Economic Statecraft

The Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs administers the Economic Statecraft program (CFDA 19.322), which funds fiscal transparency reforms, port security capacity building, semiconductor supply chain development, and extractive industries governance in partner nations, with the most recent grant awards disbursed on October 1, 2024.

The program has distributed 146 grants totaling $60.7 million in federal dollars (combined federal and non-federal obligation: $62.6 million) since 2013, with activity concentrated in recent years. Award volume has fluctuated across the past five years—23 awards in 2020, 9 in 2021, 24 in 2022, 4 in 2023, and 7 in 2024—reflecting variable funding availability. The Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs leads funding by dollar volume at $48.7 million across 52 awards, followed by the Bureau of African Affairs at $6 million across 77 awards. The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs collectively account for the remaining federal dollars. The portfolio is predominantly Project Grants (121 awards, 83%) with a smaller share of Cooperative Agreements (25 awards, 17%).

Recent awards span multiple lines of activity. A $13.8 million Cooperative Agreement funds semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging capability development and workforce training in partner countries. A $2 million Project Grant supports semiconductor industry ecosystem reviews across seven target countries. Smaller grants address fiscal transparency initiatives: $690 thousand for extractive industries transparency implementation in Tajikistan, $528 thousand for civil society participation in budget processes in Goa, and $250 thousand for budget transparency and public financial management reforms in Mauritania. Representative project-level awards include $1.78 million for the Sister Ports Program to strengthen foreign port security capacity and $90 thousand for forestry and wildlife crime enforcement training in Mozambique. Micro-scale community development grants under the Ambassador's Special Self-Help program ($4,000 to $11,500 range) fund school construction, water systems, and health facility improvements in Ghana.

A current opportunity open through August 20, 2026 (DFOP0019193, posted July 1) solicits Cooperative Agreements from for-profit organizations to establish the Pax Silica Artificial Intelligence Assistance Project, a supply chain credentialing and provenance platform designed to secure AI supply chain operations in partner countries through cryptographic cargo verification and AI-enabled risk assessment. Earlier opportunities targeting fiscal transparency and semiconductor workforce development in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Vietnam (all posted July 17, 2024, with September 15, 2024 deadlines) have now closed. The Sister Ports Program opportunity (DFOP0016597, posted May 23, 2024) sought 501(c)(3) nonprofits to facilitate port-to-port knowledge exchange and closed on July 8, 2024.