BIAC Archives

ICC Releases Guidelines on Gifts and Hospitality

Published on July 10, 2014

gifts hospitalityNew anti-corruption guidelines from the International Chamber of Commerce will provide guidance to enterprises on business ethics related to gifts and hospitality. The ICC Guidelines on Gifts and Hospitality offer recommendations on how to establish and maintain a policy on this particular issue, based on the most recent international, regional and national rules, as well as on commercial best practice.

Companies can be solicited to make gifts or provide hospitality while conducting commercial activities, or may wish to do so at their own initiative. While such practices are not per se illegal, they can, in some cases, create a suspicion of impropriety or bribery.

Among other recommendations, the ICC Guidelines state that enterprises should establish a policy which limits gifts and hospitality to expenditures that are business-related, made transparently and recorded fairly and accurately in the company’s books. Such practices should also consider the culture and living standards in the country where the advantage is received. The guidelines will complement ICC’s suite of anti-corruption tools, which includes the Ethics and Compliance Training Handbook.

Through its global network, USCIB – ICC’s American affiliate – has also worked on anti-bribery issues through the Business and Industry Advisory Council (BIAC) to the OECD, including through BIAC’s Task Force on Bribery and Corruption.

Read more on the ICC website.

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

BIAC Presents Business View to OECD Competition Authorities

Published on July 1, 2014

Competition experts from the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presented business views to the OECD and a number of non-OECD Member governments at the June session of the OECD Competition Committee and its working parties.

Addressing the revision of the 1995 OECD Recommendation of the Council Concerning Co-operation between Member Countries on Competition Investigations and Proceedings, BIAC emphasized continued concerns regarding the protection of confidential information in exchanges related to cross-border merger investigations.

BIAC also addressed Competition in Generic Pharmaceuticals, Airline Competition, competition and Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and competition aspects of the rollout of broadband networks. The OECD Competition Committee will next meet in December 2014. USCIB is BIAC’s American affiliate.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

More on USCIB’s Competition Committee

Business Actions Key to Advancing Womens Economic Empowerment

Published on June 24, 2014

Reports

 

(L-R) Michael Goltzman (the Coca-Cola Company), Ellie Bertani (Wal-Mart) , Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB), Nicole Primmer (BIAC), Madonna Jarrett (Deloitte), Justine Badimon (USCIB), Rachel Spence (USCIB)
(L-R) Michael Goltzman (the Coca-Cola Company), Ellie Bertani (Wal-Mart) , Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB), Nicole Primmer (BIAC), Madonna Jarrett (Deloitte), Justine Badimon (USCIB), Rachel Spence (USCIB)

Private sector initiatives remain key to driving the advancement of women in the workplace. But progress remains slow and uneven, according to Putting All our Minds to Work: An Assessment, a survey report released today by BIAC and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

The report, which assesses recent changes in corporate practice to advance women into leadership positions, follows the 2012 BIAC/AmCham Report and Toolkit: Putting All our Minds to Work: Harnessing the Gender Dividend.

As a follow-up to the survey report, women’s entrepreneurship served as the focus of a BIAC Workshop in Paris today, which brought together companies, entrepreneurs, governments and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) officials to discuss the challenges women face in starting and growing their businesses.

USCIB member companies – Wal-Mart, UPS and the Coca-Cola Company – contributed to the workshop and discussed their corporate programs that promote and support women’s entrepreneurship in the local communities in which they operate and within their supply chains. The companies highlighted the positive effects of supporting women-owned enterprises on their bottom line, emphasizing that the programs are not corporate social responsibility, but business initiatives.

USCIB’s Ronnie Goldberg, senior counsel and chair of BIAC’s Committee on Employment, Labor and Social affairs, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for BIAC to stimulate creative and innovative thinking on best practices and policies necessary to support women’s enterprises across all sectors of the economy.”

As cited in the survey report, over 66 percent of companies surveyed reported an increase in the percentage of women in executive leadership positions since 2010. Forty-seven percent have introduced policy and practice changes aimed at women at the managerial level, and 44 percent have done so for women in executive leadership positions.

Some of the most common practices cited by companies to advance women in the workplace include “high potential development plans,” workplace flexibility policies, inclusive leadership development, mentorship and provisions for parental leave.

Despite progress, more than half of the respondents hand not recently introduced new plans to encourage women’s advancement in their workplace.

“The survey results show that while progress is being made, more effort is required across the board before organizations can generate greater economic empowerment of women,” said Bernhard Welschke, secretary general of BIAC. “Neither economies nor companies can afford to miss out on the contributions of women. Progress depends on senior leadership in business and government, as well as in society working together to support women in the workforce and encouraging them as entrepreneurs.”

The greatest catalysts for change within organizations are the CEO, senior managers and the Board, while laws, political leadership and corporate governance were seen as comparatively more promising in markets without female hiring quotas, and the media and academia in markets with quotas, all pointing to the fact that more must and can be done.

The survey also found that 22 percent of surveyed companies reported losing women from leadership positions through voluntary resignations. Reasons cited included better opportunities elsewhere or lack of promotion or career development challenges.

The reasons given for women leaving the workplace suggest the current business environment is not providing the majority of female employees’ adequate support.

“Talented women are making their own choices – and too many are choosing simply to step off the corporate ladder believing further advancement is not available to them. This has to change and change needs leadership,” said Steve Almond, chairman of Deloitte Global. “Business leaders must own the issue of gender diversity instead of pushing the job off to Human Resources; they need to move beyond declarations to substantive engagement, providing sponsors, coaches and mentors to help talented women achieve their true potential. This is not about lowering the hurdle; it is about encouraging women to stay the course to give themselves the chance of clearing the hurdle.”

The report and workshop will be followed by continued work from BIAC and USCIB on advancing women’s economic empowerment in coordination with the OECD Recommendation of the Counsel on Gender Equality and as a lead up to their future work in this area, especially in regard to supporting women’s entrepreneurship.

View the Workshop Photos (flickr).

Watch Goldberg’s closing remarks (YouTube).

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg and Justine Badimon

 

 

Press Roundtable Showcases OECDs Data Resources

Published on June 18, 2014
The OECD’s iLibrary is an essential data tool for journalists looking for cross-border statistics on the economy, education, energy and a range of other topics.
The OECD’s iLibrary is an essential data tool for journalists looking for cross-border statistics on the economy, education, energy and a range of other topics.

Earlier this week, USCIB organized a media roundtable in Washington, D.C. that offered a hands-on how-to lesson in using the OECD’s unmatched data and statistical resources to better inform coverage of the economy, education and a range of issues. A dozen journalists from several top-tier media outlets took part in the session.

Dan Morrison, the OECD’s head of media relations, and Miguel Gorman, press officer with the OECD’s Washington Center, joined Jonathan Huneke, USCIB’s vice president for communications and public affairs, in providing a detailed overview of the OECD’s impressive resources.

With over 50 years of shared knowledge and policy insights from its member governments, the OECD has a variety of resources that enable news organizations to develop reliable, comparative cross-border data. Its public website
and iLibrary service let users delve deeply into the OECD’s extensive data records – both up-to-the-minute and historical. The OECD’s StatLink service provides searchable access to OECD data so users can develop customized tables and charts, while the soon-to-be-unveiled OECD Data Lab will provide a range of compelling and Web-friendly visualizations of key OECD metrics.

“We at USCIB are always very impressed with how the OECD’s 2,300 economists are able to collect, display and interpret data on issues like trade, taxation and energy in new and intriguing ways,” said Huneke. “One terrific example is the new OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, which helps us make the case for greater openness in services trade. The index shows that, when the added value from inputs are factored into services trade, the share of services that is traded across borders in the OECD area rises from a quarter to half of all services produced.”

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

USCIB Press Center

Launch of the OECD Economic Survey of the United States

Published on June 13, 2014

4759_image002During a meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the OECD unveiled its 2014 Economic Survey of the United States, an in-depth look at the U.S. labor force and policies that can help improve Americans’ access to quality jobs and training, while promoting well-being.

The survey assesses the major challenges the United States faces, and evaluates the short-term outlook with specific policy recommendations. It shows how comprehensive reforms in tax, education and training, and working conditions would strengthen growth and improve the economic prospects of American working families. The survey also suggests careful management of natural resources and investments in skills and infrastructure.

Speakers at the event included Jason Furman, chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Daniel Yohannes, U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

USCIB is the American affiliate of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee
(BIAC) to the OECD.

Read the survey online.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

Yohannes Sworn In as US Ambassador to the OECD

Published on June 12, 2014

4754_image002Daniel W. Yohannes, former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, was sworn in today at the State Department as the United States Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns presided and swore in Ambassador Yohannes.

A philanthropist and businessman from Englewood, Colorado, Yohannes has more than 30 years’ experience in banking and economic development. As CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Yohannes oversaw the independent U.S. foreign aid agency in its fight against global poverty.

The United States Mission to the OECD is headed by the ambassador who leads a team from four different federal agencies – State, USAID, Energy, and Human and Health Services. Yohannes will communicate U.S. views and interests to other OECD members and will represent the United States in the OECD’s governing council. USCIB is the American affiliate of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria was a special guest. Shaun Donnelly, vice president for investment and financial services and himself a retired U.S. ambassador, represented USCIB at the ceremony.

Yohannes was nominated as ambassador to the OECD by President Obama in September 2013, and he was confirmed by the Senate in April 2014. Yohannes was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and he speaks fluent Amharic.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

Tax Conference to Spotlight OECD/G20 Work on Base Erosion

Published on May 15, 2014

OECDTAXConferenceWashington, D.C., May 15, 2014 – As governments from OECD/G20 economies work to rewrite many of the fundamental rules of global corporate taxation, an upcoming conference will provide timely, essential insight for American companies into the process. On June 2-3 in Washington, D.C., the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) will hold its ninth annual global tax conference, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD.

A year after G20 leaders endorsed a 15-point action plan put forward by the OECD to draw up new global tax rules to counter “base erosion and profit shifting,” or BEPS, the first group of projects is heading towards completion. This includes work on intangibles, country-by-country reporting, tax treaty abuse, hybrids and the digital economy. The conference will provide an opportunity to assess progress to date and look forward to the work that will occupy the OECD over the next year.

“BEPS is an enormous undertaking, with far-reaching implications for how companies do business and how countries collect tax across borders,” said Carol Doran Klein, USCIB’s vice president and international tax counsel. “It is crucial that governments, OECD officials and the private sector work together to develop rules that meet government revenue goals, but also provide business with the certainty needed to make cross-border investments confidently.”

The 2014 OECD International Tax Conference, which will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel, will provide a unique opportunity for business experts to interact directly with key leadership from the OECD’s Center for Tax Policy and Administration, as well as senior tax officials from the United States and other OECD countries.

Speakers at this year’s conference include:

  • Keynote speaker IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
  • Masatsugu Asakawa of the Japanese finance ministry, who chairs the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs
  • Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration
  • Tizhong Liao, China’s director general of international taxation
  • Robert Stack, deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, U.S. Treasury
  • Will Morris, director of global tax policy with GE International and chair of the BIAC Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Affairs

They will be joined by other OECD experts on transfer pricing, international tax cooperation and related matters, tax officials from the U.S. and other OECD governments, and business experts from USCIB and BIAC’s global membership.

“Given the complexity of the issues, their significant potential impact on the taxation of international business, and the rapid progress the OECD is making on BEPS and related matters, it is essential that U.S. and other global companies gain a full understanding of the issues now and make their views known,” said Bill Sample, corporate vice president for worldwide taxes with Microsoft and chair of USCIB’s Taxation Committee.

“The business community is providing important input to the BEPS process,” added GE’s Morris. “This conference will provide an opportunity for further dialogue between the public and the private sectors on important matters affecting public confidence, revenue generation and economic growth.”

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson said: “The OECD is a valuable forum for informed discussion and guidance on many facets of government policy and regulation, especially in taxation. We are delighted to continue our long tradition of working with the OECD and BIAC to showcase the OECD’s important work on global tax policies.”

Robinson noted that, this year, USCIB had also partnered with the OECD on a March 10 conference in Washington on information and communications technologies, and would organize a joint conference this October on new directions in trade and investment policy.

The 2014 OECD International Tax Conference is co-organized by USCIB, the OECD and BIAC, which officially represents the view of industry in the Paris-based body, and for which USCIB serves as the U.S. member federation. Details are available at www.uscibtax.org.

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, 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

 

Conference agenda and other information

More on USCIB’s Taxation Committee

 

Save-the-Date: BIAC Workshop on Women’s Entrepreneurship, June 24 Paris

Published on May 14, 2014

4731_image001We invite you to join us for the upcoming workshop, “Putting All our Ideas to Work: Women and Entrepreneurship,” which will take place at the OECD in Paris from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24.

Organized by the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, this event will feature innovations in finance, as well as company initiatives to foster women’s entrepreneurship.  It will also serve as a forum for best practice and policy frameworks. A detailed agenda will be available shortly.

This workshop marks the second phase of BIAC’s work on women’s economic empowerment.  It follows the BIAC/AmCham Report, Putting all our Minds to Work:  Harnessing the Gender Dividend, which focused on women in management. In the coming weeks, BIAC intends to release the results of a survey based on the follow-up to that report.

USCIB Senior Counsel Ronnie Goldberg chairs the BIAC Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs (ELSA) Committee, under the auspices of which this work is being undertaken.  USCIB is also engaged in ILO activities related to women’s economic empowerment. We invite any members wishing to receive information on or participate in USCIB’s gender work to please notify Rachel Spence at rspence@uscib.org.

Staff Contacts: Ronnie Goldberg and Justine Badimon 

Robinson Talks Trade and Investment at OECD Forum

Published on May 7, 2014
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson with Sharon Burrows, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson with Sharon Burrows, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.

Trade and investment have become more intertwined, reinforcing and interdependent, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson told the annual OECD Forum in Paris on Tuesday, stressing the importance of global value chains and the need for smarter policies to foster FDI – and the growth and jobs it creates.

Robinson took part in a panel discussion moderated by Shawn Donnan of the Financial Times on the new realities of cross-border trade, including the development of highly integrated global value chains where various stages of R&D, production and distribution are scattered across many different countries. The session encouraged debate among panelists and the audience about how to adapt policies to meet the new, interconnected trade and production landscape.

In his remarks, Robinson identified three important trends – the growth of global value chains, the interdependence of trade and investment, and the dangers of protectionist policies such as forced localization and data flow restrictions – as he had highlighted at the BIAC/TUAC pre-Ministerial consultations with the OECD and the Japanese last month in Tokyo. He called for policies that acknowledge that the world of trade has shifted towards global value chains, and noted that the role of foreign direct investment is crucial and should be central to the discussion along with trade.

Other speakers at the Future of Trade panel included Robert Carvalho de Azevêdo, director general of the WTO; James Bacchus of Greenberg Traurig, chair of the Commission on Trade and Investment Policy at the International Chamber of Commerce; Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation; Tim Groser, New Zealand’s minister of trade; and Tadayuki Nagashima, executive vice president of the Japan External Trade Organization.

Trade and investment are two sides of the same coin, Robinson explained, neither will occur alone. Cross-border trade requires investment as well as investment protection like the investor state dispute settlement to help balance legitimate government needs and dispute resolution.

Robinson also warned that trade barriers are going up behind the border, handicapping the development of integrated global value chains. He encouraged the OECD to continue research on the impact of policies that localize production and content and limit data flows on global value chains.

The business community ideally favors a global approach to trade and investment liberalization, Robinson said. But he noted its encouragement of regional and functional initiatives such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Trade in Services Agreement and leveraging where possible those plurilateral or bilateral coalitions of the willing into multilateral ones. Robinson also thanked the OECD for its high-quality work on trade analysis, such as Trade in Value Added.

The OECD Forum takes place each year around the OECD’s ministerial council meeting, which this year focused on “Resilient Economies and Inclusive Societies.” A high-level United States delegation participated in the OECD ministerial, advancing efforts to level the playing field for American businesses and promoting a more open and outward-oriented OECD. The delegation included U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Jason Furman and the new U.S. ambassador to the OECD, Daniel Yohannes.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Growth Jobs and Prosperity in the Digital Age

Published on March 10, 2014

Conference looks at how the OECD shapes the policy environment for ICTs

Diego Molano Vega, Colombia’s minister of information technologies and communications, was among the speakers at the conference.
Diego Molano Vega, Colombia’s minister of information technologies and communications, was among the speakers at the conference.

New York, March 10, 2014 – Policies affecting the development and use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) are evolving quickly around the world. At the same time, ICTs now constitute a fundamental building block for global growth, competitiveness and job creation.

This was the backdrop for a major conference today in Washington, D.C. “Growth, Jobs and Prosperity in the Digital Age: OECD Shapes the Policy Environment,” held at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center, was organized by the United States Council Foundation (USCIB’s educational arm), together with BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the OECD itself.

Participants discussed how emerging technologies create the potential for greater efficiencies, new business opportunities, economic growth and job creation, as well as risk-based approaches to privacy and security. They also considered the trade policy dimension, including how cross-border data flows are regulated under existing trade rules, and how this could change. And they considered the contributions of the OECD, including in its 2008 “Seoul Declaration,” in helping to shape Internet and ICT policies that support growth, innovation and broad societal benefits.

“The multi-stakeholder approach is a linchpin of the OECD’s work on ICTs and the Internet,” said Andrew Wyckoff, director of the OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry. “This approach has served to inform our role as a shaper of international dialogue, as a provider of comparative cross-border data and evidence, and as a forum for sharing experiences and collective learning.”

Wyckoff, appearing via video from Paris, reflected on the OECD’s role in creating policy consensus among governments, business and the wider Internet community. He said the OECD’s Internet Policy Making Principles represent a “common philosophical approach” to Internet policy making. “This is essential,” he said. “This is where growth will come from in the decade to come.”

Wyckoff joined a roster of speakers from government, industry and the OECD reviewed the latest technological and policy developments in digital privacy, big data, cloud computing and other emerging technologies, and considered how these could be leveraged by policy makers to achieve maximum growth, innovation and employment. These included: Diego Molano Vega, Colombia’s minister of information technologies and communications; Commissioner Julie Brill of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission; and Liesyl Franz of the U.S. Department of State’s cyber issues office.

“As work to revive our economies continues, the digital economy provides a powerful tool to improve productivity, increase innovation and growth, as well as create new jobs,” said Jorgen Abild Andersen, chair of the OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy. “The OECD is committed to bringing together governments and key stakeholders to develop policies to support a flourishing digital economy.”

Joseph Alhadeff vice president and chief privacy officer with Oracle Corp., who serves as chair of BIAC’s Committee on Information, Communications and Computer Policy and vice chair of USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee, said: “In light of recent economic developments, it is understandable that policy makers are taking a renewed look at how best to ensure ICTs can continue to meet broad economic and societal needs. This program served to underscore the important role that OECD policy frameworks and economic analysis play in providing needed facts and guidance that assist both business and regulators in developing the policies that help foster continued growth and evolution of the global digital economy and information society.”

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.

About BIAC:

Founded in 1962 as an independent organization, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) is the officially recognized representative of the OECD business community. BIAC’s members are the major business organizations in the OECD member countries and a number of OECD observer countries. More at www.biac.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB

+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee