Chapter 7.3 Making Foreign Policy

The President and Foreign Policy Foreign policy is a nation’s overall plan for dealing with other nations. The basic goal of American foreign policy is national security, the ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm. International trade is another goal and is vital to economic prosperity. Trade can create markets for American products and jobs for American workers.

continued A 3 rd goal is promoting world peace. Even distant wars can disrupt trade and endanger U.S. national security. A 4 th goal is to promote democracy and human rights around the world. The executive branch includes a large foreign-policy bureaucracy. It includes the State Dept., Defense Dept., CIA and National Security Council.

continued The president and Congress share the power to conduct foreign affairs. The president is the chief diplomat and commander in chief, but Congress has the power to declare war, prohibit certain military actions and spend – or withhold – money for defense.

continued The Constitution does not make clear how the executive and legislative branches can use their powers. As a result, the branches compete for control of foreign policy.

continued Treaties are formal agreements between the gov’ts of two or more countries. Some, such as NATO, are agreements among nations for mutual defense. The Senate must approve a treaty by a 2/3rds vote. However, the president can make an executive agreement with the leader of another country without Senate approval.

continued An ambassador is an official representative of a country’s gov’t. The president appoints ambassadors, with Senate approval. Ambassadors are sent only to countries where the U.S. accepts the gov’t as legally in power. The U.S. gives foreign aid in the form of money, food, military assistance or other supplies to help other countries.

continued The president makes agreements with other nations about what products may be traded and the rules of trade. Sometimes the rules include trade sanctions, or efforts to punish another country by imposing trade barriers. Another punishing tool is the embargo – an agreement among a group of nations that prohibits them all from trading with the target nation.

continued Congress takes the lead in imposing tariffs on imported goods and in joining international trade groups. One such trade group is the NAFTA. As commander in chief, presidents may use the military to carry out some foreign-policy decisions that could involve deploying armed forces or launching missile attacks.