Foreign Affairs

U.S. foreign policy must reflect the needs of new levels of interdependence globally. Our foreign policy should encourage economic and democratic growth and protect national security. While maintaining our sovereignty, the U.S. supports the efforts of international organizations in peacekeeping and crisis management. As a partner for peace, the U.S. can assist in negotiations in the troubled regions of the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. Northern Ohio has a proud immigrant tradition that has enriched our community with diverse and worldly citizens.
 

CHINA

Congresswoman Kaptur serves as a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Sino-US relations are never far from the congressional agenda: bilateral trade imbalance, national security, human rights, currency manipulation, intellectual property rights, or cyber-warfare. For more on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, click here.
 

EASTERN EUROPE

Congresswoman Kaptur serves as co-chair of the Congressional Hungarian-American Caucus and also the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. She is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Poland and the Congressional Caucus on Central and Eastern Europe.

Our nation has much to gain from alliances with the emerging democracies that were formerly under Soviet domination. Congresswoman Kaptur, a Polish-American, is always seeking opportunities to deepen the relationships between Northern Ohio and Eastern Europe. Stronger ties can strengthen both regions economically, strategically and culturally. Also, much has been done to recognize those who lost their lives in the fight against oppression by commemorating the Holocaust, the Great Ukrainian Famine in 1933, and the Katyn Massacre. It is important that we remember and honor those who lost their lives and suffered at the hands of Nazi and Soviet oppression.
 

MIDDLE EAST

The ongoing Middle East conflict is perhaps the most vexing diplomatic quandary in the world. As a superpower, the U.S. has both the opportunity and responsibility to help bring stability to this volatile and strategic region. The U.S. must be an honest broker for peace and revisit a peace process. We must encourage people-to-people contact in the region so we can eliminate hatred and highlight common bonds between neighbors. The pathway to peace can be paved by grass-roots diplomacy in addition to governmental compromise. Peace in the region is possible if all sides distance themselves from extremism and open themselves to frank dialogue. The U.S. can help usher in a new era of hope for the region and the world.
 

IRAN

Iran is on the precipice. It is nearing nuclear weapons capabilities while at the same time facing a popular democratic uprising from its own people. The acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran would destabilize an already volatile region. Diplomacy, not military action, should be used to deal with Iran. Additional sanctions may be a useful tool in keeping Iran in check, but the U.S. must ensure that the democratic movement is not suffocated. The problem is the oppressive and fanatical Iranian regime, not the overwhelmingly pro-western people of Iran.