New York, N.Y., June 24, 2008 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) joined over 100 U.S. companies and business associations in signing a letter to WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and WTO trade ministers that reiterated their strong support for conclusion of an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive Doha Round agreement this year.

The letter, organized by the American Business Coalition for Doha (ABCDoha), expressed concern that the current negotiation texts on agriculture, industrial market access (NAMA) and services would not provide the level of liberalization that is needed to create meaningful new trade flows and ensure U.S. business support. It urged WTO members to move forward aggressively on all three of these major Doha Round pillars at the same time to improve the texts and achieve the contribution to economic growth and development that these negotiations offer.

The ABCDoha letter closely followed last week’s ICC World Business Summit in Stockholm, hosted by Marcus Wallenberg, outgoing chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, where 350 top business executives from some 70 countries issued a strong message to governments underscoring the tremendous costs should the Doha Round collapse.

“In Stockholm, Director General Lamy told us that there is still a real possibility of success, but it is clearly now or never,” said USCIB President Peter M. Robinson. “Governments do not have much time to reach agreement on new market access in all three pillars to make this round a success. They also need to remember the big picture, weighing not only the Doha Round’s original focus on development but also its indispensable potential value in addressing current challenges facing society, such as climate change and the food crisis.”

Mr. Robinson emphasized that USCIB supported the strong statements by Mr. Wallenberg and incoming ICC Chairman Victor Fung. “With our American business partners, we are committed to working with Director General Lamy and our trading partners to achieve an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive result this year,” he said.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes more than 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $4 trillion. As the American affiliate of several leading global business groups, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade. More at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB

+1 212-703-5043 (office), +1 917-420-0039 (mobile) or jhuneke@uscib.org

American Business Coalition for Doha letter to WTO Director General Lamy

Related stories:

G8 Urged to Push for Doha Round Agreement (June 17, 2008)

Business leaders increase pressure on governments for Doha deal (ICC website, June 13, 2008)

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Washington, D.C., June 18, 2008– The United States Council for International Business (USCIB ), which represents America’s top global companies, welcomed today’s announcement by the United States and China that they would launch negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty to better encourage and protect two-way investment. The group said it would urge U.S. negotiators to secure an ambitious, market-opening agreement.

“We strongly encourage the U.S. to aim for a high-standards agreement that would tear down market access barriers in China, eliminate discriminatory measures and thereby improve our competitiveness,” said Stephen J. Canner, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services.

U.S. and Chinese officials, meeting in Annapolis, Maryland as part of the bilateral Strategic Economic Dialogue, today formally announced the launch of investment treaty negotiations. U.S. officials said a new bilateral pact would help to ensure fair treatment for U.S. companies with operations in China, promote greater transparency, smooth the transfer of capital in and out of the country, and ensure compensation for investors in the event of expropriation.

“USCIB has long underscored the tremendous benefits of foreign investment for America’s economy,” stated Mr. Canner. “China will be one of our most important markets for decades to come, so it is critical that we secure a more stable, predictable commercial relationship. An ambitious bilateral investment treaty would also encourage greater Chinese investment and job-creation in the United States.”

The U.S. has negotiated bilateral investment treaties with numerous nations and integrated key investment provisions into most of its free-trade agreements. Based on the standard, “model” treaty that the U.S. has adopted as a negotiating tool, an ambitious agreement with China would contain strong provisions to ensure:

• core investment protections, including fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security, compensation for expropriation, free transfer of capital and disciplines on performance requirements;
• greater market access, via national treatment and most-favored nation treatment across all sectors, of particular importance in China where its investments restrictions at the national, provincial and local levels are often opaque;
• access to investor-state dispute settlement for breaches of the agreement and existing and future investment agreements with U.S. investors.

According to Mr. Canner, China has already secured bilateral investment pacts with numerous other countries. “The lack of a treaty with the U.S. undermines the competitiveness of our investors in the large and growing China market,” he said.

Founded in 1945, USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership encompasses over 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion. As American affiliate of several leading global business groups, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade. More at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB

+1 212-703-5043 (office), +1 917-420-0039 (mobile) or jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Seoul and New York., June 18, 2008 – Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Seoul Ministerial on the Future of the Internet Economy, an American business leader hailed the outcomes of the high-level meeting.

“Ministers have taken the important step to reaffirm the principles from the 1998 OECD Ottawa Ministerial that allowed a platform for electronic commerce to evolve into a platform for all aspects of life over the last ten years,” stated Peter M. Robinson, president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business, which represents American business views to the 30-nation OECD.

Mr. Robinson commended ministers for their commitment to establish and maintain policy frameworks that will promote a secure and trusted Internet-based environment, continued investment, and increasing competition in order to expand Internet access worldwide, increase innovation and user choice.

“The Seoul Declaration affirms a continued commitment on the part of governments towards further development of the global Internet economy,” he said. “Such frameworks are essential for the future Internet economy – in which business is a key driver of innovation and growth.”

Mr. Robinson also addressed the evolving and increasing role that business plays in the diffusion of information and communications technologies (ICT) as well as Internet policy. “Today, business continues to lead the way in the innovation and development of ever-more efficient and focused services, applications, content, devices and networks that allow more users to share in the benefits of the Internet, including in the development of innovative ICT solutions to address major global challenges such as climate change, health care and education,” he stated.

“In particular, we have heard many examples of creative developments that demonstrate the power of networked solutions and ICTs to drive significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions throughout the global economy. All stakeholders must continue to work together to promote continued innovation and growth of the Internet economy and bring its benefits to more of the world’s people.”

Tadahiro Asami, secretary general of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), encouraged governments to pay careful attention to the important, unique and beneficial role that the OECD can play as they work towards further implementation of the commitments made in the ministerial declaration.

“The OECD will continue to be instrumental in furthering the objectives of the Ottawa and Seoul ministerial conferences, in particular by producing neutral, fact-based economic reports that examine current market conditions and the impact of new developments and emerging technologies and by facilitating co-ordination and consistency of broad policy frameworks across member economies by providing a forum for dialogue, involving all stakeholders,” stated Mr. Asami.

BIAC and other business groups represented at the ministerial released a joint “vision paper” with projections of what the future development of the Internet would mean for society over the next decade. In its paper, the groups observed that convergence of voice, data, video and audio, coupled with new business and information models, has enabled innovation to thrive among established companies and new players alike, empowering consumers and enhancing opportunities for further growth and societal benefit.

According to the paper, further investment will be needed to provide adequate capacity, security and capabilities for future Internet-supported development and connectivity. Business will also work with stakeholders to develop market-driven technical standards that will enable the Internet’s ongoing expansion, it said.

To view the full vision paper, click here or visit www.uscib.org/docs/oecd_seoul_vision_paper.pdf.

The OECD seeks to promote growth through the coordination of economic and regulatory policies between its member nations. Founded in 1962 as an independent organization, BIAC is the officially recognized representative of the OECD business community. Its members are the major business organizations in the OECD member countries and a number of OECD observer countries. USCIB is BIAC’s affiliate in the United States and regularly fields American industry experts for BIAC and OECD activities.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes some 300 U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations, whose combined annual revenues exceed $3 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, including BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB

(212) 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org.

OECD Ministerial website

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

BIAC website

Tokyo and New York, June 17, 2008 – Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, who will host the G8 summit in Hokkaido Toyako, Japan on July 7-9, today received the vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Hong Kong businessman Victor Fung.

Mr. Fung, who is also the incoming chairman of ICC, handed the Japanese prime minister an appeal to the leaders of the G8 to use their upcoming meeting to intensify international economic cooperation and revive global economic growth. The main focus of the ICC statement was on the need for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round of negotiations on trade liberalization.

Accompanying Mr. Fung at the meeting were: Mikio Sasaki, chair of ICC Japan and chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation; Guy Sebban, secretary general of ICC; Toshio Nakamura, president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and president of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Kiyoshi Yamada, secretary general of ICC Japan.

The Paris-based ICC is the largest, most representative private-sector association in the world, with hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries. The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as ICC’s American national committee.

A successful agreement in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations is only possible if G8 leaders step up their diplomatic efforts at the highest political level, the ICC said in its annual statement on behalf of world business to the heads of state and government attending the G8 summit.

G8 leaders will convene at the annual G8 summit to exchange views and find consensus on a variety of issues that affect the global economic order.

The current unsettled state of the world economy makes it all the more urgent the Doha Round is completed in the remaining months of the year. Slowing economic growth, financial turmoil, and rising food and energy prices are having a damaging effect on business and consumer confidence. A successful outcome to the Round would send a positive signal that governments can work together to strengthen rules-based global trade, and pave the way for further multilateral action to tackle systemic distortions in world agricultural markets, a big factor behind current high food prices.

An agreement on the Doha Round is imperative to safeguard the achievements made by the multilateral trading system, which has played a pivotal role in raising world living standards and creating employment.

What is more, modern-day business relies increasingly on growing and complex global supply chains that work best under multilateral rules.

Considerable progress has been made to date on the negotiations. Many hard-won, trade-enhancing offers are already on the table. These must not be lost.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Fung said: “We explained to Prime Minister Fukuda that the world business community is looking for strong leadership at the upcoming G8 meeting. Businesses all over the world want a successful completion of the Doha trade negotiations to be at the forefront of the G8 agenda.”

“We also talked about the critical need for the G8’s backing of wide and deep international support for the UN framework on climate change. ICC is pleased to note the priority given to this challenge by the summit,” Mr. Fung said.

ICC has a long-standing working relationship with the G8 and many intergovernmental organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. The core mission of ICC is to promote trade and investment across frontiers and help businesses meet the challenges and opportunities of globalization.

In its statement, ICC also exhorts the G8 to pay heed to the following pressing issues facing world business:

Safeguard freedom of investment

G8 governments can serve as beacons of best practices and rein in investment protectionism, now resurgent on the global stage, ICC advised. Cross-border investment is an important vector for spreading the benefits of globalization more widely. It is therefore critical that G8 governments set a good example by recommitting themselves to keeping doors open to foreign investment, and not unnecessarily impede cross-border investment flows.

In addition, ICC calls attention to the need for international best practices for sovereign wealth funds, practices which are needed to uphold an international investment regime that remains open, stable and non-discriminatory.

Strengthen intellectual property protection

G8 countries must also be exemplary in their protection of intellectual property, since due to lack of adequate safeguards counterfeiting and piracy are robbing the global economy of an estimated $600 billion annually.

To that end, ICC recommends the G8 work toward prohibiting transshipments of fake goods through free-trade zones and promoting minimum global standards in enforcement of IP rights.

ICC’s initiative, Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), is a well-established forum of companies and industry associations which are raising governmental and public awareness on the scale of this illegal activity and the widespread harm it does.

Support a global climate change pact

World business is encouraged by the Bali Action Plan aimed at negotiating a new global pact on climate change by the end of 2009. ICC calls on the G8 countries to support the creation of a global climate-change framework that promotes global participation, addresses risks while advancing cleaner development, stimulates development of an international carbon market, provides incentives for efficient energy use, stimulates research and removes barriers to create low-emissions technologies.

G8 backing would send a powerful signal, enlisting wide and deep international support for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. A well-designed framework is essential for business, which will supply as much as 86 percent of the new clean investments needed to fulfill its role, according to the UNFCCC. ICC is worried by the growing interest in some G8 countries in the use of unilateral trade sanctions to deal with climate change. ICC is of the strong view that these would not help in safeguarding the climate and would assuredly damage international trade.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes over 300 U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contacts:

Jonathan Huneke, VP of Communications, USCIB

+1 212 703 5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Mary Kelly, Director of Communications, ICC

+33 1 4953 2987 or mary.kelly@iccwbo.org

ICC statement to the G8

2008 G8 Summit website

ICC website

Stockholm and New York, June 16, 2008 – A new chairman and vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) were elected at the last week’s meeting of ICC’s World Council, which brought together over 130 of its business members from 57 countries. The World Council met in Stockholm on the occasion of the ICC World Business Summit.

Victor Fung, chairman of the Li & Fung Group of companies, will become the first ICC chairman from Hong Kong. Li & Fung Group has major subsidiaries in trading, distribution and retailing, including publicly listed Li & Fung Limited, Integrated Distribution Services Group Limited and Convenience Retail Asia.

Mr. Fung is also chairman of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council, the Hong Kong University Council and the Hong Kong-Japan Business Cooperation Committee.

The Paris-based ICC is the largest, most representative private sector association in the world, with hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries. The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as ICC’s American national committee.

Mr. Fung will assume the role of ICC chairman on July 1, after having served for 18 months as ICC’s vice chair. He will succeed the current ICC chairman, Marcus Wallenberg, who will become ICC’s honorary chairman.

Mr. Fung, who will serve as ICC chairman for two years, holds a number of civic and professional appointments. He is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Hong Kong Commission on Strategic Development, and head of a focus group for the Economic Summit on China’s 11th Five-Year Plan and the Development of Hong Kong, organized by the Hong Kong government.

Mr. Fung has written and spoken widely on international trade matters and is a strong advocate of the multilateral trading system. He has served as chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, as the Hong Kong representative on the APEC Business Advisory Council, and on the Informal Business Advisory Body to the World Trade Organization. He has also served as chairman of the Hong Kong Airport Authority.

“With the global economy facing numerous interrelated challenges that are creating worldwide economic uncertainty, there has never been a greater need for world business to speak loudly and forcefully in favor of the multilateral trading system,” said Mr. Fung. “ICC, which has a worldwide network of experts and works closely with governments and intergovernmental organizations, is well positioned to help find global solutions to these obstacles to economic growth.”

In his address to the ICC World Council, Mr. Fung said he also wanted to use his chairmanship to increase ICC’s visibility in the Asia-Pacific region.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr. Fung holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in business economics from Harvard University. He was a professor at the Harvard Business School for four years before returning to Hong Kong in 1976.

Gupta of the U.S. elected ICC vice chairman

Rajat Kumar Gupta was elected vice chairman of ICC and will also begin his two-year term on July 1. Mr. Gupta is the senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Company. He joined the firm’s New York office in 1973, assumed leadership of its Scandinavian offices in 1981 and of the Chicago office in 1989. Mr. Gupta served as McKinsey’s managing director worldwide from 1994 to 2003.

In his 34-year career in consulting, Mr. Gupta has served many leading companies on a broad set of topics related to strategy, organization and operations. He has played a leadership role in organizational thinking throughout his career and led McKinsey’s organization practice.

Mr. Gupta is an independent director of Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, AMR Corporation and the Qatar Financial Center. He also holds leadership positions in various not-for-profit institutions, including serving as chairman of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, chairman of the Gates Foundation’s India AIDS Initiative, and chairman of the Public Health Foundation of India.

Mr. Gupta, who possesses an in-depth knowledge of the United Nations, having served as the UN Secretary General’s special advisor on UN reform, said he looked forward to building on ICC’s long history of providing vital services to business.

“Like ICC’s founders, I believe international trade and investment are critical factors for economic growth and job creation, with important implications also for cross-border cooperation,” he said.

Mr. Gupta holds a bachelor of technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Current ICC chairman Wallenberg will become honorary chairman

Current ICC Chairman Marcus Wallenberg, the chairman of SEB, Saab and Electrolux, and will become ICC’s honorary chairman on July 1.

During his term as chairman, Mr. Wallenberg is credited with strengthening ICC’s three main roles, namely as “the voice of international business,” the creator of voluntary rules for the conduct of international business and as a provider of services to international business.

At the World Council meeting, Mr. Wallenberg said he had been privileged to lead ICC, that he looked forward to continuing his work with the organization and that he was confident the new ICC chairmanship would ensure ICC continues to grow in influence and stature.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes over 300 U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contacts:

Jonathan Huneke, VP of Communications, USCIB

+1 212 703 5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Mary Kelly, Director of Communications, ICC

+33 1 4953 2987 or mary.kelly@iccwbo.org

More on the ICC World Business Summit

ICC website

New York, N.Y., June 13, 2008 – News reports indicate that Irish voters have decisively rejected the Lisbon treaty, which would mandate a series of significant administrative reforms in the 27-member union.

Following is a statement by Thomas Niles, former U.S. ambassador to the EU and former assistant secretary of state for Europe and Canada. Mr. Niles is presently vice chair of the United States Council for International Business, an industry group based in New York.

“It is regrettable that these essentially administrative reforms to the EU’s decision-making process have been dealt a setback. The Lisbon treaty would make Europe a much more effective player on the international scene. We can anticipate a further round of inward-looking preoccupation by European governments and the public.

“If the Irish vote proves fatal to the Lisbon treaty, this is unfortunate for the United States and others in the international community, because European leadership and cooperation on trade, the Middle East and a host of other matters is urgently needed.”

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce. Its membership includes more than 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion. As the exclusive American affiliate of several key global business groups, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications & Public Affairs, USCIB

+1 212 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s European Union Committee

New York, N.Y., May 1, 2008 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s top global companies, has announced that Inge G. Thulin, executive vice president for international operations with 3M, has been elected a vice chair of the organization.

“Inge Thulin brings considerable international experience and perspective to USCIB,” said USCIB President Peter M. Robinson. “His participation as a USCIB vice chair demonstrates 3M’s leadership in the global marketplace and reconfirms the company’s valuable role as a cornerstone of support for USCIB in the Midwest region.”

Mr. Thulin, a native of Sweden who joined 3M in 1979, succeeds Ronald Baukol, 3M’s former executive vice president of international operations and a member of the company’s board of directors, who was in turn elected a senior trustee of USCIB.

“I’m delighted to take on the challenge of helping develop USCIB’s visibility and effectiveness on the global stage,” commented Mr. Thulin. “This is an organization that any company operating in multiple regions of the world ought to participate in. With a unique network, USCIB enables companies to play a direct role in key international organizations that help set the rules of the road for commerce worldwide.”

With an MBA degree from Gothenburg University, Sweden, Mr. Thulin has served in diverse marketing, line management and operational capacities in Sweden, Western Europe, Russia, the Asia-Pacific region and at 3M headquarters in Saint Paul, Minn. He was named to his current position with the company in 2003. Mr. Thulin is a director of the board of the Toro Company.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes more than 300 U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB

(212) 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

List of USCIB officers-ud-736-UD-736

3M website