Kira Yevtukhova Archives

ICC Announces Ground-Breaking Executive Board Shift

Published on July 6, 2012
USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III (center), who also serves as vice chairman of ICC
USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III (center), who also serves as vice chairman of ICC

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has achieved an objective, securing representation from all five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the election of seven new members to its Executive Board.

Meeting last week at ICC headquarters in Paris, ICC governing bodies approved the seven new members along with renewed terms for four other members.

The new members are: Sebastian Escarrer Jaume, Vice-Chairman, Melia Hotels International (Spain); Joaquim Falcao, Dean of Law School of Fundacao Getulio Vargas (Brazil); Karen van Gennip, General Manager, Private Banking & Investments, ING (Netherlands); Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President, The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (Turkey); Alexander Izosimov, Director of East Capital AB, LM Ericsson, EVRAZ Group, Transcom WorldWide and Dynasty Foundation; Zola Tsotsi, Chairman, Eskom Holdings (South Africa); and Zhang Yanling, Executive Vice-President, Bank of China, 2002-2010.

The shift in Board composition sees a majority of 14 out of the 26 members coming from countries outside the so-called “old” industrial countries of Western Europe, North America and Japan and also includes the addition of two women.

“As a truly global business organization, it is fitting that our Executive Board is as diverse in its composition as the scope of issues ICC addresses on behalf of world business,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier.

Comprising 27 CEOs and other corporate executives, the Executive Board is ICC’s senior governing body responsible for developing and implementing ICC’s strategy, policy and program of action as well as overseeing the financial affairs of the world business organization.

USCIB Urges USTR to Deny Ecuador Access to ATPA Preference Benefits

Published on July 2, 2012

Washington, D.C., July 2, 2012 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) has strongly supported the U.S. Government’s network of trade preference programs to accord qualifying developing countries duty-free access into the U.S. market.  We believe that these preference programs have, over time, shown their value to U.S. consumers, to U.S. manufacturers seeking inputs, and to the beneficiary nations.  But we have always seen these unilateral U.S. programs, including the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as conditional programs, not an entitlement.  We believe that beneficiary countries’ eligibility for these preference programs is appropriately conditioned under U.S. law and regulation on meeting the eligibility criteria.

In this regard, while we at USCIB are generally pleased with the reports the Office of the United States Trade Representative sent to the Congress last Friday, June 29, we are quite concerned with the USTR determination to maintain access to ATPA trade preference benefits for the Government of Ecuador.   With Peru and Colombia now moving up to full Free Trade Agreement partner status, Ecuador is the sole potential recipient of ATPA preferences going forward.  Yet, in recent years, the Government of Ecuador has flaunted international and ATPA standards in key areas of rule-of-law and respect for arbitral awards.  We appreciate that USTR has pointed out at some length these failings of the Government of Ecuador in their annual report to Congress last Friday.  But we are disappointed that USTR has, nonetheless, opted to maintain Ecuador’s access to ATPA preference benefits.  We urge that the Administration and the Congress reconsider this decision.  It is inappropriate to reward the Government of Ecuador for its behavior in these key areas with preferential access to our market.  Ecuador should only obtain these benefits by coming into compliance with the eligibility criteria in the ATPA statute.

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 Trade and Investment Committee

Business Bolstered by G20 Progress in Los Cabos

Published on June 28, 2012

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is encouraged that business recommendations for boosting the global economy, including those aimed at unblocking trade negotiations, were taken into account by G20 leaders at their recent Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.  ICC executives, who met in Paris recently, agreed that while much progress still needs to be made, the measures announced by G20 leaders represent a positive step towards creating favorable conditions for improving economic growth and creating jobs.  The G20 final communiqué, issued on June 19 at the close of the Summit, took into account recommendations that had been delivered to the G20 by several business organizations, including ICC, on behalf of global business.

“ICC welcomes that G20 leaders have reasserted their shared belief in multilateralism and picked up on our trade and investment recommendations,” ICC Chairman Gerard Worms said. “Their agreement to negotiate on this issue is an indicator of progress and presents an opportunity to reinvigorate the global economy.”

“Despite the challenges we all face domestically, we have agreed that multilateralism is of even greater importance in the current climate, and remains our best asset to resolve the global economy’s difficulties,” the G20 leaders stated in the final communiqué, which also expresses appreciation for the contributions of the G20 Business Summit process.

CEOs from the ICC G20 Advisory Group and partners, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Mexican business associations COPARMEX and COMCE, delivered business views on a host of topics including trade and investment to Mexican President Felipe Calderon on April 19 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in preparation for the G20 Summit.  Among these recommendations was a call for increased tools for global governance, namely for reinforcement of the role and powers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). G20 leaders subsequently reaffirmed in Los Cabos their commitment to fully implement the 2010 Quota and Governance Reform by the time of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings, set to take place October 12-14, 2012.

Self-Regulation Experts Gather at ICC Seminar on Consumer Savvy Marketing

Published on June 28, 2012

Consumer Savvy MarketingAn engaging roster of top consumer protection and advertising self-regulation experts from the United States and around the world made the line-up of speakers at an ICC seminar on Consumer Savvy Marketing held in New York City on June 7. This seminar, hosted by USCIB and the ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising, provided the opportunity for companies and legal experts to stay up to date with the dramatically changing landscape of marketing campaigns and to better understand how rules apply to technological and practice developments.

Participants enjoyed a dynamic and informative keynote presentation on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) activities and new projects by Lesley Fair, Senior Attorney of FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau. Ms. Fair shared examples of recent U.S. advertising cases to illustrate how the FTC enforcement serves as a unique backstop to industry self-regulation efforts discussed later in the event. She discussed the FTC’s recently released privacy report and advised that companies with the most success in this area pursue a privacy-by-design approach to their business activities. Ms. Fair offered examples of cases in new media, explained the testimonials and endorsement guides in practice and gave an update on the review of the FTC green guides.

When asked how the FTC’s handles compliance when a company has campaigns overseas or with international cases, she noted that the FTC has worked with other consumer protection bodies in a cooperative fashion. She was also called on to share U.S. experiences with developing economies and notes that the U.S. boasts over a 90% compliance rate for self-regulation.

The seminar also included three discussion panels, addressing: Social Media Pitfalls and Best Practices, Privacy, Marketing and Self-Regulation and Mobile Marketing and Applications: Developments to Watch.

“The seminar provided us with an important opportunity to bring together a dream team from the community of organizations and experts and to showcase the valuable work being done to make self-regulation work,” said ICC Marketing Commission Chair and Microsoft Corporation Associate General Counsel Brent Sanders. “It is definitely an exercise the commission would like to repeat and expand upon next year and beyond.”

ICC has been a major rule-setter in international advertising self-regulation since 1937, when the ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising issued the first ICC Code on Advertising Practice – one of the most successful examples of business self-regulation ever developed. The revised Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice was launched in 2011 along with CodesCentre.com, a one-stop resource for industry, regulators and academics on self-regulation and advertising.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website, including information on speakers and moderators.

Download a copy of the Consolidated ICC Code

CodesCentre.com

Staff Contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

USCIB Welcomes Rio+20 Outcomes That Can Help Deliver Green Growth and Innovation for Sustainability

Published on June 22, 2012

Rio de Janeiro, June 22, 2012 – Responding to the results of the Rio+20 Summit, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) expressed optimism that agreements reached at the summit would pave the way for American companies to contribute to greener growth.

“While the summit has not achieved all that we wished, Rio+20 has delivered a package of pledges that, taken together, could broaden the engagement of not just governments, but also business, in sustainable development and take it to a new level,” said Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for energy and environment.

Over 120 heads of state met in Rio this week to lay out international priorities for new actions and institutions in a broad range of areas, including scaling up technological innovation, improving access to sustainable energy, and advancing sustainable consumption and production – all of these deliverables were identified by USCIB as critical to a successful and practical outcome.

The Rio+20 agreement renews the commitment of the international community to sustainable development, and reaffirms the importance of promoting an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future by engaging not just governments, but also other stakeholders and the business community.  Specifically, it provides for:

  • the launch of an international effort to frame Sustainable Development Goals, involving important partners, including business
  • the creation of a new international high level forum for sustainable development to raise the level of involvement of governments and other stakeholders, including business.

A large number of USCIB member companies attended the landmark event – more than at any previous UN environmental gathering.  They offered their expertise to negotiators and other important decision-makers gathered here, and participated in the Day of Business organized by the International Chamber of Commerce and its Business Action for Sustainable Development initiative.

USCIB, which launched the Green Economy Dialogue (GED) project last year to foster consensus among business, government and other stakeholders around green growth policies, held GED briefings in Rio, in cooperation with the Japanese and U.S. governments.  The briefings developed recommendations for globalizing green growth approaches, and explored options for public- and private-sector action and partnership.  Speakers from a wide range of companies and government representatives discussed green economy issues as substantive input to Rio+20.  They reflected the necessity of engaging all business sectors in greener growth and more sustainable practices.

USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg highlighted the urgent need to enact policy frameworks that will spur job creation.  “While we see the promise of job creation in new industries and sectors related directly to sustainability, reaching the full potential of greener growth will require sensible government policies to make all jobs greener,” Goldberg said at the U.S. Center Green Economies Dialogue event on June 18.

Encouraging corporate sustainability reporting was among the specific business recommendations set out in the text.  “U.S. companies will continue to explore approaches to communicate sustainability and will participate to share models of good practice in this area,” said Clifford Henry, associate director of corporate sustainable development with The Procter & Gamble Company and chair of USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee.

USCIB’s Kennedy, who served as a member of the U.S. government delegation in Rio, said USCIB had represented the views of U.S. companies throughout the negotiating process.  “We underscored the importance of open trade and investment, and the need to protect intellectual property rights and proprietary information,” she said.  “We appreciate the U.S. delegation’s strong efforts to promote technological innovation in the Rio+20 outcomes.  We are pleased that governments rejected harmful provisions that called for weakening of IPRs, a reassessment of existing IPR and patent rules, or preferential access to transfer of technology.”

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 the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, 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
+1 917.420.0039 (mobile), jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

USCIB Welcomes Inclusion of Canada and Mexico in Pacific Trade Talks

Published on June 19, 2012
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Obama in Los Cabos, Mexico
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Obama in Los Cabos, Mexico

Los Cabos, Mexico, June 19, 2012 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) applauds the announcement that Canada and Mexico have been invited to join the negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to open up trade and investment to drive economic growth and job creation in the Pacific region. USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson issued the following statement from Los Cabos, where he attended the B20 business meetings as part of  this week’s G20 Summit:

 

“This is a very welcome development. We applaud the United States and the other countries involved in the TPP negotiations for finding a way to bring these two major economies into the TPP process without sacrificing critical objectives, including that that a TPP agreement must be ambitious and comprehensive, and it must be concluded and implemented quickly.

“With the U.S., Canadian and Mexican economies so closely integrated under NAFTA, it is important for American business, workers and consumers to have all three countries fully engaged as partners in the TPP effort. We encourage all three governments to take the opportunity to strengthen North American trade ties and address remaining barriers between us, to help build an even more open and competitive North America market.

“Trade and investment will be critical in helping the U.S. and the world grow our way to a stronger economy with more and better jobs. The developments in Los Cabos this week are an important indication that major governments in the Pacific region are committed to pursuing meaningful market-opening agreements to spur growth.”

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 Trade and Investment Committee

ICC to Administer New Internet Domain Name Disputes

Published on June 13, 2012
The current number of domain name endings is set to dramatically increase
The current number of domain name endings is set to dramatically increase

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is among four dispute resolution providers invited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to administer disputes arising from applications made for new Internet generic Top-Level Domain Names (“gTLD”), a shift that will see a dramatic increase in the existing number of domain name endings currently available.

The dispute resolution procedure is part of a comprehensive program designed to protect the rights and interests of individuals or entities who oppose the registration of any domain name “strings” submitted for registration, as alternatives to the commonly known .com and .org extensions become possible.

ICANN today kicked off a seven-month objection period and made publicly available a list of all 1,930 gTLD ‘strings,’ for which complete applications were filed.

Under the program, ICC has accepted to process cases under the following two categories of objection.

  1. “Limited public interest objections” – whereby proposed names are considered to be contrary to generally accepted legal norms relating to morality and public order, recognized under principles of international law.
  2. “Community objections”, a substantial opposition to the gTLD application from a significant portion of the community to which the string may be explicitly or implicitly targeted.

The ICC International Centre for Expertise (the Centre) will administer cases under its Rules for Expertise which have been updated to include an appendix to govern the financial aspect of the proceedings. The Centre has also published a Practice Note to supplement the Rules.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Detailed information on the new service including a full listing of the final determinations of experts can be found on the ICC website at: http://www.iccwbo.org/court/expertise/id48204/index.html

More on ICC Dispute Resolution

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

USCIB Applauds Introduction of Russia Trade Bill in Senate

Published on June 12, 2012

New York, N.Y., June 12, 2012 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) applauded today’s introduction of legislation in the Senate to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia, which it said is essential to ensure access for American exports and investments in this important emerging market as it joins the World Trade Organization.

“Russian membership in the WTO is a long-sought goal of American and global business,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson.  “Now it is time for us to fulfill our end of the bargain.  In so doing we can help ensure not only a level playing field for our exports and investments, and the many American jobs they support, but also help to advance the rule of law in Russia and cement a stronger U.S. partnership with the country.”

Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) unveiled legislation today to establish PNTR with Russia when it joins the WTO this summer.  Passage of the bill, which would repeal the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, is necessary for American businesses to capitalize on new market access opportunities in Russia under the terms of its WTO accession.

Russia is also taking steps to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  Through its membership in BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, USCIB is working to advise the OECD and its member governments on appropriate terms for Russian entry into the organization, and is assessing the potential impact for U.S. business of Russian OECD membership.

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 Trade and Investment Committee

New ICC G20 Business Scorecard Gives G20 an “Incomplete”

Published on June 5, 2012
USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw speaking at the G20 consultation in Washington, D.C.
USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw speaking at the G20 consultation in Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C., June 5, 2012 – The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) today launched the ICC G20 Business Scorecard, measuring progress on the G20’s response to business recommendations, at a consultation between government officials and business leaders on the outlook for the June 18-19 G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, according to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), ICC’s American national committee.

The scorecard, unveiled at an ICC consultation in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), marked G20 performance as “incomplete” in three out of four policy areas evaluated: trade and investment, green growth, transparency and anti-corruption, and financing for growth and development.

The aim of the scorecard is to generate a balanced and reliable measurement of the G20’s performance in response to business recommendations that have been put forward to G20 leaders, in particular on ICC priority issues including trade and investment.

“At a time when governments are struggling with excessive debt, multilateral trade liberalization would create jobs and drive economic growth,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “Countries can create enormous economic opportunities when they enhance cross-border trade and investment flows.”

On trade and investment the scorecard gives the G20 a score of “incomplete,” based primarily on its failure to help advance the Doha Round of trade negotiations.

“The scorecard is a useful tool for business to monitor the G20’s progress on the trade agenda,” said Carrier. “G20 leadership to break the stalemate in WTO negotiations or to build a multilateral framework for investment advances would be reflected in a significantly higher score.”

ICC maintains that if the G20 has better information on how its actions are interpreted by the business community this will help it set priorities, honor commitments, measure its own progress over time and identify deficiencies that deserve greater attention. In parallel, the business community should work more closely with the G20 to promote economic growth and job creation.

“Today’s consultation is part of the business community’s effort to play an increasingly influential role to support G20 actions to foster economic growth, promote open trade and investment, build a more stable financial system and improve the environment for doing business,” said USCIB Chairmanand ICC Vice Chairman Harold McGraw III, chairman and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

The Washington consultation featured discussions with McGraw, Michael Froman, the U.S. G20 sherpa and deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, and Alejandro Ramirez, CEO of Cinepolis and chair of the Mexican organizing committee for the 2012 G20 Business Summit.

Participants addressed key topics from the G20 policy agenda, including global financial recovery, financial regulation, international financial institution reform and the role of the Financial Stability Board. The G20’s broader policy agenda was also addressed, including trade and investment, energy, green growth, anti-corruption and financing for development.

“For the past two years, ICC has canvassed the global business community and worked with G20 host countries to produce a set of business policy priorities,” Carrier said. “This meeting provided an important opportunity to share our views, gauge government responses and learn about G20 priorities for the upcoming summit.”

The ICC scorecard is an important tool for business. Business leaders with better information on whether the G20 has recognized business input and how it has carried through on specific business recommendations are better able to adjust future recommendations and engagement with the G20.

To achieve the scorecard results, ICC evaluated the G20’s progress according to 57 business recommendations made since 2008. Subsequent editions of the scorecard will be adapted based on shifting priorities and G20 actions. The scorecard evaluates the G20’s response to business recommendations based on three criteria:

  1. Recognition: Has the G20 addressed an issue raised by business?
  2. Action: Has the G20 taken action on this issue?
  3. Adequacy: Is the G20’s response or action adequate in addressing the issue?

An “insufficient” score indicates the G20 has not addressed the issue at all. An “incomplete” score signifies it has at least taken notice of the subject, however with little or no action taken in response. A “progress” score shows that the G20 has acted in line with the business recommendation, while “pass” means it has effectively addressed the business recommendation.

In addition to trade and investment, the scorecard evaluated G20 work on green growth with an “incomplete” score; its actions on transparency and anti-corruption as “incomplete”; and its initiatives in terms of financing for growth and development with a “progress” score.

“A lot of work remains to be done in getting business issues addressed by the G20, but the progress so far is very encouraging,” stated McGraw. “Business is already bolstered by the response it has received from the Mexican government in preparation for the G20 Summit and from Michael Froman at the consultation in Washington today.”

ICC has been providing input to the G20 since 2008 and now plans to issue the scorecard yearly ahead of each Summit to help drive business priorities. ICC in 2011 established the ICC G20 Advisory Group, which now comprises approximately 30 CEOs, as an official platform for providing business input to the G20.

ICC, along with partner organizations including the World Economic Forum, has developed policy recommendations to the G20 in preparation for the G20 Summit. These policy recommendations cover the four themes of the scorecard categories, as well as others.

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 BIAC, 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
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org.

McGraw-Hill press release: Harold McGraw III Says Global Growth Depends on Closer Government-Business Cooperation in Three Key Areas

New Director General of International Labor Organization Selected

Published on May 31, 2012
Britain’s Guy Ryder reaches out to global employers after securing election on sixth ballot
Guy Ryder
Guy Ryder

Geneva and New York, May 31, 2012 – The Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) elected Guy Ryder of the United Kingdom to be its tenth director general on Tuesday in Geneva, according to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which serves as the ILO’s U.S. employer member. Ryder, the first person with a trade union background to gain the ILO’s top post, is currently the ILO’s executive director for international labor standards.

Ryder was elected to a five-year term by a vote of 30-26, after six rounds of voting eliminated the other eight candidates for the post. He will succeed Juan Somavia of Chile, who has held the post for the past 13 years, in September.

The ILO sets global labor and workplace standards, and serves as a forum for discussion of employment and related social matters. Its tripartite structure, unique among international organizations, encompasses participation from governments, employers organizations and trade unions. The latter two groups account for half of the ILO Governing Body’s 56 members.

“Guy is both well known and well liked among employers at the ILO,” said USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, a member of the Governing Body. “We know we can work constructively with Guy on urgent issues of ILO management and reform, and we have every expectation of having a good working relationship with him.”

Ryder’s first official engagement as ILO director general-elect was to address the general council of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), where he stressed the essential role of employers in the ILO and pledged to lead the organization on behalf of all of its constituents. The Geneva-based IOE, part of USCIB’s global network, serves as the business voice in the ILO and other international bodies.

In his well received address, Ryder said: “It is incumbent on the ILO and its leadership to do everything possible to make sure that the ILO is relevant to business, is useful to business and reaches out to business.” He assured employers of the ILO’s cooperation, outreach and understanding, and also called on them to engage with the organization and lay out their perspectives and expectations. “Success would be achieved together, or not at all,” Ryder stated.

Daniel Funes de Rioja, the IOE’s executive vice president, noted that, although the employers group had backed a government-proposed candidate, the time had come to move on from the election process, and to look ahead to solving the challenges of the global employment crisis together. “We are ready to work together in a constructive way, and we give our new ILO director general our full commitment to do so,” he said.

Ryder served as general secretary of the International Trade Union Congress from 2002 to 2010. He has also held positions with the UK Trade Union Congress and the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees.

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.

Through USCIB’s affiliation with the International Organization of Employers, which represents employers in the International Labor Organization, American business participates directly in the work of the ILO. A senior USCIB executive is one of 14 employer representatives on the ILO Governing Body, and USCIB coordinates the U.S. employer delegation to the annual ILO International Labor Conference. USCIB also represents business on the U.S. President’s Committee on the ILO and the Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labor Standards (TAPILS). More at www.uscib.org.

 

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB
(212) 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee