Alice Slayton Clark Archives

Taking Our TTIP Agenda to Europe

Published on February 24, 2014
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly met with the media at the U.S. embassy in Paris…

Earlier this month, Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, visited France and the Netherlands on a U.S. government speaking tour, explaining the views and priorities of the American business community on the ongoing U.S.-EU negotiations of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

A former U.S. ambassador and USTR trade negotiator, Donnelly has a long and deep background in transatlantic trade matters. “On this trip, I was able to convey USCIB and BCTT positions on the importance of achieving a TTIP agreement that is ambitious, comprehensive and high-standard,” he said. “We oppose sectoral or chapter carve-outs.”

Donnelly delivered several speeches, and took part in various seminars and interviews with local business groups, American chambers of commerce, media representatives, universities and think tanks. As the co-chair of two working groups (Investment and Competition Policy) in the broad Washington-based Business Coalition for Transatlantic Trade (BCTT), he is one of several USCIB staff members playing leadership roles in the BCTT effort. USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan represents USCIB on the BCTT Steering Committee.

…and spoke with students at France’s Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales.

Donnelly particularly emphasized the importance of strong investment provisions (including investor-state dispute settlement) as well as protecting intellectual property rights, ensuring cross-border data flows, and reducing regulatory and product-standard barriers in both directions.

As he did during a similar TTIP-focused visit to Denmark last October,  Donnelly sought to strengthen coordination on TTIP with key European business groups. And lucky for him, he avoided all the terrible weather afflicting so much of the United States!

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s European Union Committee

BIAC Chairman Talks Trade at Washington DC Forum

Published on February 4, 2014

On January 31, Phil O’Reilly, the chairman of BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, discussed trade policy and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in remarks to the Global Business Dialogue forum in Washington, D.C.

O’Reilly, CEO of Business New Zealand, laid out broad conceptual points to guide the TPP parties. “It’s important that we don’t let today’s politics get in the way of what will be a deal that will transform the Pacific trading environment over the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

Citing influential research from the OECD on global supply networks and trade in value-added, the BIAC chairman stated: “The world is increasingly dominated by global value chains, so that the new glue of trade is not containers going across a wharf, they are an outcome. The new glue of trade to my mind is investment.”

To read the full text of O’Reilly’s remarks, click here.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Washington Update: December 2013 to January 2014

Published on February 1, 2014

During the months of December 2013 and January 2014, USCIB staff represented U.S. business interests at the WTO Ministerial in Bali, met with Mark Linscott and Dawn Shackleford of USTR to discuss the completed trade facilitation agreement, finalized a trade and investment agenda for 2014, supported a revision of the 2002 OECD Security Guidelines, submitted comments on the operation and effectiveness of U.S. telecommunications trade agreements, gave a keynote address at a meeting of the Tax Executives Institute, presented member views in separate meetings at State on human rights and responsible agriculture investments, and much more.

Download the full report.

In Davos ICC Addresses Global Challenges

Published on January 24, 2014
L-R: ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo and ICC Vice Chair Sunil Mittal
L-R: ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo and ICC Vice Chair Sunil Mittal

A contingent of business leaders under the banner of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) participated in the annual World Economic Forum in Davos this week to press for continued progress on trade, investment and business priorities for the G20.

Led by ICC Chairman Terry McGraw (who also serves as chairman of USCIB), Vice Chairman Sunil Mittal and Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier, the group included several CEO members of the ICC G20 Advisory Group as well as members of ICC commissions, the ICC working bodies that develop ICC policy positions and voluntary rules on major issues for international business.

Davos highlights include Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott‘s keynote address outlining Australia’s G20 priorities to boost global trade, strengthen tax regimes and coordination, address infrastructure investment bottlenecks and further improve financial regulation. Abbott announced hopes that G20 leaders could make a practical difference towards building a stronger and more prosperous global economy in 2014.

Read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

Save the date Growth Jobs Prosperity in the Digital Age OECD Shapes the Policy Environment

Published on January 15, 2014

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Save the Date!

Growth, Jobs, & Prosperity in the Digital Age:
OECD Shapes the Policy Environment
March 10, 2014
12:00 noon – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center
901 K Street, NW, 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20001

Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (STI), will lead a unique business/government dialogue, which will include other top experts from the OECD’s Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) division and senior U.S. and foreign government officials. They will explore policy and regulatory challenges affecting U.S. companies that rely on ICT for business operations.

Proposed Topics

  • Internet Governance: Defending Stakeholder Principles
  • Shaping the Future of the Digital Economy: The Role of the OECD
  • Enhancing Trust and Boosting Innovation in the Digital Ecosystem
  • Global Trade & Local Rules: New Opportunities and Challenges for Digital Trade
  • Developments in Colombia’s ICT Sector, Policies and Regulations

Invited Keynotes

H.E. Diego Molano Vega – Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, Government of Colombia
Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda  – Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Information on registration and the agenda to follow shortly.

 

Sponsored by:

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For more information, contact Erin Breitenbucher at ebreitenbucher@uscib.org or +1 202.682.7465.


For sponsorship opportunities,contact Abby Shapiro at ashapiro@uscib.org

Brought to you by:
United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC)

Fighting for Pro-FDI Policies at the OECD

Published on December 10, 2013

Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, led the a team of representatives from BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, at last week’s “stakeholder” consultations with  the OECD Investment Committee in Paris.

Sparring with trade union and NGO representatives, who also have stakeholder status at the OECD, Donnelly urged OECD member governments to adopt consistent, predictable pro-investment policies and to speak up forcefully on behalf of the unique contributions of foreign direct investment to economic growth, competitiveness and jobs.

Donnelly highlighted the importance of high-standard international investment agreements, including provisions for arbitration and investor/state dispute settlement to resolve major investment problems. The BIAC team strongly encouraged the OECD secretariat and member governments to give a higher priority and greater visibility to its pro-investment policy efforts in the overall OECD work program.

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

WTO Deal in Bali Would Unleash Benefits For All Business Tells Ministers

Published on December 3, 2013
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical.

The business community is putting pressure on World Trade Organization members to seal a trade facilitation deal at this week’s WTO ministerial in Bali, Indonesia.

Speaking to a high-level meeting today between business and ministers in Bali, Victor K. Fung, chairman of the ICC World Trade Agenda initiative, urged business to continue pressing their governments to conclude an agreement on trade facilitation in the next three days.

At the same time, ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, who also serves as USCIB’s chairman, and some 80 other global CEOs issued an open letter to governments, published in the Financial Times, emphasizing that a trade facilitation deal could boost global GDP by upwards of three percent.

Separately, McGraw joined UK Trade Minister Stephen Green in a joint op-ed
published by Reuters spelling out the potential benefits of a trade facilitation deal. “In addition to providing a major stimulus to the global economy, a deal would also reinforce the WTO’s central role in shaping the rules that govern world trade,” they wrote. “The challenges now facing global trade are formidable. Showing that the WTO can help by tackling them one by one — rather than in a mammoth undertaking — would be an important step forward and a model to build on.”

USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan is attending the Bali ministerial as part of the global business delegation to the talks. Last week, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson expressed disappointment that WTO members had failed to wrap up a Bali package before the ministerial. He urged ministers to “pick up the pieces and move forward as quickly as possible.”

At the Bali meeting, Fung said that sealing a deal on trade facilitation at the 9th WTO Ministerial, commencing today would benefit all countries by creating millions of jobs and laying the foundations of a level playing field for all countries to compete in world markets.

Fung and Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia’s trade minister, co-chaired the meeting organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Indonesian trade ministry. Ministers and ambassadors from many key WTO member countries participated in the roundtable discussion.

“A trade facilitation deal would put multilateralism back on centre stage in the global quest for growth and prosperity,” Fung said. “For those of us who rely on the fairness, transparency and non-discriminatory nature of the multilateral system, a deal would be a victory for pragmatism and an important stride forward for creating a trading system that works for all. This is especially important for supporting the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises and growth in the developing world.”

WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the gathering that a deal was in sight but would require political engagement and will at the highest level: “This is not a North-South divide and it is not a question of needing more time.” he said. “Either we get a deal done here, or we don’t.”

Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical. “In the last few weeks as momentum has picked up, governments began to pay more attention as businesses became more involved and people began to realize the importance of the package we have before us. Businesses saying that they want this deal, both in developed and developing countries, changed the environment in Geneva significantly and it can change the environment here too.”

A recent report commissioned by ICC has shown that the conclusion of a trade facilitation deal in Bali would generate annual world GDP increases of approximately $960 billion (U.S.) and would increase exports of developing countries by $570 billion. It would also create 21 million jobs, 18 million of which would be in developing economies.

Read more on the ICC website.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Washington Update: October to November 2013

Published on December 1, 2013

During the months of October and November, USCIB welcomed Kristin Isabelli as its new Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation; met with EU negotiators on TTIP in Brussels; published blogs on investment policy; organized workshops at the IGF; provided input to the OECD on its BEPS initiative; met with USTR on the trade facilitation negotiations; engaged State on the APEC Chemical Dialogue; co-hosted a forum in China; and much more.

Download the full report.

OECD Economic Outlook 2013

Published on November 21, 2013

On November 19 in Paris, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria released the organization’s major annual global economic projection, the 2013 Economic Outlook. One of the OECD’s benchmark publications, the OECD report is used by member governments and economists worldwide as an important forecasting tool.

Information on the 2013 OECD outlook has been shared throughout the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD’s worldwide network. Click here for the OECD’s press materials, which include a link to the full report. Click here for an informative slide deck summarizing the report’s key findings and predictions.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

A Business Perspective on Investment Incentives

Published on November 15, 2013
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly, who spoke at a Columbia University conference on international investment, here briefs foreign journalists on the transatlantic trade talks.
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly, who spoke at a Columbia University conference on international investment, here briefs foreign journalists on the transatlantic trade talks.

USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was one of just a few business panelists at the annual conference of the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, which took place November 13-14 in New York. The annual Columbia University conference has become a major gathering place for investment policy experts.

According to Donnelly, the roster of speakers at this year’s conference “was again tilted toward academics, NGOs and government officials – some, unfortunately, with noticeable anti-business biases when it comes to foreign investment policy issues.”

The topic this this year was “Investment Incentives: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Assessing the Costs, Benefits and Options for Policy Reform.” On the opening panel, Donnelly delivered a message on the important role FDI, both inward and outbound, can play in a country’s (or a state’s) strategy for economic development and job creation.

“Well-targeted incentives can help attract sought-after investors and bolster national competitiveness,” Donnelly said. “Not all investment incentives are good or accomplish their objectives but, similarly, not all incentives are somehow, as some critics charge, wasteful or an abuse of scarce taxpayer funds.”

Donnelly’s said investment incentives tend to be overrated as a driver of investment location decisions. “Internationally, major U.S. businesses’ investment decisions are generally driven far more by market realities, location, sound economic policies, rule of law, and political stability than by the size of an incentive package.”

Several business representatives in the audience commended Donnelly afterward for scoring at least a few points for the business team in FDI policy discussions.

State of play in the U.S.-EU negotiations

While in New York, Donnelly also met with a number of foreign journalists on the business community’s outlook on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, in a program organized with the State Department’s New York Foreign Press Center. Click here to read a transcript.

With tariffs between the United States and the European Union already relatively low, discussion centered on non-tariff barriers, regulatory cooperation and conditions for investment. Donnelly said American business hoped that trade and investment liberalization via the TTIP, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, would provide a much-needed spur to liberalization at the global level via the World Trade Organization.

Donnelly also called out regulatory cooperation as an area of potentially large gains for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, identifying auto safety standards and chemicals regulation as examples of areas where commonly agreed or mutually recognized standards could significantly ease cross-border business between the world’s two largest economies.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee