Sub Featured Story Archives

ICC Meeting With Head of UNEP Discusses Private Sector Approaches to Resource Efficiency

Published on November 29, 2016

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) held a “Sustainable Resource Management: Business Opportunities and Economic Potential” meeting in Paris last week with 120 policymakers, industry leaders, and scientists to discuss the economic potential of resource efficiency and its role in putting the world on a more sustainable development track in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, and recommendations of last year’s UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA).

This was the first major international business meeting with UNEP’s new leader, Erik Solheim, formerly head of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. The Sustainable Resource Management meeting was organized as part of UNEP’s on-going dialogue with business on environmental sustainability. In his opening remarks at the event, Solheim emphasized that “practical solutions will happen in business.”

USCIB was represented at the meeting by Mike Michener, CropLife International, who serves as one of two elected business and industry representatives on UNEP’s Major Groups Facilitating Committee (MGFC), along with Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for energy and environment.

USCIB Welcomes New Staff Members

Published on November 29, 2016

USCIB welcomes Mia Lauter, who joined USCIB’s Policy Department in New York to work on Environment, Climate Change, Product Policy and Innovation issue areas. She joins another recent hire, Elizabeth Kim, who joined earlier this year to focus on Corporate Responsibility, Labor, APEC, Competition and China.

Additionally, Kira Yevtukhova has succeeded Chris Zoia as Communications Manager after working in USCIB’s Policy Department for over five years. She will be based in USCIB’s Washington office. Chris has taken a new position with the Freedom Fund.

Please join us in welcoming and congratulating Mia, Elizabeth and Kira.

Business Supports Expansion of APEC Privacy Rules

Published on November 29, 2016

Global Communications. 3D rendering.

Eight major business groups — including USCIB, Japan’s Keidanren and ICC Mexico — released a joint statement calling on all Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies to expand participation in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system. An important priority for USCIB, the CBPR is a high-standard and enforceable privacy code of conduct that facilitates cross-border trade and ensures strong privacy protection of personal information. The statement commended the work done by policy makers in promoting the CBPR system, and urged the 21 APEC economies to commit to the system during 2017.

CBPRs are based on the internationally respected APEC Privacy Framework and endorsed by APEC Leaders since 2011. They are an interoperable, enforceable, and high-standard privacy code of conduct that facilitates cross-border trade of goods and services and ensures that strong privacy protection will follow personal information across the Asia-Pacific region. By creating a certification system that bridges the privacy regimes of each participating economy in a cost-effective and scalable way, the CBPRs allow participating companies to focus their time and resources on innovating, serving customers, and pursuing their business objectives.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson attended the annual APEC CEO summit and various side events alongside USCIB Vice President Helen Medina. Robinson featured the joint statement in his meetings with US government officials, as well as other APEC government representatives on the sidelines of the recent APEC Leaders meeting in Lima, Peru. “We applaud the support that APEC Leaders and Ministers have demonstrated towards expanding participation in the CBPRs. We believe this reaffirms both APEC’s recognition of the importance of data flows to trade and investment in the region and its commitment to building bridges between national privacy regulatory regimes. We see great potential for the CBPRs to serve as a platform for a truly global system of interoperable and robust privacy protection,” noted Robinson. USCIB members certified under the CBPR include Apple Inc., Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., IBM, and Merck and Co., Inc.

The CBPRs signal to governments in the Asia-Pacific and in other parts of the world that mutual cooperation between like-minded economies can serve as a rational, effective international approach to high-standard privacy and data protection, without requiring data to be stored, managed, or otherwise processed locally or prohibiting data transfers to other markets.

The next meeting of APEC’s Data Privacy Subgroup, which developed the CBPR framework and continues to oversee its implementation, will be held in 2017 in Vietnam. USCIB will work with APEC member economies to support these commitments and raise awareness with officials and stakeholders on the benefits of CBPRs, increasing participation and helping APEC economies set the standard for how to do privacy right globally.

APEC CEO Summit Highlights Need for Continued US Leadership

Published on November 21, 2016
USCIB's Peter Robinson and Helen Medina in Lima
USCIB’s Peter Robinson and Helen Medina in Lima

The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO summit, which wrapped up over the weekend in Lima, Peru, coincided with concerns about an uncertain U.S. role in Asia and the Pacific at an especially pivotal time. But according to USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, who attended the summit and various side events alongside USCIB Vice President Helen Medina, there were also signs of progress and hope for continued U.S. leadership in the region.

“I believe that, despite the political rhetoric back home, our trading partners still want and expect the United States to play a leading role in APEC and in the region as a whole, and so do we,” said Robinson. “Now is the time to work even more closely together to promote trade and regional solutions that meet the needs of all parties.”

Under the leadership of the National Center for APEC, USCIB and other business groups joined a diverse array of American CEOs and other executives (including numerous USCIB members) in Lima. Throughout 2016, USCIB has addressed a number of key priorities through APEC, including chemicals policy, advertising self-regulation, data privacy, customs, digital trade, and women in the economy. Our members and staff have engaged in several APEC working groups, including the Chemical Dialogue, APEC Business-Customs Dialogue, Customs Procedures Virtual Working Group, Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity, the Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup.

Robinson gave introductory remarks at a roundtable hosted by the U.S.-APEC Business Coalition and USCIB member Deloitte, “Driving APEC Growth Through Competitive Services and High-Quality Regulations.” The focus of Peru’s 2016 host year was on quality growth and human development. Within this context, particular attention has been devoted to the services sector, which represents a large and expanding portion of the overall economic growth and development. The event, moderated by Deloitte Global Chairman David Cruikshank, focused on APEC’s current work in the areas of services and good regulatory practices, including the APEC Services Cooperation Framework and APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap, as well as further opportunities to drive the service sector in 2017.

Other speakers included John Andersen, deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for the Western Hemisphere; John Drummond, head of the OECD’s Trade in Services Division; and Ho Meng Kit, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation; and Vietnam ABAC Chair for 2017 Hoang Van Dung. Key themes addressed included the slowing pace of liberalization in services in the APEC area, its impact on small and medium-sized businesses, and the need to reinvigorate trade.

While in Lima, Robinson and Medina participated in business meetings with the prime minister and finance minister of Peru, the president of Vietnam and Canada’s international trade minister. They also joined APEC Business Coalition members at meeting with key U.S. Congressional staff attending the summit, as well as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman, where the post-election focus was on crafting better trade deals that can address concerns voiced by everyday Americans.

Robinson and Medina attended a dinner hosted by Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Abbott and Merck KGaA, on “Driving Sustainable Health Systems to Achieve Quality Growth and Human Development.” The dinner, which featured remarks by Peruvian Health Minister Patricia García Funegra and Matt Matthews, the U.S. senior official for APEC, highlighted the region’s shared achievements to advance the APEC health agenda, which carries significant trade and investment, innovation and capacity-building components.

Statement on cross-border privacy rules

During the final day of the APEC CEO summit, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged world leaders to invest in connecting citizens to the Internet. In a related move, eight major business groups — including USCIB, Japan’s Keidanren and ICC Mexico — released a joint statement calling on all APEC economies to expand participation in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system. An important priority for USCIB, the CBPR is a high-standard and enforceable privacy code of conduct that facilitates cross-border trade and ensures strong privacy protection of personal information. The statement commended the work done by policy makers in promoting the CBPR system, and urged the 21 APEC economies to commit to the system during 2017.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the CEO Summit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the CEO Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address with a strong message in favor of open and free trade, saying that the Asia-Pacific region must lead the way in the face of slowing global growth and rising protectionism.

“President Xi clearly demonstrated that China is ready to take a leading role in APEC integration at a time when the U.S. appears to be reevaluating how it intends to engage with its economic and trading partners,” observed USCIB’s Medina.

But Robinson said that USCIB, NCAPEC and members of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition remain well-positioned to champion U.S. business interests in APEC. “The time and energy we have invested in APEC has resulted in some important accomplishments,” he said. “Whatever happens regarding a specific trade deal, the fact is that we in the United States still need APEC, and APEC needs us. I continue to have high hopes for APEC as we approach 2017.”

Business Hits Chinese Cybersecurity Rules as Protectionist

Published on November 17, 2016

China - Flag on Button of Black Keyboard.Earlier this month, China adopted broad cybersecurity regulations giving law enforcement enhanced authority to access private data and requiring data to be stored servers located in China. In a letter to Chinese authorities, USCIB and some 40 other industry groups from around the world protested the measure, saying it would wall off China’s internet and unfairly hamper access to the Chinese market.

The letter said Chinese regulators used security as a pretext for enacting protectionist trade policies to benefit Chinese industry, and urged China to to respect its World Trade Organization commitments. “We are concerned that these commitments are undermined by public statements and other forms of high-level guidance that call for indigenous and controllable substitution plans for information technology products and services,” the industry letter stated.

USCIB is organizing a high-level government and business dialogue on US-China cybersecurity, to be held December 16 in Washington, D.C. White House and other government officials will be invited to brief members on the ongoing U.S.-China cyber dialogue and discuss specific member priorities. Please contact Eva Hampl for additional information.

Workshop Highlights Need for Business Input to Implement UN Climate Agreement

Published on November 15, 2016

marrakechLeading business organizations met in Marrakesh, Morocco on the margins of the UN’S COP22 climate meetings, to address the next steps under the Paris Climate Agreement, specifically the prospects for injecting business expertise and technical advice into the agreement’s implementation at the national and global levels. Convened by USCIB, in cooperation with the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF) and the Moroccan business federation CGEM, the Marrakesh Business Dialogue brought together over 70 government, business and UN representatives at the Universite Privé de Marrakesh.

Topics under discussion included where national pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could be delivered more cost effectively, and where business could provide necessary information to international reviews of progress under the Paris Agreement. Previous USCIB-organized BizMEF Dialogue meetings in Doha, Warsaw and Lima provided important thought leadership and input to the UN process, en route to finalizing the far-reaching treaty agreed last year.

“The Paris Agreement’s entry into force earlier this month increases the urgency to engage business in all aspects of the Paris Agreement, including its implementation,” according to USCIB Vice President Norine Kennedy, who is spearheading USCIB’s representation in Marrakesh.

Opening the meeting, Said Mouline, the Moroccan official responsible for public-private partnerships for COP22, stated that “business engagement is needed for capacity building and technology transfer.” In the course of the dialogue, participants talked about defining entry points in the Paris Agreement for representative business organizations that would contribute to transparency in reporting, reviewing national progress and informing future national pledges.

Business and government representatives agreed that both have a lot to gain from working together on the NDCs, improving transparency and measurement, verification and verification (MRV) systems, and seeking to maintain continuity and resilience of the pledges made. This cooperation will need to long term and ongoing, through the five-year cycles that are at the heart of the infrastructure of the Paris Agreement.

USCIB’s Kennedy presented a recently completed report, Business Engagement in Domestic and International Implementation of the Paris Agreement. This first-of-its-kind report offers case studies from BizMEF partner organizations and recommends a recognized business interface to be developed as part of the Paris Agreement institutional infrastructure.

“USCIB’s consistent message has been that enhancing business engagement is not just a matter of innovative governance and partnership, but also a prerequisite for successful and cost-effective implementation of climate policy,” stated Kennedy. She said such engagement should build on existing entities such as the Green Climate Fund, the Technology Executive Committee, and the Climate Technology Center and Network, and should work in synergy with the Global Action Agenda and NAZCA Platform. “The structure can be similar to other existing successful examples of business consultation and dialogue in inter-governmental forums,” such as the OECD and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, she said.

Kennedy added: “It is the business community that will do much of the implementation that is needed to reach the goals under the Paris Agreement, and USCIB has set enhancing recognized business consultation as a priority in its post-Paris climate advocacy.”

Kennedy stated that it is only with broader, more substantive and inclusive business engagement that the Paris Agreement can meet its potential. “This is more than a “nice-to-have,” she said. “It is essential to further the evolution at needed speed and scale to a lower carbon and sustainable global economy.”

BizMEF, of which USCIB is a founding member, is a partnership of leading multi-sectoral business organizations from over 25 major economies that provides responsible business views and practical input to inform deliberations in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Business Urges Governments to Advance National Human Rights Action Plans

Published on November 15, 2016
USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein (2nd from left) and IOE Secretary General Linda Kromjong (far right) at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein (2nd from left) and IOE Secretary General Linda Kromjong (far right) at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

As the world’s largest annual gathering on business and human rights gets underway in Geneva this week, the private sector is calling on governments to heighten efforts to develop and implement national action plans.

Bringing together over 2,000 participants – including government, business, civil society and academia – the 2016 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights is a major opportunity to assess progress in relation to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights, and other current business-related human rights issues.

Endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the Guiding Principles comprise 31 principles and commentary based on three pillars, implementing the UN’s “protect, respect and remedy” framework. They are a blueprint for what governments and companies need to do to put in place appropriate policies to respect human rights.

With only eight countries having implemented national action plans, USCIB and its global business partners are seeking to mobilize their national representatives to call on their respective governments to develop a national plan in order to align national laws with global standards.

In a joint statement, USCIB and other business groups issued a four-point paper stating that:

  • Business supports the UN Framework and Guiding Principles and wishes to see States implement the State Duty to Protect human rights
  • States should see NAPs as the opportunity to exercise leadership to build genuine commitment and
    capacity to achieve tangible progress in standards, business behaviour and change for rights-holders
  • States should engage with the business community to learn from their experiences in dealing with
    human rights commitments, and
  • State should use the NAPs as an opportunity for collective action.

Speaking during a forum panel on human rights and investment treaties, ICC Senior Policy Manager Viviane Schiavi underscored the world business organization’s pivotal role in promoting business implementation of the UN Guiding Principles, and highlighted how the newly launched 2012 ICC Guidelines for International Investment call on investing companies to respect the human rights of those affected by their activities, consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Read more on ICC’s website.

USCIB to Attend APEC Summit in Lima

Published on November 15, 2016

apec_limaThis week, USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Lima, Peru, as a business delegate and representative of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition. Attending with him will be Helen Medina, USCIB’s vice president of product policy and innovation.

Organized under the leadership of the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) USCIB will be joining other Coalition and NCAPEC members on the ground, including CEOs and executives from USCIB member companies. NCAPEC serves as the designated 2016 U.S. Strategic Partner for the CEO Summit, Secretariat to the U.S. members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and as Chair and Secretariat of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition.

“APEC actively supports economic growth, regional cooperation, and trade and investment,” said Robinson. “USCIB welcomes the committed partnerships that APEC, as the top economic forum in the region, has sustained with the private sector to address the complex economic issues that face the region. It is a vital platform for addressing trade and investment, which is especially important now that prospects for U.S. ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership look cloudy.”

Throughout 2016, USCIB has addressed a number of issues through APEC to advance discussions across a range of issue. These include chemicals regulation, advertising self-regulation, data privacy, customs, digital trade, and women in the economy. Our members and staff have engaged in several APEC working groups, including the Chemical Dialogue, APEC Business-Customs Dialogue, Customs Procedures Virtual Working Group, Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity, the Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup.

In Lima, Robinson and Medina will meet with USCIB members, leaders from APEC economies and representatives of intergovernmental organizations to discuss member companies’ APEC priorities and USCIB’s work. They look forward to hearing from USCIB members in Lima, in addition to joining with Coalition partners, to advance common objectives.

The upcoming APEC meetings in Lima include, in addition to the CEO Summit, the Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting, Fourth APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting, APEC Ministerial Meeting and APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. As these meetings draw Peru’s host year to a close, USCIB has begun to gather priority issues from its membership for 2017, when Vietnam will serve as APEC’s host. We are continuing to collect input, and will shortly release our APEC Priority Issues and Recommendations for 2017.

ICANN Holds First Meeting Following Internet Domain Name System Transition

Published on November 15, 2016

icann-hyderabadThe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) wrapped up its latest global meeting of Internet stakeholders on November 9 in Hyderabad, India. The event attracted 3,000 registered participants from business, government, civil society and the technical community from 130 nations.USCIB Vice President Barbara Wanner helped spearhead a strong business contingent encompassing representatives of USCIB member companies and our overseas business partners.

The week-long conference was hailed by ICANN President and CEO Goran Marby as an “historical first meeting” following the transition of oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a set of core functions necessary for the running of the Internet domain name system, from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to the multi-stakeholder Internet community, with safeguards to enable active involvement by the community in processes designed to hold ICANN accountable.

USCIB’s Wanner reiterated the business community’s fundamental support for the IANA transition. “This community-developed plan will best ensure the continued stability, security, and resilience of the domain name system as well as fundamental openness of the internet, all of which will provide the necessary conditions for continued business innovation, economic growth, and societal benefits,” she said in an address to delegates.

However, according to Wanner, the week-long meetings were not dominated by transition-related celebrations. “Rather, they focused on implementing post-transition changes as well as re-energizing work on domain name policy issues – which have traditionally served as the preeminent focus of ICANN meetings,” she said.

USCIB Statement on the U.S. Election Results

Published on November 9, 2016

Trump announces security policy in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaNew York, N.Y., November 9, 2016 – Terry McGraw, chairman of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) and Peter Robinson, USCIB’s president and CEO, released the following statement on the results of the U.S. election:

“We congratulate Donald J. Trump on his election as our next President. It has been an intensely hard-fought campaign, and we look forward to Americans coming together behind shared values and a common purpose. We also congratulate the members from both parties elected to both houses of the 115th Congress.

“It is important for the United States to remain engaged globally and provide leadership on a range of issues affecting our national prosperity, including international trade, climate change, sustainability and support for a rules-based global economy.

“American companies are heavily invested in creating the conditions for expanded U.S. influence internationally and renewed investment and growth at home. USCIB is eager to work with the new Administration and Congress – and with the overseas business partners with whom we have established longstanding close ties – to focus attention on the key issues and initiatives that will undergird America’s growth and success, and strengthen the global economy, in the 21st century.

“The next Administration faces numerous challenges as it takes office. A top priority should be to develop and implement, in concert with the Congress, a strategy for U.S. engagement with the wider world – one that both continues and augments the benefits that American businesses, workers and consumers draw from active participation in the global economy and international institutions. We need policies that anticipate, address and support the demands of a changing American workplace, while addressing the legitimate needs of those displaced or disadvantaged by the 21st-century global economy.

“Such a strategy must recognize and build upon America’s strengths in innovation, entrepreneurship, world-class work force and know-how. It should further seek to leverage American business to reinforce U.S. global leadership, and effectively engage with multilateral institutions to foster international rules and a level playing field that support our competitiveness. It should also seek to make these institutions more accountable and representative of key global stakeholders, including the private sector, in pursuit of shared goals and values.

“We are ready to work with the new Administration and Congress to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, reap the gains from participation in global markets and trade, and deliver benefits in the form of jobs and opportunities for U.S. workers. These objectives can and must be pursued together.”

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. As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers, and Business at OECD, 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