By ICC Honorary Chairman Victor Fung
Financial Times
Read the letter: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2dd368a0-61af-11e3-916e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2vmZ9AeN6
Kira Yevtukhova Archives
USCIB Welcomes Progress on Pacific Trade Talks
New York, N.Y., December 10, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) today congratulated U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and negotiators from the other Trans-Pacific Partnership countries on making substantial progress in the latest round of TPP talks just concluded in Singapore.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an essential element in expanding our access to fast-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, which will spur economic growth and job creation,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “We encourage negotiators to continue striving for a comprehensive, high-standards trade and investment agreement.”
In a joint statement earlier today, negotiators said: “For all TPP countries, an ambitious, comprehensive and high-standard agreement that achieves the goals established in Honolulu in 2011 is critical for creating jobs and promoting growth, providing opportunity for our citizens and contributing to regional integration and the strengthening of the multilateral trading system.”
Robinson urged the TPP governments to intensify their efforts in January with the goal of wrapping up negotiations as soon as possible. “We in the business community are committed to helping our governments conclude an ambitious agreement in short order,” he said.
In addition to the United States, the TPP talks encompass Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
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. With a unique global network, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org
USCIB Hails Breakthrough Adoption of WTO Bali Package
New York, N.Y., December 7, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) applauded the adoption of an ambitious package of trade liberalization measures by World Trade Organization members at the WTO ministerial in Bali, Indonesia today.
”WTO members have delivered a dose of holiday cheer to a struggling global economy,” said USCIB President and CEOPeter Robinson. “We congratulate ministers on making the tough choices necessary to push this package of agreements past the finish line. They have demonstrated once again the critical importance of multilateral trade liberalization.”
Expectations ahead of the Bali meeting were low, said Robinson, in light of the inability of WTO members to agree to a package in preliminary meetings in Geneva last month, leaving the tough decisions for trade ministers. But he said the business community did not give up hope, and indeed redoubled its efforts to push governments toward an agreement. Robinson said the result – a set of agreements to, among other things, facilitate global trade through modernization of customs and other administrative practices – “will add billions of dollars to global GDP and create millions of jobs.”
A major business push came from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which earlier this year estimated that a trade facilitation agreement alone would deliver global job gains of 21 million, with developing countries gaining more than 18 million jobs and developed countries increasing their workforce by three million.
“With our help, 159 countries came together to reach a trade facilitation agreement that will boost the world’s economy by almost one trillion U.S. dollars,” said ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, who also serves as USCIB’s chairman, in a video message to governments and ICC members worldwide. “What an accomplishment! And the good news is everyone participated.”
McGraw said the agreement “breaks through the logjam that has bottled up trade agreements for the last decade, and paves the way for future agreements that will further increase global growth and job creation.”
The business community, already rallying in support of renewed Trade Promotion Authority as well as prospective U.S. trade pacts with 12 Asia-Pacific nations and the European Union, will push hard for adoption of the Bali package by Congress, according to USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan, who attended the Bali ministerial and who spearheads USCIB’s Washington-based activities. “We in the private sector are united in our support for this agreement, and for additional action to spur jobs and growth through international trade,” he said.
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. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 (office), +1 917.420.0039 (mobile), jhuneke@uscib.org
USCIB Disappointed at Failure to Reach WTO Bali Package
New York, N.Y., November 26, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) expressed deep disappointment at the failure of World Trade Organization members to finalize a prospective “Bali package” ahead of the WTO ministerial next week in Indonesia.
But the pro-trade group, which represents the views of American business in major multilateral forums, urged ministers to salvage a prospective deal on trade facilitation, saying this would deliver a boost to a global economy stuck in the doldrums.
“An ambitious trade facilitation agreement could have a real, positive impact on growth and jobs in the U.S. and around the world,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. ”We remain hopeful that ministers can chart a path forward. Finalizing a trade facilitation deal would reinforce the WTO’s role as an essential platform for trade liberalization.”
WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo said diplomats from the WTO’s 159 members tried hard but “cannot cross the finish line here in Geneva” ahead of the December 3-6 Bali meeting, where ministers were to have signed the deal.
Robinson said: “We appreciate the efforts by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman’s team to advance the WTO talks in Geneva as far as they were able to go. We urge WTO members to use the Bali ministerial to pick up the pieces and move forward as quickly as possible.” He noted that USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan will join business representatives from around the world at the ministerial.
Many observers believe a WTO trade facilitation agreement could deliver a significant shot in the arm to the world economy. In June, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in cooperation with USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), released a study assessing the potential payoffs from an “early harvest” of elements from the WTO’s Doha Round. The report concluded that a trade facilitation agreement alone would deliver global job gains of 21 million, with developing countries gaining more than 18 million jobs and developed countries increasing their workforce by three million.
“Multilateral agreements like the Bali package are especially important in a world of highly integrated, multi-country global value chains,” Robinson said. “Imports now constitute some 40 percent of the value of exported goods globally, making import barriers in essence a tax on exports.”
For its part, ICC said it supports continued efforts to successfully conclude an agreement and will be working through its members to press governments to find a path forward.
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. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 (office), +1 917.420.0039 (mobile), jhuneke@uscib.org
Business Works to Strengthen Engagement in UN Climate Process
Warsaw, November 22, 2013 – At the 19th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled to conclude today, the business community has moved forward with efforts to engage more effectively in the international climate process, according to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).
Earlier this week, the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF), a coalition of 20 cross-sectoral business groups from six continents, including USCIB, hosted the Warsaw Business Dialogue, working in partnership with the main Polish business federation and the Polish government’s presidency of COP-19.
The event brought together 50 high-level representatives from Poland and other national delegations, business leaders, the UNFCCC secretariat and other relevant organizations to discuss ways in which business can contribute more effectively to the UN process.
“Business supports development of an ambitious, inclusive post-2020 global climate agreement,” according to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president of environment and energy. “To achieve truly ambitious goals, negotiators must develop an agreement that harnesses private-sector R&D and investment to deliver climate-friendly technologies and solutions. Working together with governments, we can strengthen the practicality and economic viability of an agreement, supported by trade, investment and innovation.”
UN negotiators are aiming to advance work toward a post-2020 climate agreement at COP-20 next year in Lima, Peru. A final agreement is expected to be signed at COP-21 in Paris in 2015.
The Warsaw dialogue builds on the successful Doha Business Dialogue at COP-18 last year, and previous events at recent UN climate meetings in South Africa and Mexico. Under the theme of “Leverage Business Actions in Technology and Investment,” participants considered ways that international climate policy could best benefit from business efforts to develop and deploy advanced technologies.
The business dialogues are part of a larger effort by BizMEF to establish a recognized channel for business to contribute its expertise and practical experience to the UN climate talks. “Currently, business has no formal role in the UNFCCC, we are simply observers,” said Brian Flannery, a BizMEF spokesperson.
“While we welcome that opportunity, both business and governments could benefit from a recognized channel to provide expert input and participation,” Flannery said. “Such channels work effectively in many other international forums, including the International Labor Organization and the OECD. Both business and governments benefit from more informed participation.”
In his closing remarks to participants at the Warsaw dialogue, Ambassador Jorge Voto Bernales of Peru stated: “We in Peru will work with you in the business community and with the Polish presidency to promote creation of better channels for interactions with business going forward to COP-20 in Lima.”
Voto Bernales further suggested that BizMEF “consider opportunities to engage more closely with regional business groups and governments, in particular in the Latin American region, and with small and medium-sized enterprise as well as large multinational companies, to identify fruitful areas and explore them in more depth. For our part, the COP presidencies could assist in facilitating such interactions, perhaps through a regional workshop based on development of a shared agenda and participation.”
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, speaking on behalf of BiizMEF, welcomed the Peruvian ambassador’s remarks and accepted the offer. “The work of the Business Major Economies Forum has been a valuable step to enhance mutual understanding of business and governments concerning the international climate process, as demonstrated here in Warsaw,” he added.
About BizMEF:
The Major Economies Business Forum on Energy Security and Climate Change (BizMEF) is a partnership of leading multi-sectoral business organizations from major economies. Modeled after the government-to-government Major Economies Forum, BizMEF is a platform for these groups to promote dialogue, highlight areas of agreement among participating organizations on the most important issues for business in international climate change policy forums; and share these views with governments, international bodies, other business organizations, the press and the public. Organizations that have participated in BizMEF meetings represent business groups in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Collectively, BizMEF organizations represent more than 25 million businesses of every size and sector. More information is available at www.bizmef.org.
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. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB
(212) 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org
More on USCIB’s Environment Committee
Kristin Isabelli Joins USCIB as Director of Customs Policy
Washington, D.C., November 20, 2013 – Kristin Isabelli has joined the staff of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) as director of customs and trade facilitation. She brings significant Capitol Hill experience on these issues, having worked most recently as a legislative aide for the House Ways and Means Committee.
“With a busy agenda on the customs and trade facilitation, including Customs reauthorization, we are fortunate to bring on someone of Kristin’s caliber,” said Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president of policy and government affairs. “With her knowledge of the issues and the key policymakers, in addition to her Hill experience, she will be able to hit the ground running.”
In addition to staffing USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee, chaired by Jerry Cook (HanesBrands), Isabelli will serve as the International Chamber of Commerce’s representative to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System Committee, and as a member of the APEC Customs Business Working Group.
Isabelli comes to USCIB from the House Committee on Ways and Means, where she worked as the trade legislative assistant for Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R. – Mich.). She assisted in the completion of the Colombia, Panama and South Korea free trade agreements and the 112th Congress Customs Reauthorization Bill, and assisted in the creation of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process and website for the 112th and 113th Congresses. With a bachelor’s degree in international studies and French from Allegheny College, Isabelli is currently working toward a master’s degree in international commerce at George Mason University.
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. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
(212) 703-5043, jhuneke@uscib.org
Kristin Isabelli Joins USCIB as Director of Customs Policy
We are delighted to welcome Kristin Isabelli as USCIB’s new director of customs and trade facilitation. In addition to staffing USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee, chaired by Jerry Cook (HanesBrands), Isabelli will serve as the International Chamber of Commerce’s representative to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System Committee, and as a member of the APEC Customs Business Working Group.
Isabelli brings significant Capitol Hill experience on trade and customs. She comes to USCIB from the House Committee on Ways and Means, where she worked as the trade legislative assistant for Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R – MI). Isabelli assisted in the completion of the Colombia, Panama and South Korea free trade agreements and the 112th Congress Customs Reauthorization Bill. She assisted in the creation of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process and website for the 112th and 113th Congresses.
“With a busy agenda on the customs and trade facilitation, we are fortunate to bring on someone of Kristin’s caliber,” said Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president of policy and government affairs. “With her knowledge of the issues and the key policymakers, in addition to her Hill experience, she will be able to hit the ground running.”
Isabelli obtained a bachelor’s degree in international studies and French from Allegheny College, and she is currently working toward a master’s degree in international commerce at George Mason University.
Hooray for FDI…. But Let’s Clap with Both Hands!
By Peter Robinson, USCIB President and CEO
Investment Policy Central
“We at the United States Council for International Business heartily congratulate the U.S. Department of Commerce and the entire administration for the very successful “Select USA Investment Summit” held late last week. While it was truly heartening to have the administration fully and publically on board with a strong message that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is good for the U.S. economy, for U.S. jobs, competitiveness, and communities, we could still do more.”
Read the full column: http://www.investmentpolicycentral.com/content/select-usa-investment-summit-hooray-fdi%E2%80%A6-let%E2%80%99s-clap-both-hands
USCIB Applauds Better Work Plan on Bangladesh
New York, N.Y., October 22, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents American employers in the International Labor Organization (ILO), welcomed the extension of the Better Work program, a joint initiative of the ILO and the International Finance Corporation, to Bangladesh in an effort to improve workplace conditions in the country’s garment industry. (Click here for the ILO announcement.)
“This is a very welcome development,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “It signals a strong commitment by governments, in concert with global employers and trade unions, as well as their counterparts in Bangladesh, to improve working conditions in the country.”
Operational since 2009, the Better Work program brings together governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, global brands and supplier factories to improve both productivity and working conditions those factories. The program assesses compliance with labor laws, posts reports online and provides targeted capacity building training to improve compliance with labor standards as well as the competitiveness of the factory.
Robinson said USCIB has worked to line up U.S. corporate support for the Better Work program, including financial support. Through its participation in the Better Work program’s advisory committee, USCIB actively supported a recommendation to launch the Bangladesh country program, he noted.
“Better Work is a stellar example of public-private collaboration with measurable benefits,” Robinson stated. “By bringing all stakeholders together in a collaborative framework, it helps bring about sustainable improvements in workplace conditions.”
USCIB represents American business interests internationally, including in the ILO where it is the U.S. employer constituent, serves on the ILO Governing Body, and leads the U.S. employer delegation to the ILO’s annual International Labor Conference.
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.
Contacts:
Adam Greene, VP labor & corporate responsibility, USCIB
+1 212.703.5056, agreene@uscib.org
Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org
Capturing trade facilitation’s low-hanging fruit
By Jerry Cook, HanesBrands, Chair of USCIB’s Customs & Trade Facilitation Committee
American Shipper
“In my first column of 2013, I wrote about the emergence of large, highly efficient integrated global supply networks that incorporate companies of all sizes and at all stages of production in the value chain. International components and inputs are key links in the supply chain for U.S. manufacturers, and effective trade facilitation will increase a U.S. operation’s manufacturing activities, as well as its ability to export, import and invest.”
Read the full column: https://uscib.org/docs/2013_10_cook_as_column.pdf
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