United States Consulate Members Visit Sant’Anna Institute

Charles Lobell, political, economic and commercial section chief, and Giuseppe Palmieri, economic commercial advisor, came to the Sant’Anna Institute from the U.S. Consulate in Naples on July 18. They enlightened St. Bonaventure University students about their role in representing the U.S. from Naples, Italy, sending the message that the students are also diplomats since they represent the U.S. overseas.  

Lobell’s presentation focused on the economic diplomacy ties between the U.S. and Italy. He often used the phrase, “I explain American politics to Italians and explain Italian politics to Americans,” to clarify his job. Palmieri explained his duties by providing knowledge of culture, politics, and economics in Southern Italy, saying, “It’s an everyday effort that you learn by doing.” 

The Consulate in Naples is one of the U.S.’s oldest diplomatic relationships. It has been open for 255 years with only a small four-year break during WWll and was re-established in 1994. 

Lobell first told the group the difference between an embassy and a consulate. An embassy is where the ambassador works, and it is located in the capital. There are also U.S. consulates in Milan and Florence. The consulate generally deals with “day-to-day diplomacy,” while the embassy deals with higher diplomatic matters. There is a consulate because of traveling citizens and the purpose is to help Americans overseas. Lobell’s and Palmieri’s jobs are to support American businesses and the workforce while increasing profits.  

The consulate must also keep Washington, D.C. up to date, not on what the news in their consulate’s country is, but on what it means for the U.S. For example, Lobell said it’s easy for politicians living in Washington, D.C. to know that the Italian government might collapse in the coming weeks, meaning a new prime minister in the next few months. What they need to know from the consulates, is what that will mean for America’s diplomatic relationship with Italy. Consulates are vital in order to report back to the U.S. government which tells American citizens what’s happening abroad and the effects on Italian-American policies. 

We learned the functions of United States’ departments, like the Department of Commerce. Their services include market intelligence, business matchmaking, commercial diplomacy and trade consults (at a cost). The Gold Key Service is also used to provide prospective companies with matchmaking appointments with five interested partners in the foreign market, but these businesses must have a good ready to export.  

While most of its top officials are American, local employees make up a large portion of the consulate’s staff. The most obvious reason for this is it helps bridge the language gap, but it also makes sure the people working in the consulate are familiar with the area and its economic, political and social customs. Lobell told the students that a variety of people can go into to this career, including himself. This is his third career and he adapted well because of his time overseas while in the Navy. The U.S. Foreign Service also tries very hard to help its employees learn other languages.  

“Our job is communication. Our job is talking with other countries,” Lobell said.  

Lobell and Palmieri talked a lot about the economic and political roles they play, and how they help Americans in Italy either for business or as tourists. For tourists, the most important thing to know is that if you lose your passport or get money stolen abroad, you can visit the nearest consulate or embassy, and people like Lobell and Palmieri will help you get home or solve various problems. You can also visit their website here: https://it.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/naples/ 

If you lose your passport, the consulate can issue a temporary passport that will only get you back to the U.S. You can get a new one when you return to the states. The consulate also provides American citizens marriage licenses, death and birth certificates and visas overseas. The consulate acts as a mediator to improve rights and promote values. Again, if money is lost, they will contact others that can assist with funds or give you a loan to get home. The loan will be interest-free, but it will come out of your tax refund if you don’t pay it back.  

Lobell said that while he cannot give special privileges to American citizens in Italy, his duty is to ensure they are treated well. This was especially true when borders closed due to the pandemic. While the consulate could not get Americans out of the country once travel was no longer allowed, they were able to help many Americans get home before the borders closed. For those that were not able to leave, the consulate helped make sure they had the same protections with things such as rent deferment that the rest of the country had.  

When it comes to the economic role of diplomacy, Lobell used the term “an exchange of investments,” and how the transfer of knowledge is much more valuable to countries than goods. In southern Italy, the food industry is high in demand, and there is an increasing demand in the aerospace and high-technology industries. Like a lot of consulate tasks, this was something else most Americans, and especially Bonaventure students did not know. It’s vital to know how your home country is connected to others.  

The last point the two consulate members brought up was business desire. Businesses in the U.S. desire more growth, money and will prioritize spending time at work over other things. In Italy, businesses are family-owned and small with less desire to scale up. There are many reasons, including different labor laws. No way is the right way. It’s simply a cultural difference.  

With Lobell and Palmieri to personally inform us what the consulate means, we can further understand the importance of people, events, and issues around the world. On behalf of Bonaventure students, we thank you for your valuable time.