Economic Security Interests

The global marketplace is in the throes of a convulsive transition. The most significant development, from the United States&s; point of view, is that we no longer dominate the international marketplace. The 1988 Trade Bill engraved into the national consciousness two very important notions. First, Export Administration Act reforms demonstrated that national and economic security interests were fundamentally linked; and, second, the establishment of the Competitiveness Policy Council acknowledged the need to reverse the decline of US industry and stem the further deterioration of US defense industrial and technological bases. The one vehicle currently at our disposal to take corrective action on the problems of the US industrial base is the Defense Production Act of 1950. US national security comes in many hues and colors. Economic security is an important aspect of our national security. As a national security concept, it has only recently attracted the attention of the Congress, the US government, industry, and the academic community.