U.S. Department of State - Great Seal

U.S. Department of State

Diplomacy in Action

Doing Business in International Markets


Date: 12/05/2011 Description: State Department's Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Lorraine Hariton speaking December 5, 2011 at the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. - State Dept Image

The Office of Commercial and Business Affairs (CBA) plays a major role in coordinating trade and investment matters in support of U.S. firms doing business overseas. Our mission is to ensure that private sector business concerns are fully integrated into U.S. foreign and economic policy, and engages U.S. government resources to assist and promote U.S. business interests overseas. This office covers the following key initiatives:

  • Global Women’s Business Initiative: 
    Date: 01/25/2011 Description: Lorraine Hariton (second from right) participates ina panel at the Invest for the Future Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. 
 - State Dept Image Promoting Gender Equity for Prosperity GWBI was launched to promote the success of potential high growth, high impact women-owned enterprises to foster growth in GDP and jobs globally. The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP at AGOA) is an initiative developed to encourage women entrepreneurs in 38 AGOA countries, and their networks in Africa, to become part of their national and the global supplier network, and to advocate with the 38 AGOA ministers to promote more inclusive legislation and practices. The Pathways Women’s Certification Program, created in Lima, Peru, is a second key initiative created to certify and integrate women-owned businesses into the supply chains of major American corporations. The third initiative is the APEC Women’s Leadership Network, an annual event to be held in Tokyo this year, where U.S. delegation of women entrepreneurs, corporate executives, NGOS and academics join to support trade with APEC member nations.

Date: 09/14/2009 Description: Lorraine Hariton © State Dept Image

Lorraine Hariton
Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs

Lorraine Hariton is the Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, sworn in on September 14, 2009. Her experience in innovation and entrepreneurship provides a unique perspective in addressing our global economic growth challenges. She is responsible for State Department outreach to the business community and commercial advocacy efforts. She works with the business community worldwide to ensure that commercial diplomacy efforts support U.S. foreign policy objectives. During her tenure, CBA has expanded cooperation and coordination with other trade promotion agencies and U.S. diplomatic posts overseas to support U.S. exporters and business interests in support of the President's National Export Initiative. Ms. Hariton has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Stanford University.


Sign-in

Do you already have an account on one of these sites? Click the logo to sign in and create your own customized State Department page. Want to learn more? Check out our FAQ!

OpenID is a service that allows you to sign in to many different websites using a single identity. Find out more about OpenID and how to get an OpenID-enabled account.