U.S. Foreign Economic Policy and the Significance of the National Economic Council CHRIS J. DOLAN University of Central Florida JEREL A. ROSATI University of South Carolina Research demonstrates that the National Economic Council (NEC) and the decision-making process through which economic issues must pass are essential components in the evolution of American foreign economic policy. This article will examine the functions and responsibilities of the NEC in the making of U.S. foreign economic policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It selects key policies, namely inter- national monetary policy, fiscal policy, and trade liberalization, and ex- amines key issues within each in order to provide tentative answers to questions regarding foreign economic policy and the emergence and development of the NEC. Also, this article supplies an overview of the large body of research on international economics and foreign economic policy. Furthermore, it identifies key U.S. foreign economic policy issues developed and coordinated by the NEC. The article concludes with a discussion of to what extent the NEC is a significant development in U.S. foreign economic policy and in the making of foreign policy. Keywords: national economic council, national economic adviser, U.S. foreign economic policy, intermestic issues Under the Bretton Woods regime of monetary exchanges fixed on the U.S. dollar, the U.S. was able to dominate the global economy for over two decades. Foreign economic policy receded to a ‘‘low policy’’ concern, requiring little attention by most policy makers involved in the ‘‘high’’ policy of national security affairs (Bailey 1980; LaFeber 1989; Eckes 1995). Following the collapse of Bretton Woods, the spread of technology and global interdependence has led to the merging of eco- nomic issues in foreign and domestic policy (Morse 1970; Destler 1994, 1995; Keohane and Nye 2001). Bayless Manning (1977) and Raymond Hopkins (1978) even suggest that these developments have contributed to the expansion of so- called intermestic issues. This article contends that U.S. foreign economic policy and the rise of the National Economic Council (NEC) demand further examination by international relations scholars and political scientists. In response to the growing influence of international economic issues on the U.S. economy, the NEC was created by President Bill Clinton in 1993 in order ‘‘to coordinate the economic policy-making process with respect to domestic and international economic issues; to provide economic policy advice to the President; to ensure that economic policy decisions and programs are consistent with the r 2006 International Studies Association. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK International Studies Perspectives (2006) 7, 102–123.