Kira Yevtukhova Archives

Senior White House Official Peter Harrell Meets With USCIB Trade and Investment Committee

Published on March 31, 2021
Peter Harrell

USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee welcomed White House Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness Peter Harrell during the Committee’s quarterly meeting on March 25.

Harrell, who is dual-hatted in both the National Security Council (NSC) and National Economic Council (NEC), outlined Biden Administration policies and priorities on a range of international economic issues, including trade, and according to USCIB Senior Advisor Shaun Donnelly, had a candid Q&A session with USCIB members.

“It was great to hear directly and candidly from a senior White House official playing a key role on a wide range of issues important to our members,” said USCIB’s new Senior Vice President for Innovation, Regulation, and Trade Brian Lowry. “I was especially impressed that Peter wanted to listen to views, as well as questions, from our members and offered candid answers. We look forward to a continuing dialogue with Peter Harrell and other senior Administration officials on a range of important and challenging issues.”

Business Partners to CONVINCE – Vaccination for a Healthy Planet

Published on March 26, 2021

Business Partners to CONVINCE is a global network of employers that agree to promote vaccine literacy and encourage COVID-19 vaccination among employees, suppliers, and customers.

Join our Global COVID-19 Workplace Challenge!

Please visit our webpage: https://www.businesspartners2convince.org/

Follow us on Twitter: @BP2Convince

USCIB Welcomes Senate’s Unanimous Confirmation Vote on USTR Tai

Published on March 18, 2021
Photo: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Washington, D.C., March 18, 2021—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) salutes the Senate for its unanimous vote on March 17 to confirm Katherine Tai as the next U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), believing she is a solid choice for this important cabinet-level position, bringing outstanding experience as an attorney-advisor and litigator at USTR, as Chief Trade Counsel for the House of Representatives Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, and as an attorney in the private sector.

America’s economic growth, jobs and competitiveness, our future, depends to a considerable degree on how well we are able to engage and compete in today’s, and tomorrow’s, global economy. USTR Tai will lead America’s efforts on some very important trade and investment issues including our leadership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), updated and improved rules on digital trade, reducing foreign trade and investment barriers hurting American companies and workers, and effectively enforcing our existing network of trade agreements. Tai’s experience with Congress, as well as her expertise in trade law, the WTO and in Asia and China will serve her, and our country, very well in ​this crucial position.

“USCIB knows and respects Ms.Tai and has worked well with her in her important role at the Ways and Means Committee,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “As an organization committed to open trade and investment flows, as well as high standards of corporate responsibility, all of us at USCIB and our member companies look forward to working with Ms.Tai to advance America’s economic interests and our shared values.”

Citi’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Global Government Affairs Rick Johnston, who also c​hairs the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee added, “Ms. Tai is the timely choice for this critical role as USTR at a very important an​d challenging time. Winning unanimous support from the Senate is a rare tribute to her abilities, her experience, and the respect she has earned from all quarters. The right leader at the right time for a very important job.”

About USCIB: USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

2021 Crosscutting Policy Briefs

Published on March 16, 2021

Multilateral cooperation is the single most powerful vehicle to achieve an inclusive and sustainable path to dealing with the enormity of the challenges facing society today. As our nation and the world face daunting crises of healthcare, unemployment and poverty, climate change and human rights, recognition of business as an essential partner in finding solutions in the international policy arena is critical to achieving success.

Recommendations to the Biden Administration: Mobilizing for Recovery, Prosperity, & Sustainability

Vision Statement

 

Multilateral Trade & an Effective WTO Are Vital to Sustainable Economic Recovery

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a cornerstone of the global rules-based trading system and has helped spread growth and development for decades. Beyond the WTO, market opening efforts, for example in the form of negotiations of agreements, are vital to ensure our economic connectivity to the global marketplace. The Administration should continue to push for WTO reform, reviving the appellate body, concluding ongoing negotiations, looking for new opportunities and resolving long-standing issues like those of developing country status.

Advancing Human Rights and Rule of Law, Leveraging Supply Chains

UN Sustainable Development Goal 16, “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions,” makes clear the key role that governance and the rule of law play in promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies and in ensuring sustainable development. Despite the many government high-level pledges to promote human rights and decent work in line with International Labor Organization (ILO) standards, however, national-level implementation remains poor in far too many countries.

A New International Policy Strategy to Combat Illicit Trade

Illicit trade is a serious threat that harms U.S. economic and national security. It feeds a booming multi-trillion dollar global illegal economy and harms every market, puts public health and safety at risk, and upends the rule of law and damages investment climates. It is a threat multiplier that helps fuel transnational crime, kleptocracy, corruption and bribery, e-commerce frauds and greater insecurity and instability around the world. COVID-19 has further exacerbated criminality and IP infringement including through illicit trade that is putting the health and safety of citizens and communities at risk.

Redefine the U.S.-China Relationship Based on Constructive Dialogue & Tough-Minded, Focused Enforcement

U.S.-China economic relations are complex and multifaceted, and American business holds a direct and important stake in this relationship and in a predictable and fair trade and investment regime. As the world’s largest economy outside the U.S., China’s practices and policies have a significant impact on its trading partners, the U.S. economy, and on global trade. China’s continually growing presence in the global economy requires both countries to work together to address common challenges and responsibilities.

Promoting Vaccine Confidence, Health & Economic Recovery

COVID-19 vaccine confidence leading to vaccine uptake will directly contribute to individual, family, community and societal health and well-being, in turn keeping people working and the global economy functioning. The private sector can play a pivotal role in addressing vaccine hesitancy with its extensive reach and high level of trust imbued in employers by their employees. Business Partners to CONVINCE (COVID-19 New Vaccine INformation, Communication and Engagement), an initiative of The USCIB Foundation, seeks to engage employers in a unified vaccine confidence project that is global in scope to combat growing mistrust and misinformation on vaccines, and on COVID-19 in particular.

Digital Transformation is Key to Effective COVID Response & Building Back Better

The extent to which use of remote video-conferencing has become the norm for doing business and engaging in social interaction shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic puts in stark relief the importance of innovative technologies for economic and societal well-being. U.S. high technology companies – global leaders in this sector – have the potential to fuel resilience and recovery by creating new jobs and greater efficiencies across all sectors. This will mean greater employment for Americans and enhanced global business competitiveness as we recover from the pandemic.

Climate Change & Innovation: Advancing Economic Prosperity & Environmental Progress Together

As the U.S. re-joins and re-engages with the Paris Agreement, it will be expected to prepare a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), setting out its climate policy objectives and describing the means by which those objectives will be met. A key consideration in developing the U.S. NDC will be to catalyze U.S. private sector innovation and enhance its competitiveness by cooperating with allies inside and outside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), not only domestically but also in the international arena, via trade, investment and public-private partnerships.

Addressing the Challenges of International Taxation for U.S. Business in the Global Marketplace

The immediate international tax policy priorities facing the Administration center around the current critical review phase for the OECD digital tax project which has been ongoing for several years. The absence of a global solution to revising an international tax system that has proven to be in some ways no longer fit for purpose in the digitalized economy has led to a proliferation of unilateral tax measures that disproportionately burden U.S. business. Many foreign jurisdictions and the European Union are committed to maintaining and increasing unilateral taxation solutions in the absence of global tax reform agreement.

Biodiversity & Nature-Based Solutions

The U.S. business community strongly supports environmental stewardship and sustainable use of natural resources as set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Biodiversity is essential to planetary and human health; every essential service of nature relies on biodiversity, whether on land or marine, such as clean air and water, food security, and genetic materials, which could offer cures and treatments for health challenges and many others.

Digital Economy Architects to Keynote at Joint OECD, Business at OECD and USCIB Conference

Published on March 16, 2021

New York, N.Y., March 16, 2021 — For the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to conduct our lives virtually and has, subsequently, highlighted the relevance of the OECD’s Internet Policy Principles (IPPs). These principles call for a global free flow of information and services, multistakeholder participation, and cooperation to ensure Internet security and privacy. With these issues in mind, USCIB joined with the OECD and Business at OECD (BIAC) to organize a Digital Economy Conference focusing on “A Decade of OECD Internet Principles: Policy-Making in a Data-Driven World.” Key experts, such as MIT’s Daniel Weitzner, Microsoft’s Julie Brill, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Christopher Hoff, Ambassador David Gross of Wiley, and Sharri Clark from the White House, as well as OECD’s Andrew Wyckoff, among others, will discuss the evolving digital ecosystem, Artificial Intelligence (AI), government access to data, and challenges to both business and policymakers.

“The IPPs, adopted in 2011, have underpinned the OECD’s evolving work on digital economy issues in the past decade,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “These themes have also been echoed in recent digital economy work of the United Nations, the UN Internet Governance Forum, and other multilateral bodies.”

The May 25 virtual conference, officially the “Joseph H. Alhadeff Digital Economy Conference,” will consider how the IPPs have been reflected in some of the OECD’s ground-breaking digital work – such as development of the AI Principles. Industry experts will also consider how the Principles may be employed to address challenges posed by the rapid pace of digital innovation and related changes to the digital ecosystem.

Registration is now open for this conference. Please contact Erin Breitenbucher to register: ebreitenbucher@uscib.org.

Members of the press and media are also welcome to register and join.

About USCIB: USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

USCIB Welcomes Appointment of Mathias Cormann as New Head of OECD

Published on March 15, 2021
Mathias Cormann speaks during a Senate inquiry at Parliament House in Canberra, October 20, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

New York, N.Y., March 15, 2021—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents many of the world’s leading companies and which serves as the U.S. Member Organization of Business at OECD (BIAC), welcomed the announcement of Mathias Cormann, a former Australian finance minister, as the candidate to be appointed the next OECD Secretary General.

Phil O’Reilly, chair of Business at OECD, noted that the OECD’s ability to bring solutions to global challenges relies on its effective consultation with the private sector. “Our input has been critical to the success and implementation of major OECD initiatives,” O’Reilly stated. “Our strengthened collaboration will be essential to further increase the OECD’s policy impact in the coming years.”

“Multilateralism matters now, more than ever, and all of us at USCIB look forward to a productive partnership and a collaborative relationship with the new OECD Secretary General,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “USCIB and our members rely on BIAC’s work with the OECD to achieve the right policy responses and guidance. This cooperation will be critical as we all work together towards economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Cormann will succeed Ángel Gurría following his 15-year tenure with the Organization. “We thank Mr. Gurría for his strong leadership and look forward to hitting the ground running with Mr. Cormann to show that multilateralism delivers clear benefits for business and societies,” stated Hanni Rosenbaum, executive director of Business at OECD. Rick Johnston, Managing Director, International Government Affairs at Citibank, and a vice chair of Business at OECD, joined Robinson in expressing deep appreciation to Secretary-General Gurria for a long and cooperative relationship over his tenure at OECD.

Cormann will assume the role of Secretary General on June 1, 2021 and, upon assuming his post, will be the first person from the Asia-Pacific region to lead the OECD.

In Statement on International Women’s Day, USCIB Recognizes Setbacks Women Face Due to COVID-19

Published on March 8, 2021

New York, N.Y., March 08, 2021 — On this year’s International Women’s Day, USCIB joins the global community in recognizing the critical contributions of women in responding to, and recovering from, the COVID-19 pandemic — often at the cost of hard-fought gains in equality and economic empowerment. Our task going forward is to ensure that these gains are recovered and that progress continues.

USCIB and its members have long championed the critical role of women’s education, employment and entrepreneurship for their own and their families’ health and well-being, as well as for the health and competitiveness of the societies and economies in which we live and do business. The United Nations report on “The Impact of COVID-19 on Women ” highlights the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on women and girls and rightly stresses that we must keep this disparity in mind, as well as be purposeful in championing women as we undertake the task of rebuilding our economies. This shared task confronts governments, business and civil society alike.

Through our engagement in the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Business at OECD (BIAC), we will continue to work with our business counterparts around the world to address the barriers that continue to confront women and girls and to advance the opportunities that will allow them to thrive and our enterprises to prosper.

Please visit the UN Women’s page for International Women’s Day 2021 “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” for statements, stories and updates.

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

Robinson Welcomes COVID-19 Vaccine Collaboration Between Merck, Johnson & Johnson

Published on March 3, 2021

New York, N.Y., March 03, 2021—Peter Robinson, president and chief executive of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents many of America’s leading global companies, released a statement today in reaction to President Joe Biden’s announcement on March 2 that Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine:

“We at USCIB commend our member companies J&J and Merck for collaborating in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership between these two companies and the commitment of their CEOs, both of which are USCIB Trustees, brings us a great amount of pride and excitement. Over the years, our motto at USCIB has been ‘Global Business Leadership At Work’ and we are pleased that our member companies have been demonstrating that and leading by example.

“The USCIB Foundation meanwhile is also building momentum on our most recent initiative – Business Partners to CONVINCE – a global, multi-sector effort to empower a ‘vaccine-literate’ public, led by employers as trusted messengers to their employees and based on trust in science and aligned commitment to future COVID-19 vaccines and other novel countermeasures.”

USCIB Leads Business in UN Discussions on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform

Published on February 24, 2021

USCIB Senior Advisor Shaun Donnelly and investment treaty expert Lauren Mandell from USCIB member firm WilmerHale represented USCIB at a virtual Working Group III (WG III) sessions of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).  For over three years, WG III has been discussing possible “reforms” of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) arbitration system.  The sessions had delegates and observers participating from around the world and every time zone. 

According to Donnelly, the European Union’s effort to establish a multilateral investment court continued to be the focus of discussions as it has been in the past three years.  Under the EU’s vision, the court would replace traditional ISDS – under which the investor appoints one arbitrator, the state appoints one arbitrator, and the parties jointly appoint the chair of the tribunal – with a “court” consisting of a pool of judges appointed solely by states, assigned to each case on a random basis. 

“The discussion last week focused on technical questions regarding how judges would be selected and appointed, including qualifications, nominations and screening procedures, and terms of office,” said Donnelly.  “However, amidst this technical exercise, numerous states, as well as USCIB and other observer groups, raised larger conceptual questions about the merits of a court. In particular, some states objected to losing their ability to appoint adjudicators in individual cases. Other states raised questions about the cost of establishing and maintaining the court.” 

The WG also started debate on the key issue of adding an appellate body which might review investor-state decisions, whether from an ISDS panel or a new investment court. USCIB actively participated in the discussions and posed many questions regarding the desirability of a court. 

As a next step, the working group tasked the UNCITRAL Secretariat with drafting legal text to flesh out the design of the court. According to Donnelly, it will be important for USCIB and USCIB member companies to actively monitor this drafting and negotiation process to ensure that the working group fully takes into account investors’ interests. 

USCIB is one of only a few non-governmental organizations representing business that is accredited to participate in the working group discussions.  

“It’s not clear how much real progress was made but there was real debate on some important issues,” Donnelly said. “My colleague Lauren and other expert observers got chances to point out major questions and problems with the EU’s investment court proposal. Increasing numbers of member states also seem to be focusing on the flaws in the EU’s radical proposal which would eliminate investors’ role in selecting arbiters. The U.S. government delegation did an outstanding job. We will continue to work with interested government delegations as well as legal, arbitration and business groups allies. We encourage more USCIB members to get involved with us in this important negotiation.”     

USCIB Informs EU With Comments on Sustainable Corporate Governance

Published on February 10, 2021

As part of the European Green Deal and the European Commission’s (EU) Communication on the (COVID-19) Recovery Plan, the EU has invited stakeholder comments during a public consultation to inform consideration of a possible EU Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative. USCIB has submitted its comments on February 9, drawing on the expertise of its Committees on Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs and Environment.

According to USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy, Norine Kennedy, the consultation took the form of an online questionnaire, seeking feedback on numerous elements of ESG, and exploring what form an EU-wide framework to promote due diligence, board of directors’ duty of care and stakeholder engagement should take. 

USCIB comments highlighted the fundamental importance of the UN Guiding Principles.  USCIB set out U.S. business concerns about any promulgation of rigid approaches, such as the application of tariffs, sanctions or import restrictions that rightly seek to address human rights or labor rights concerns but – due to their rigidity – inadvertently create a disincentive for long-term supply chain engagement, the use in accordance with the UNGPs of leverage in company supply and value chains, and sustainable remediation.  

“We would welcome an EU approach to these issues that would include sustainability risks, impacts and opportunities into corporate strategy and decisions, as many companies already have,” added Kennedy. “However general principles would be preferable over rigid legal requirements. Flexibility afforded to each company to decide how to include such considerations would be crucial for such general principles to be effective.”

USCIB also encouraged the EU to pursue a fuller holistic dialogue with business and other stakeholders on how to advance sustainable corporate governance in environmental and social areas.

“We support the role business can and should play in respecting human rights” said USCIB Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Gabriella Rigg Herzog.  “We strongly encourage the EU to gather business and other stakeholder views through actual dialogue and consultation, with due attention to context, such as ongoing impacts and burdens on companies because of the pandemic’s economic disruption and ongoing constraints, as well as existing business initiatives and systems.”

USCIB will continue to follow and stay in close contact with U.S. government and EU authorities as these deliberations go forward.