Ben Black: American Economic Statecraft Returns

DFC CEO Ben Black at Endless Frontiers: American Economic Statecraft Is Back

Media Release

April 22, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Ben Black delivered a keynote address at the Council on Foreign Relations’ 2026 Endless Frontiers forum in Austin, Texas, yesterday. CEO Black discussed the resurrection of American economic statecraft and his vision for DFC post-reauthorization. The full address can be viewed on YouTube here.

Remarks as delivered:

“From the earliest days of our Republic, America’s financial and economic strength has been one of our nation’s greatest assets. Our First Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, recognized that our ability to produce essential goods, sustain industry, and be a financial player was essential to securing America’s global position. As Hamilton himself wrote, ‘power without revenue is a bubble.’ And in my view, undeniably fragile and fleeting.

“By the turn of the 20th century, Hamilton’s American System had succeeded, having spurred a century of wealth creation and success. When Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency, America had transformed into a burgeoning financial and mighty industrial power, leading the world in manufacturing with more steel production than Germany and Britain combined, rail networks spanning a continent, and energy integrated at scale.

“America’s industrial might had become the source of its economic might. And so, our nation began to seek access to foreign markets to reinforce prosperity at home. This movement gave us the Panama Canal, one of America’s most significant industrial achievements. Both a military shortcut and a commercial artery, the canal reduced shipping distances by thousands of miles, integrated American production into global trade, and increased U.S. exports of manufactured goods by as much as 66 percent. It was a perfect representation of America’s entrepreneurial spirit and ability to dream big.

“It was the historian and naval strategist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, who connected this increased revenue from trade to global naval strength. Although many don’t know his name today, it was Mahan who linked the wealth of great commercial powers to military strength that protects trade, secures access, and stabilizes the commercial and financial systems that in turn generate more wealth and prosperity for citizens.

“We hear the phrase ‘economic security is national security’ so often, it has become hackneyed and cliche. But for these early pioneers of American economic statecraft, it was not an accepted truth, it was untested theory. It’s why their accomplishments are so remarkable and their achievements so inspiring.

“By now, history has settled the question. This principal has guided the United States through some of the most defining moments and gave rise to our most powerful model of modern economic statecraft: The Marshall Plan.

“The story of the Marshall Plan is well known. We know the United States successfully invested in rebuilding war torn Europe and the productive capacity of our European allies. What is less well known is the fact that roughly 70 percent of the funds that went over to Europe were spent on procuring U.S. goods and services. In exchange for capital investment, America had first priority to develop Europe’s critical materials. This mutually beneficial, financially rigorous strategy transformed European nations into participants of the American system while benefiting our workers and companies. It limited the growing threat of communism, hardwired international markets for U.S. businesses, and contributed to decades of global stability and growth.

“This American system of economic statecraft should have persisted. What post-war reconstruction accomplished in Europe should have defined the future economic statecraft and development approach of the United States.

“Instead, despite the ability to point to success after success, for a period of time, America lost its way. In the post-Cold War era, we placed too much faith in calcified international institutions that rely on unrealistic expectations of human nature. We welcomed China into the free-market financial system despite persistent violations of free-market rules, with the well-intentioned belief that it would change. But it did not.

“We assumed that a globalized system of integration that only prioritized cheap goods would sustain American influence abroad. As a result, we outsourced supply chains and let American technical manufacturing languish.

“Today, we are confronting the consequences of those poor choices across sectors ranging from shipping and logistics, to advanced manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, critical minerals, agriculture, healthcare, and even financial services.

“While the United States dismantled our institutional power to lead across sectors vital to America’s economic and national security, China made deliberate, decades-long investments to capture strategic supply chains. China is now the source of 80 percent of precursors for active pharmaceutical ingredients and accounts for 70 percent of critical minerals refining, including 90 percent of rare earths refining. 75 percent of global shipping vessels are purchased from China’s dual-use shipyards.

“As we wake up to the reality of an increasingly competitive global environment, President Trump has tasked our agency with a critical mission. We are resurrecting American Economic Statecraft. Under his leadership, DFC investments must deliver for the American people and serve as a powerful tool for securing economic opportunity and regional stability.

“DFC is the international investment arm of the U.S. Government, and America’s International Deal Team. Our reauthorization last December was a pivotal moment of transformation for the agency. We now have 205 billion dollars of investment capacity and a greater ability to deploy debt, equity, and insurance across the capital stack. DFC can invest in energy, critical minerals, and technology anywhere in the world and address chokepoints wherever they exist.

“So, how are we addressing these global challenges? Simply doing more deals is not a solution. A data center without adequate grid support is useless, as is a mine without infrastructure to move the ore. One-off investments build isolated assets that become targets and are easy to outcompete.

“Instead, DFC investments will mobilize private capital to build holistic economic ecosystems anchored to U.S. capital markets, insulated against adversary control, and structured to generate strong returns for the American taxpayer, with economic development that moves the needle. We are focused on regions vital to economic security and strategic competition—the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa, amongst others. In practice, we will prioritize large-scale investments that are both critical to U.S. interests and highly transformative for our partners.

“America’s rising industrial base proved foundational for our progress as a nation, but industrialization’s track record of success is far longer. Across thousands of years of human history, industrialization has been the single most powerful force for lifting large populations out of poverty. Countries that industrialize quicker, grow faster, attract more capital, and integrate more deeply into trade networks that generate higher-paying jobs than subsistence agriculture and informal services.

“Industrialization does not happen without energy, a sector that is vitally important to America’s foreign policy interests. Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. has become the largest producer in the world of both natural gas and oil. Across the world, we see significant opportunities to build energy infrastructure that advances U.S. strategic objectives and provides reliable, affordable energy for our allies and partners. In Europe, LNG infrastructure can supply a secure alternative to Russian gas. And in Argentina, shale development driven by best-in-class American companies can help translate President Milei’s early economic gains into long-lasting growth.

“DFC is committed to dismantling the strategic bottlenecks that leave us vulnerable. From pharmaceutical precursors to the essential materials and critical minerals foundational to defense and advanced manufacturing. The connective tissue that builds and supports diverse supply chains is where DFC can be most consequential. Logistics—the roads, rail lines, and ports that move material—must be co-financed as part of the same integrated strategy.

“In many of the most remote regions where essential resources exist, logistics are a major constraint against asset development. Building power and transportation infrastructure ensures a project can reach commercial scale.

“The same dynamic is playing out in the global technology space. Our adversaries have a head start here. China has laid groundwork for itself. Through Huawei, state-backed cloud providers, and subsidized fiber and subsea cable projects, Beijing methodically positions Chinese vendors at every layer of the global technology stack.

“American products are better: our AI is the most powerful in the world. American cloud, semiconductor, and cybersecurity technology are more advanced than the global standard. They’re the envy of the world. But to win the technology race, we must deploy these technologies on secure digital infrastructure built by trusted partners.

“This is also the logic behind DFC's financial services strategy. Financial services and technology have always gone hand-in-hand, but today, that relationship is at the crux of global competition. It’s paramount that the financial architecture the next generation of businesses use to transact, save, and invest align with American values and meet the highest standards of transparency and reliability.

“Across all priority sectors, DFC’s financial products are uniquely suited to capital intensive projects. Our ability to derisk investment and crowd in private financing can unlock pools of capital that dwarf our balance sheet. It’s what distinguishes DFC’s approach from our adversaries and ineffective models of the past. Chinese investments have no independent private sector participation and lack the price signals and risk discipline that make projects truly commercially viable.

“State capital acting alone can never build dynamic markets the way that private capital can. Our global partners want to work with us because our model is better. When we mobilize private capital, we build enduring markets. When we invest, we are investing in our partner countries’ economic future and their people. If in the future, DFC exits an investment and private sector capital endures, that’s how we know we’ve succeeded.

“The U.S.'s greatest export is the American free market system and its legacy of success. It’s the foundation of American Prosperity and it’s the engine that drives strength, growth, and goodwill worldwide.”

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the international investment arm of the United States Government and central to U.S. economic statecraft. DFC mobilizes private capital to advance U.S. foreign policy and economic development. Our investments deliver strong returns for American taxpayers, drive meaningful economic development for our allies and partners, and secure supply chains to counter and outcompete our adversaries.