BIAC Archives

Shaping the Future of the Internet

Published on February 13, 2015

Conference to Spotlight Growth and Inclusion in the Digital Economy

USCIB_ICT_Web_banner_2015Washington, D.C., February 11, 2015 – The Internet forms a crucial pillar of the world’s economic infrastructure, and advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) have extraordinary potential to raise living standards across the world. Given recent developments in online privacy, cyber-security and freedom on a global scale, what are the policies that can best harness the transformational power of the Internet to create economic opportunity, address social challenges and include everyone in the digital economy?

These questions will be addressed at an upcoming conference organized by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), “Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Digital Economy: The OECD Evidence and Practice Base,” on today’s most pressing Internet policy questions for an audience of global business leaders and government officials. This second annual conference, which takes place March 10 at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center in Washington, D.C., is being presented by the United States Council Foundation, USCIB’s educational arm, along with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD.

“It’s important for both business and government to recognize the unique and important role that the OECD has played in conducting evidence-based research and developing related policy recommendations aimed at enabling all sectors to access the economic and social benefits provided by ICTs and Internet-enabled innovation,” said Joseph Alhadeff, vice president of global public policy and chief privacy strategist, Oracle Corporation. Alhadeff chairs BIAC’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy. In this capacity has been a leading advocate for global ICT interests in OECD discussions.

The full-day conference will feature a strong lineup of policymakers and thought leaders from around the world, including:

  • Andrew Wyckoff, director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (STI)
  • Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda, deputy assistant secretary and U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy, U.S. Department of State
  • Houlin Zhao, secretary general, International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
  • Christopher Painter, S. Department of State coordinator for cyber issues
  • Kathryn Brown, president and CEO, Internet Society (ISOC)

Discussions will focus on the OECD’s broad stakeholder participation in Internet policy-making, enabling the benefits of digital innovation across all sectors, promoting trade, inclusion and trust in the digital ecosystem, and addressing online security challenges. The work of the OECD in developing better policies in an open and interconnected digital world is recognized and respected by policymakers and business leaders for the fact-based economic analysis informing its policy recommendations.

In view of the Internet’s importance to all sectors of the economy, the March 10 program will be open to business participants from the ICT community, as well as representatives of the Internet technical community and civil society. Read the full conference agenda here.

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 at www.uscib.org.

 

OECD “Going for Growth” Report Reveals Ambitious Reforms Good for All

Published on February 13, 2015

flags_many_nationsThe OECD recently published the latest edition of its flagship report “Going for Growth,” which assesses countries’ progress in implementing structural policies since 2013, and also identifies new priorities to revive growth. The OECD’s Going for Growth analysis forms the basis of the OECD’s wider contribution to the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and to G20 National Growth Strategies.

Highlights from this year’s report include:

  • Structural reforms implemented since the early 2000s have contributed to raising potential GDP per capita by around 5% on average across countries. Most gains come from higher productivity.
  • Further reform based on OECD best practice could raise long-term level of GDP per capita by up to 10% on average across OECD countries.
  • The pace of structural reforms has slowed in most OECD countries in the past two years, but has been accelerating in major emerging markets.
  • Many of the OECD’s pro-growth structural policies have little or no impact on income inequality among households. In fact, a number of reforms reduce wage dispersion and/or household income inequality (e.g. reforms for better access to education, active labour market policies and growth-friendly tax and transfer systems). Also, reducing regulatory barriers to entry and competition in sectors with large potential markets is likely to reduce income inequality.

The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD Economic Policy Survey 2014, released last May, was a major business contribution to the formulation of the OECD’s Going for Growth report.

BIAC Highlights the Importance of Effective Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Published on February 3, 2015

In order to stimulate inward investment, investors must be treated fairly and protected against the arbitrary behavior of host states. Open, transparent and non-discriminatory investment policies and agreements are a must. In this context, Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is an indispensable part of a fair, efficient investment protection system. It provides for a neutral and high-quality legal dispute resolution mechanism in cases of investment treaty breaches by host states.

In light of the current anti-trade sentiment criticizing the ISDS system, USCIB and its global network including the Business and Industry Advisory Council to the OECD believe that it is crucial that the discussion is put back in the right perspective and that common misrepresentations are effectively addressed. The OECD, as an internationally recognized forum for fact-based and objective analysis, and with a long track record of fostering open, transparent and non-discriminatory investment policies, should play an important role in providing objective analysis, thus helping to shape further understanding about the issues that are at stake. The BIAC paper on ISDS contains concrete proposals for future OECD analysis in this area.

USCIB has been a strong advocate for ISDS, and Shaun Donnelly, vice president for investment, trade and financial services, has been travelling around Europe making the case for a strong Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and explaining the importance of ISDS provisions in that and other international trade agreements.

Business Emphasizes Dispute Resolution at OECD Tax Consultations

Published on February 3, 2015

OECD public consultation meetings on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project took place in Paris from January 21-23, 2015, where a number of key issues for business including Permanent Establishment (PE) Status (BEPS Action 7), Treaty Abuse (BEPS Action 6), Low Value-Adding Services (BEPS Action 10), and Dispute Resolution (BEPS Action 14), were addressed among business governments and NGOs.

BEPS refers to the G20/OECD initiative designed to rewrite global tax rules to prevent incidences of perceived under- or non-taxation of international companies.

At the consultations, BIAC Tax Committee Chair Will Morris emphasized the absolute importance of effective dispute resolution to a successful outcome for the BEPS Project. He also underlined the need for clarity in guidance regarding all BEPS outcomes. February consultations will address Interest Deductions (Action 4) and VAT B2C Guidelines (Action 1).

Carol Doran Klein, USCIB’s vice president for international tax counsel, participated in the OECD Public Consultation, representing U.S. business interests in BIAC’s work.

In support of its strategy to deepen developing countries’ engagement in the BEPS Project, OECD will also be organizing regional consultations during February and March in Peru, Korea, Turkey, Gabon and South Africa.  BIAC is submitting written responses to all BEPS Discussion Drafts.

What Skills do Corporate Directors Need?

Published on February 3, 2015

Good governance starts and is driven from the top. It is therefore essential that companies have an effective board. The responsibilities of the board are diverse and require a balanced team of directors with the right skills sets. As the OECD Corporate Governance Principles are being updated, and as they apply to a wider variety of ownership structures including majority-controlled and state-owned firms across the world, expectations of directors and their skills is likely to increase as well. To meet these expectations, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD will organize a roundtable on director skills for effective corporate governance to encourage an exchange on how to obtain and continually enhance the optimal mix of director skills.

The roundtable will take place at the OECD headquarters in Paris on February 17 and will bring together key business experts from OECD and non-OECD countries for a discussion with OECD member countries and the OECD corporate governance secretariat. It will take place back-to-back with the consultation on the OECD Corporate Governance on February 19. BIAC’s most recent comments on the Principles are available on the BIAC website.

BIAC Calls on OECD to Build a Compelling Case for Private Sector-led Growth

Published on January 19, 2015

At BIAC’s (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) annual consultation with OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Ambassadors, BIAC’s chair Phil O’Reilly presented the private sector’s growth agenda for 2015, focusing on investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“Considering the uneven recovery of OECD economies and serious imbalances in world markets, private sector-led growth has to be a top priority”, said O’Reilly.

Presenting the three pillars of the private sector’s growth agenda for 2015: Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, O’Reilly added that: “Theagenda for growth can only succeed if there is trust. Trust in business, trust in governments, and trust in the OECD. More needs to be done by all of these parties to show that, with the right conditions in place, business can be a dynamic force for the success of our economies and the wellbeing of citizens.”

Economies rely on private sector business activities and competitive markets. With the right conditions in place, business can be a dynamic force for the success of our economies and the wellbeing of citizens, investing in people, jobs, technologies and infrastructures, serving billions of consumers daily, and paying taxes that supply government spending and support public services.

BIAC is therefore calling upon the OECD to:

  • Address protectionism in global markets and build an enabling environment for investment, at local levels and across borders;
  • Deliver advice for integrated policies across sectors that foster innovation and support sustainable growth and employment in the digital economy;
  • Establish a better understanding of the potential of SMEs and entrepreneurship, with due focus on less and smart regulation, skills, access to finance, and women’s entrepreneurship.

OECD Takes New Approach to Measuring Development Assistance

Published on January 9, 2015

4927_image002Business cares about how finance for development is measured. The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperate and Development) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) recently agreed to modernize its development finance measurement framework to ensure that it is credible and practicable in today’s global context.

This decision and the actions taken at the DAC’s 2014 High Level Meeting on December 15 and 16 in Paris will enable OECD members to make an important contribution to future monitoring of the financing framework underpinning the United Nations’ forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals.

“Today the world’s leading donors have made a commendable step towards using aid more efficiently and effectively while at the same time catalyzing more private investment into developing countries”, said Thomas de Man, chair of the BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) Development Task Force, at the High Level Meeting of the DAC. “This is a crucial element of the Post-2015 development agenda”, he added.

To date, private-sector instruments such as credit guarantees have not been properly captured in official development statistics. Now new methodologies will be adopted to reveal the budgetary effort involved in using these instruments.

“While many businesses can welcome the modernization of the development finance statistical frameworks, reaching agreement on the details will now be of critical importance”, said de Man. 

The DAC improves global access to reliable statistics on different types of financing into developing countries. This work sheds light on the full range of financial options available to these countries and helps them to plan their development strategies.

In October 2014, BIAC submitted a paper to the DAC presenting private sector views on the mobilization of development finance. It emphasizes the creation of enabling environments for private investment, efficient use of donors’ development finance, and means to incentivize the use of credit guarantees that result in positive impacts on countries’ development. 

Conference to Shed New Light on 21st Century Trade Policy Challenges

Published on October 16, 2014
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will deliver keynote remarks at the October 30 conference, “Exploring New Approaches to Trade, Investment and Jobs: Insight and Impact for Business from the OECD.”
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman at the Oct. 30 conference: “Exploring New Approaches to Trade, Investment and Jobs: Insight and Impact for Business from the OECD.”

Washington, D.C., October 16, 2014 – How are cross-border trade and investment changing in an era of ever-more sophisticated global value chains? What new policies and agreements are needed to ensure that trade and investment can generate high-quality jobs and other benefits to society? And how can new research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shed light on these changes and provide insight for policy makers?

These will be among the central questions addressed at a timely, high-level conference, “Exploring New Approaches to Trade, Investment and Jobs: Insight and Impact for Business from the OECD,” to be held October 30 at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. Organized by the USCIB Foundation (the educational arm of the United States Council for International Business), the OECD and BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, the conference will highlight the OECD’s innovative work in the areas of trade and investment, and address how this work impacts policy, job creation and trade negotiations around the world.

“It’s clear that a 21st-century trade policy must address a host of new concerns beyond ‘old-school’ issues like tariffs and quotas,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “While those types of trade barriers still exist, their importance is fast being eclipsed by the growth of global value chains, barriers to trade in services, new investment agreements, trade facilitation, and the relationship between regional and multilateral trade negotiations.”

The event will bring together experts from the OECD, U.S. and foreign governments, and business to assess the issues and discuss solutions. Participants will draw upon the innovative research and policy discussions coming from the OECD – including its Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, OECD-WTO efforts to measure trade in value-added, and studies on the importance of global value chains.

Keynote remarks at the conference will be delivered by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. Other speakers include:

  • Cathy Novelli, under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, U.S. Department of State
  • Mari Kiviniemi, deputy secretary general, OECD, former prime minister of Finland
  • Yonov Frederick Agah, deputy director general, World Trade Organization
  • Ambassador Susan Schwab, strategic advisor, Mayer Brown, former U.S. trade representative
  • Harold McGraw III, chairman of McGraw Hill Financial [now S&P Global], chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), chairman of USCIB
  • Ken Ash, director, Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD
  • The Honorable James Bacchus, chair of Greenberg Traurig’s global practice, former chairman  of the WTO Appellate Body, and chairman of the ICC Commission on Trade and Investment Policy
  • Phil O’Reilly, CEO of Business New Zealand, chairman of BIAC.

More information about the conference is available here.

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 at www.uscib.org.

Contact: Jonathan Huneke, USCIB

+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

BIACs Continued Dialogue on Investment OECD Investment Consultation

Published on October 10, 2014

4855_image002The OECD plays a major role in highlighting the contribution of international investment to worldwide growth by advancing investment policy reform and international co-operation. Restrictions on FDI through various forms of investment protectionism can have significant adverse economic consequences for the global economic system and for job creation. In light of the highly competitive global environment, investors need adequate protection when making important investment decisions.

The OECD and its Freedom of Investment Roundtable have a key role to play in helping policy makers put in place a supportive business environment that eschews protectionist measures.

BIAC has urged the OECD to embark on an ambitious pro-active investment program and confirm the organization’s leading role in ensuring that markets are kept open for foreign investment, with a view to boost economic growth and foster job creation. BIAC looks forward to participating in the upcoming consultation with the OECD Investment Committee on October 15 to pursue its active dialogue in this area and to contribute to discussions on the update of the OECD Policy Framework on Investment (PFI). The PFI is an essential tool to assist governments engaged in domestic reform, regional co-operation or international policy dialogue on investment.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

OECD Update on Corporate Governance Principles

Published on October 10, 2014
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Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD

Good governance contributes to sustainable value creation and is in the interest of companies as it facilitates access to capital as well as increased investor and stakeholder confidence. The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, which are currently being revised, are an international benchmark for policy makers, investors, corporations and other stakeholders worldwide. The Financial Stability Forum has designated them as one of the 12 key standards for sound financial systems.

The October 13 consultation with the OECD Corporate Governance Committee will be an important opportunity for a discussion on the first revised draft of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. As a follow up, a public consultation on the draft revised Principles is planned for the end of 2014. BIAC has been involved all along the process and will continue its active contribution to ensure that the final text to be presented to the 2015 Ministerial Council Meeting reflects business considerations. BIAC is also actively involved in the review of the Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, which are being revised in parallel, and will participate in the next consultation on October 22.

Staff contacts: Ariel Meyerstein

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee