International Trade: Review of FAS Attache Service
NSIAD-89-73
Published: Feb 23, 1989. Publicly Released: Feb 23, 1989.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service's (FAS) attache activities, focusing on: (1) FAS overseas market development planning activities; and (2) attaches' role in reporting and coordinating FAS activities, overseas posting, and staff qualifications.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | To improve FAS overseas planning, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the FAS Administrator to have annual work plans include specific activities that allow for measuring the achievement of post planning objectives. |
Closed – Implemented
Guidance for 1991 through 1992 Annual Work Plans, sent out on December 3, 1990, requires the listing of main post goals and post plans to achieve these goals. Also, guidance for posts' "action plan" requires listing of specific activities and benchmarks for accomplishing priorities.
|
| Department of Agriculture | To enhance attache performance overseas, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the FAS Administrator to ensure that attaches assigned to overseas posts are able to effectively communicate with host-country officials in their principal language. |
Closed – Implemented
FAS information on language capability as of September 1990 for foreign service officers has improved since the report.
|
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Topics
Agricultural productsCommodity marketingDeveloping countriesDiplomatsExportingEmployee trainingInteragency relationsPerformance measuresPersonnel managementProgram evaluationReporting requirements