access   Costs/impact of NAFTA (ongoing).
integrating countrie      Efforts to gain access to financial services markets
                         in Asia.
                          Analysis of OECD investment agreement and U.S.
                         interests.
                          Implications of s with state trading enterprises into
                         WTO.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a To be done in coordination with GAO's Accounting and Information
Management Division. 


TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4


   DIRECTOR
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:1

Benjamin F.  Nelson (202) 512-4128


   ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:2

Harold J.  Johnson, Jr.  (202) 512-4128
Jess T.  Ford (202) 512-4268
JayEtta Hecker (202) 512-4128


   ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:3

John Brummet
Sharon W.  Chamberlain
Diana M.  Glod
Virginia C.  Hughes
A.  H.  Huntington, III
John P.  Hutton
Stephen W.  Lord
Ronald A.  Kushner
Bruce L.  Kutnick
David R.  Martin
Tetsuo Miyabara
LeRoy W.  Richardson
F.  James Shafer, Jr.
Elizabeth J.  Sirois
Lawrence L.  Suda
Celia J.  Thomas
Phillip J.  Thomas
Louis H.  Zanardi


*** End of document. ***