March 24, 2023

Duckworth to Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Foreign Relations Affects Every American

 

[CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who recently led a Congressional delegation to Indonesia and Japan, joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA) this evening for a fireside chat where she discussed her work to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region and how that relationship affects the lives of working Americans. Duckworth, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, highlighted how U.S. relations with the Indo-Pacific influences everything from our national security, workforce development to addressing climate change with Illinois being a lead exporter of biofuels. The Senator was joined by CCGA U.S. Foreign Policy Senior Fellow Elizabeth Shackelford during the live discussion. Photos from today’s fireside chat are available here.

“I know, for a lot of Americans, Asia seems like a world away—and in some ways it is—but the fact is that every American is affected by our relations with foreign countries,” Duckworth said. “Whether it’s the billions of dollars in trade and investment that create millions of jobs in the United States, the safety of U.S. citizens traveling overseas or the big questions of war and peace around the world, what happens overseas matters to Americans.”

Earlier this month, Duckworth helped introduce the Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations (PARTNER) with ASEAN Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen relations between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

Duckworth’s congressional delegation to Japan builds upon the success of her trip last year to South Korea and Taiwan where she met with business, government and trade leaders, which helped lead to a joint venture between Illinois’s ADM and South Korea’s LG Chem, as well as a commitment from Taiwan to purchase an estimated $2.6 billion of our state’s corn and soybeans.

Along with underscoring Illinois’s importance on the international stage for agricultural trade and ethanol production, Senator also highlighted her trip to Indonesia, where she reinforced U.S. partnership throughout the entire region and found opportunities to increase cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as increasing energy security, manufacturing and technology and ensuring regional stability.

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