BIAC Archives

USCIB and the OECD hosted the 19th annual International Tax Conference June 22-23, convening over 200 tax policy experts in Washington DC. The conference was held during a pivotal moment for international tax policy with landmark developments such as the Side-by-Side agreement and the ongoing negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy.  

Policymakers and business community representatives also explored emerging issues, such as the challenges and opportunities arising from developments in tax transparency, tax dispute resolution, as well as certainty mechanisms and global mobility.  

Manal Corwin, Director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration, gave the opening keynote on Day 1, providing insights into the OECD state of the union and its future tax agenda. Rebecca Burch, Deputy Assistant for International Tax Affairs at the US Department of Treasury gave the opening keynote on Day 2 providing important insights on the US positions with respect to the taxation of the digital economy and the US’s continued engagement on international tax policy. US Senator Steve Daines closed the conference with a keynote on economic interdependence and the continued need for the United States to be engaged around the world.   

USCIB’s Whitney Baird, President and CEO, gave welcoming remarks, and Jason File, Director of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, and Gabrielle Girard, Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs, served as panelists on tax dispute resolution and taxation of the digital economy, respectively. Michael Lebovitz, Senior Vice President, International Tax Policy at USCIB, gave welcoming remarks and served as a panelist on tax transparency, in addition to co-organizing the conference to ensure the agenda reflected pressing issues around global tax issues.  

This year’s sponsors included: AB InBev, EY, Baker McKenzie, Eversheds Sutherland, Amazon, ExxonMobil, General Mills, KPMG, PwC, and Procter & Gamble. The conference was held in partnership with Business at OECD (BIAC). 

The USCIB-OECD Tax Conference, taking place in Washington DC June 22-23, has been highlighted in a Bloomberg Tax article. Bloomberg referenced Rebecca Burch, Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Tax Affairs, following her remarks on the global-tax exemption pact at the conference.

To access the full Bloomberg article, please click here to read with a subscription.

The USCIB-OECD Tax Conference, taking place in Washington DC June 22-23, has been highlighted in a Bloomberg Tax article. Bloomberg referenced Manal Corwin, Director of the OECD’s Center for Tax Policy and Administration, following her keynote remarks at the Conference: “The OECD aims to finalize an amendment to its transfer pricing guidelines by 2027, a top official for the organization said Monday.”

To access the full Bloomberg article, please click here to read with a subscription.

Law360 highlighted a US Treasury Department official who spoke at the USCIB-OECD International Tax Conference in Washington DC on June 22. The Treasury official “signaled plans Monday to keep participating in technical talks for implementing a worldwide corporate 15% minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two,” according to Law360.

The full article is available here with a subscription to Law360.

A panel on “Pillar Two After Side-by-Side, Government Panel” at the USCIB-OECD International Tax Conference in Washington DC was a focus of a Law360 article on June 22 regarding Ireland’s payments to the United States for intellectual property. Sinead Ryan, Head of Business and International Tax Policy at Ireland’s Department of Finance, joined other government representatives from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States to discuss implementation of Pillar Two.

The article is available here with a subscription to Law360.

USCIB member AB-InBev’s Daniela Rodrigues, Global Head of Tax, was quoted in a Law360 Article covering the USCIB-OECD International Tax Conference, taking place in Washington DC June 22-23. Rodrigues was quoted during her panel on “The Future of Tax Certainty – Mechanisms and Limitations.”

The full article can be accessed with a paid subscription to Law360.

Phillip Todd (US Department of State), Whitney Baird, Rick Johnston (Business at OECD, USCIB, Citi), Cale Clingenpeel (White House National Economic Council), Tsering Dhongthog (US Department of State), and Hanni Rosenbaum (Business at OECD).

USCIB Vice Chair and Chair of the Trade and Investment Committee, Rick Johnston (Citi), in his role as Chair of Business at OECD (BIAC), led BIAC’s exchange with Ministers at the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) June 3-4 in Paris. Johnston emphasized that long-term growth and competitiveness depend on open markets, fair competition, sound regulation, and stable policy frameworks. Whitney Baird, President and CEO at USCIB, also made remarks and represented US business interests, including on a panel discussing OECD investment standards and policies.  

Whitney Baird

BIAC hosted three side events, including one on innovation leadership in life sciences, which featured USCIB members Olga Mironenko Stampfer (UnitedHealth Group and Chair, BIAC’s Health Committee) and Leonie Völker (Johnson & Johnson). Other BIAC events covered OECD investment standards and policies  and the release of BIAC’s 2026 Spring Economic Policy Survey. The survey found that business sentiment remains constrained by persistent geopolitical uncertainty, renewed inflationary pressures, and high energy prices, while highlighting investment in human capital as a key driver of future growth. 

Annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris

MCM convened more than 70 representatives from OECD members and non-member countries, international organizations, and the private sector under the theme, Getting Industrial Policies Right for Open Markets, Growth and Prosperity. 

MCM also featured the launch of several important OECD reports and products, including: 

• The Manufacturing Groups and Industrial Corporations (MAGIC) database, which encourages evidence-based industrial policy solutions to the question of market distortive-subsidies
• 2026 Economic Outlook Under Pressure, downgrading global growth forecasts due to the energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East 
• Smart Regulations, Strong Business: Enabling Growth and Societal Protection in a Fast-Changing World, quantifying the economic impact of burdensome and duplicative regulation and promoting targeted simplification, data-driven approaches, and cross-sectoral stakeholder engagement in regulatory policy reform 
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible AI, providing practical guidance for businesses implementing the OECD standards on Responsible Business Conduct and OECD AI Principles

Michael Lebovitz, Senior Vice President, International Tax Policy at USCIB, was quoted in a Tax Notes International article, OECD Confirms Global Minimum Tax Information Return Relief.  Lebovitz shares insights on the GLOBE information return (GIR) guidance noting that it comes as welcome news for multinational enterprises dealing with OECD Pillar 2 compliance challenges.

Lebovitz’s quote: “By coordinating compliance for 33 countries, the OECD has taken an important step in relieving the challenges embedded in the divergent rollout of the GIR.”

The full article is available here with a subscription to Tax Notes.

Kristen Edgreen Kaufman at the inaugural OECD Critical Minerals Forum.

USCIB led a multisectoral member delegation alongside the US Department of Energy and Department of State officials to the inaugural OECD Critical Minerals Forum️ in Istanbul last week. The Forum provided a platform for high-level, cross-regional dialogue between OECD members, partner countries, and key stakeholders from the private sector and civil society dedicated to developing solutions to shared challenges in the critical minerals space. 

USCIB and Business at OECD (BIAC) also co-hosted a side-event during the Forum on business priorities in the critical minerals space, which had standing room only. As the sole US representative to BIAC, USCIB brought together ministers, industry leaders, and key stakeholders to set the stage for the forum. BIAC also presented its recently released priorities paper, Critical Minerals, Critical Partnerships, which was developed with input from USCIB members.

Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Global Impact Initiatives at USCIB, moderated a panel, which featured insights from Mike Kopp (US Department of Energy), Jochem Wiers, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OECD, Kenan Arkan (J.P. Morgan), USCIB member Carol Anderson (Microsoft), Rohitesh Dhawan (ICMM), Ramazan Yön (TOBB Mining Council), Ben Chalmers (Mining Association of Canada), Alev Somer (BIR – Bureau of International Recycling), Hanni Rosenbaum (BIAC), and Andreas Schaal (OECD). 

“We are grateful to Dominik Kümmerle and Maxime Ledieu for their partnership, and to the US State Department and Department of Energy for sending representatives to support US business interests,” noted Kaufman.

Dariya Brown (College Board), Ravi Aurora (Mastercard), Flore-Anne Messy (OECD), Gianluca Riccio (BIAC), and Alice Slayton Clark.

USCIB was featured prominently at the Business at OECD (BIAC) April 16 event to launch a new policy paper, The Business Case for Financial Literacy: a Strategic Imperative for Competitive Companies.

USCIB board member Ravi Aurora (Mastercard) and USCIB member Gianluca Riccio (Chair of BIAC’s Finance Committee) were joined by Meritxell Soler of CaixaBank, Dariya Brown of the College Board, and Flore-Anne Messy, Senior Counsellor at the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, to explain the findings in the paper regarding the social as well as strategic business imperatives of financial literacy. Alice Slayton Clark, Senior Vice President, Trade, Investment, and Digital at USCIB, underscored the extensive business engagement in advancing financial education and inclusion through partnerships with governments and civil society.

Special thanks to Gary Litman (US Chamber of Commerce) for providing opening remarks and hosting the event as part of the US Chamber’s B20 Finance Track.