Latest from USCIB Archives

BIAC Participates in Second International Green Manufacturing Summit in India

Published on September 14, 2012

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with the support of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) and OECD, organized its “2nd Green Manufacturing Summit” in New Delhi.

Bringing together close to 250 high-level representatives of Indian and international business, the Indian government, the OECD as well as other key experts, the Summit provided an excellent platform for a constructive discussion on green manufacturing and complemented Indian efforts of promoting the country as a green manufacturing location.

Speakers included Indian Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, Indian and international business experts from a range of different sectors, as well as BIAC and OECD representatives.

The Summit allowed for interactive discussions in several areas, highlighting how growth in manufacturing will be key to ensure inclusive growth and employment creation in India in the coming decades. Discussants also stressed the importance that such growth is sustainable, and that a right balance needs to be found between economic, environmental and social considerations.

In addition, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to exchange views on industry’s best practices, business opportunities, market developments, and new technologies for greener products; ways of greening infrastructure through efficient use of construction material, energy, water and other resources; the chemicals industry’s approach to minimize negative impacts; as well as enabling conditions for green manufacturing processes and concepts that the manufacturing industry has adopted.

Staff Contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

USCIB Represents Business at APEC Summit

Published on September 14, 2012
USCIB’s Justine Badimon and Peter Robinson in Vladivostok
USCIB’s Justine Badimon and Peter Robinson in Vladivostok

The APEC Russia host year recently came to a close with the APEC CEO Summit, Ministers’ and Leaders’ meetings held in Vladivostok in early September.  USCIB President & CEO Peter Robinson and Justine Badimon, manager for APEC affairs, attended the CEO Summit on behalf of USCIB members and the U.S. APEC Business Coalition from September 5-8.

The Business Coalition was represented in Vladivostok by USCIB and our partners, the National Center for APEC, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. ASEAN Business Council and the U.S.-Russia Business Council, along with many executives from USCIB member companies.

Ministers and leaders from the APEC economies met in Vladivostok over the first week of September to assess the progress of the 2012 year and plan the way forward. On September 6th APEC ministers released a positive statement on their commitment toward fostering trade and economic growth in the region, and addressing next generation trade and investment issues.

Over 50 representatives from U.S. companies attended the summit, which included a full agenda of panel discussions with members of the business community on current trade and economic issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region.  Leaders addressing the summit included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera meets with Robinson and other members of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera meets with Robinson and other members of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition.

U.S. participants also took part in the Business Coalition bilateral meetings, which were held parallel to the summit, with senior foreign government officials from the APEC economies including Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (which Robinson chaired) and Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming. These bilateral meetings gave the U.S. business community an opportunity for dialogue on APEC and Trans-Pacific Partnership issues and a chance to express concerns about business issues faced in those economies. The coalition also met with U.S. officials including Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats, and Deputy U.S. Trade Representatives Demetrios Marantis and Michael Punke.

One of the most notable outcomes from the ministers and leaders meetings in Vladivostok was agreement on a list of Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) that directly and positively contribute to APEC’s green growth and sustainable development objectives. By the end of 2015 applied tariff rates on all environmental goods included on the list are to be reduced to five per cent or less.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Robinson wrote: “Together with agreement by the APEC ministers on a comprehensive approach to trade facilitation and supply chain connectivity – additional high-priority items for USCIB’s members – the green goods agreement demonstrates the ability of APEC to tackle and push forward important shared priorities.”

In addition to significant agreements on APEC’s approach to supply-chain performance and commitments to work toward prevention of local content requirements in the region, USCIB welcomed the formation of a Virtual Customs Business Working Group, which will enhance collaboration with the private sector on customs-related issues. Nasim Deylami, USCIB’s manager for customs and trade facilitation, played an integral role in creating the Virtual Working Group with the support of USCIB members and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). We look forward to the progress that this group will bring to maintaining a consistent and meaningful dialogue on customs issues in the APEC arena.

Turning ahead to Indonesia’s host year in 2013, USCIB is looking forward to continuing our role ensuring the engagement of the business community in maintaining the positive momentum of work and dialogue in the APEC process. The next APEC CEO Summit will take place October 5-7 in Bali, Indonesia.

To learn more about USCIB’s APEC work, please keep an eye out for USCIB’s 2013 APEC Priorities Paper, which will be finalized in late October.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

OECD-BIAC Briefing Session on FATCA Model Intergovernmental Agreement

Published on September 14, 2012

OECD and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) will hold a joint briefing session on the Model Intergovernmental Agreement to Improve Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA, which will take place at the OECD Headquarters in Paris on September 20.

The briefing session is open to all interested financial institutions, advisors, and BIAC Members generally.

The briefing session will provide business with an opportunity to hear from the architects of the model (developed by the United States, France, Germany, Italy Spain and the United Kingdom) about its background, operation and latest developments.

The model will be presented by Manal Corwin (Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs, US Department of Treasury) and Michael Plowgian (Attorney-Advisor, Office of the International Tax Counsel, US Department of Treasury). Participants will also be given an opportunity to ask questions to government representatives from countries involved in the development of the model.

An invitation is available here.

Staff Contact: Carol Doran Klein

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USCIB to Participate in Global Chemicals Management Conference

Published on September 12, 2012

africaAgainst the backdrop of growing international attention to the use of chemicals throughout the production and consumption chain, Helen Medina, USCIB’s director of life sciences and product policy, will attend the Third International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM3), September 17-21 in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2006, ICCM adopted the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) as a policy framework to foster the sound management of chemicals. SAICM was developed by a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral preparatory committee, and supports the achievement of the goal – agreed at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development – of ensuring that, by the year 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health.

ICCM3 will mark a major milestone in the implementation of the Strategic Approach. The conference will evaluate implementation, address emerging policy issues including the chemicals in products project, consider new activities for addition to its global plan of action, evaluate the financing of SAICM and take strategic decisions for the future.

SAICM is a voluntary policy framework, implemented in a multi-stakeholder process, and sets as one of its main objectives that information and knowledge about chemicals contained in products “is available, accessible, user friendly, adequate and appropriate to the needs of all stakeholders.” As a step towards fulfilling this objective, the second session of the governing body of SAICM in 2009 (ICCM2), recognized chemicals in products as an emerging policy issue, and adopted a resolution which invited UNEP to lead a Chemicals in Products (CiP) project.

Since ICCM2, the UN Environment Program, the lead agency for this topic, has focused its work on understanding the availability of information on CiP. It commissioned in-depth studies in specific sectors (building materials, toys, electronics, textiles) on this topic and a workshop to make suggestions on how to move the project forward. The major recommendation from the workshop and the preparatory meeting for ICCM3 was to develop a voluntary framework to facilitate the flow of information on CiP.

USCIB is attending ICCM3 to ensure that business interests are considered as the recommendation for the next steps for the CiP project is finalized. In essence, USCIB believes that the CiP project can be a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices to achieve the goal of sound management of chemicals by 2020. Significant progress has been made in some industry sectors, and via internationally agreed standards processes, to identify priority information and key points along the life cycle where information should be communicated.

In its comments to ICCM3, USCIB recommends that the CiP project build capacity for the implementation of existing systems that facilitate the exchange of relevant information on chemicals in products, including through training tools and workshops. USCIB said that while industry appreciates the importance of exchanging appropriate and relevant information related to chemicals in products, it is crucial that confidential business information be protected.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

USCIB comments for ICCM3

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

Business Presses Capitol Hill to Act Now on Russia Trade Act

Published on September 10, 2012

russia usa jigsawLast week, USCIB and other top business associations joined in pressing top Congressional leadership to swiftly pass legislation that would enable U.S. firms to compete on an equal footing in Russia as that country joins the World Trade Organization.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the industry groups urged the leadership to work together to pass Russia PNTR (permanent normal trade relations) legislation this month.

“This legislation, which is the top trade priority for the business community this year, is needed to give U.S. manufacturers, farmers, and service providers a fair chance to compete and sell more of their goods and services to Russia,” stated the letter signed by USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson and the nine other business association heads.

Underscoring that Russia is now a WTO member as of August 22, the business leaders stressed that, “more than 150 WTO countries – except the United States – can now fully benefit from much better access to the Russian marketplace and important new WTO rights, including stronger IP protections, greater transparency, and recourse to the WTO’s dispute settlement procedures if Russia fails to meet its commitments.”

By contrast, they noted, “the United States will not have the same WTO rights and economic opportunities until Congress passes Russia PNTR.  This creates business uncertainty for U.S. companies seeking to expand in the Russian market and also gives foreign competitors a significant advantage in securing new sales and contracts there.”

In addition to USCIB, the letter was signed by the heads of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Business Roundtable, Coalition of Services Industries, Emergency Committee for American Trade, Information Technology Industry Council, National Association of Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S.-Russia Business Council.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

Business association letter on Russia PNTR

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SEC Issues Rules on Conflict Minerals

Published on August 30, 2012

Gold Rush Fuels DR Congo CrisisEarlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules to implement Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank law requiring companies to publicly disclose whether they source four metals – tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold – from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country, and whether doing so benefited armed groups in the DRC.

The eastern portion of the DRC has been affected by civil and military conflict for decades, leading to numerous UN and other international efforts to stem the violence.  Section 1502 was included in Dodd-Frank to respond to concerns that armed groups in the DRC are using mining and minerals trade to help finance the conflict.

“While the SEC rules included some limited changes sought by business, they still contain many overly prescriptive and burdensome provisions, and are likely to ensure the continued de-facto embargo of minerals from the DRC as companies seek to avoid having to report under the rules,” said Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president of labor affairs and corporate responsibility.

Additionally, Greene noted that the SEC failed to conduct an adequate cost-benefit analysis of the new rules:  even though the SEC increased their cost estimate from $71 million to $3-4 billion, the new figure still falls well below other estimates that range from $8 to16 billion, and no effort was made to quantify the benefits of the new rule.  As a result, it is nearly certain that one or more U.S. business groups will sue the SEC to block the adoption of the Final Rules.

Independent from the SEC rulemaking process, the OECD has developed due diligence guidance for sourcing minerals from areas of conflict  minerals and is currently coordinating a multi-stakeholder process to help companies and trade associations implement the guidance.  The SEC rules explicitly recognize the importance of OECD guidance as the only meaningful international benchmark to which corporate due diligence measures must conform.

Given the important role of the OECD guidance in these or any SEC rules, USCIB has participated directly in the OECD’s work, in order to ensure that the guidance is practical, reasonable and risk-based.  USCIB will continue to play this role going forward and has taken on a leadership role in the governance of the process, which will help us to ensure that it remains effective and well balanced.

Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

Congressional Report Highlights OECD’s Important Role

Published on August 30, 2012

oecd congressional reportIn July, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the respected non-partisan research and policy analysis arm of the Library of Congress, published a concise, 10-page report on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD is, of course, particularly important and relevant to USCIB and its members, given our unique role as the U.S. affiliate of the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC).  The CRS study is a fair and constructive assessment of a complex – and sometimes misunderstood – organization.

The very readable CRS report reviews the history and structure of the OECD, its committees and secretariat staff, its substantively rigorous “peer review” culture, and its increasingly relevant work in support of the G8 and G20 processes.

The report emphasizes the OECD’s pro-market, pro-growth orientation.  It highlights some of the OECD’s work and international leadership on a range of important issues, include trade and investment, macroeconomic policy, education and job skills, environmental sustainability, anti-bribery, and pro-competitive markets.  Work on critical issues like combating terrorism and anti-money laundering (through the affiliated Financial Action Task Force) and on export credit subsidies (through the Export Credit Arrangement) exemplify the OECD’s unique contribution hosting important niche efforts on critical issues that include both OECD members and non-members.

The OECD is driving progress on tough issues that are important to American companies, including tax policy, privacy, the green economy and investment policy.  It is staying abreast of top-drawer issues, for example through new cross-cutting analytical work to promote “competitive neutrality” between state-owned enterprises and private-sector firms.

In each of these areas, as well as many other areas, USCIB staff and our member company representatives are playing leadership roles through BIAC, as well as directly with the OECD, its members governments, and beyond to help make OECD the unique, global economic think tank that it can and should be.

As reaffirmed in the new CRS report, the United States needs a strong, effective, open and pragmatic OECD.  So does American business.  USCIB is working hard to help make that happen.

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

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ICC Responds to the EC Proposal on Third-Country Access to Internal Procurement Markets

Published on August 3, 2012

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC’s) Task Force on Public Procurement has responded to the European Commission’s (EC) proposed changes and updates to procurement rules for approval by the European Parliament and Council.

ICC’s response aims to promote discussions and foster further evaluations of the potential consequences of the proposal made on March 21, 2012. For the EC, the proposal should be urgently passed by the European legislative bodies due to the reluctance of some non-European Union (EU) countries to open up their markets further in the course of on-going multilateral or bilateral trade negotiations.

The task force reasserted that ICC, in accordance with its mandate, cannot support any instrument purporting to limit access to markets, irrespective of the developments in trade policy that may have prompted its introduction. Parts of the EC proposal might lead to such limitations, the task force concluded.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Staff Contact: Shaun Donnelly and Justine Badimon

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ICC Announces Ground-Breaking Executive Board Shift

Published on July 6, 2012
USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III (center), who also serves as vice chairman of ICC
USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III (center), who also serves as vice chairman of ICC

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has achieved an objective, securing representation from all five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the election of seven new members to its Executive Board.

Meeting last week at ICC headquarters in Paris, ICC governing bodies approved the seven new members along with renewed terms for four other members.

The new members are: Sebastian Escarrer Jaume, Vice-Chairman, Melia Hotels International (Spain); Joaquim Falcao, Dean of Law School of Fundacao Getulio Vargas (Brazil); Karen van Gennip, General Manager, Private Banking & Investments, ING (Netherlands); Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President, The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (Turkey); Alexander Izosimov, Director of East Capital AB, LM Ericsson, EVRAZ Group, Transcom WorldWide and Dynasty Foundation; Zola Tsotsi, Chairman, Eskom Holdings (South Africa); and Zhang Yanling, Executive Vice-President, Bank of China, 2002-2010.

The shift in Board composition sees a majority of 14 out of the 26 members coming from countries outside the so-called “old” industrial countries of Western Europe, North America and Japan and also includes the addition of two women.

“As a truly global business organization, it is fitting that our Executive Board is as diverse in its composition as the scope of issues ICC addresses on behalf of world business,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier.

Comprising 27 CEOs and other corporate executives, the Executive Board is ICC’s senior governing body responsible for developing and implementing ICC’s strategy, policy and program of action as well as overseeing the financial affairs of the world business organization.

USCIB Expands Its Trade Services With New Electronic Certificates of Origin

Published on July 6, 2012

folder mouse

USCIB recently launched its new electronic Certificates of Origin (eCOs) service.  This new trade service, unveiled at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference, adds to our suite of innovative services for exporters and international business professionals.

Certificates of Origin are international trade documents attesting to the origin of specified goods. Many customs authorities require them to obtain preferential duty rates or to fulfill obligations for letters of credit from a financial institution. USCIB’s eCOs save time and money, bypassing the delay and expense of employing messengers to obtain certification.

After a few simple steps, and certification by USCIB, eCOs can be shared electronically or printed from any computer. USCIB has licensed eCertify, as the software provider to process its eCOs, following in the footsteps of other Carnet Guaranteeing Associations worldwide.

According to Cynthia Duncan, USCIB’s senior vice president for Carnet and trade services, “There are many reasons to enter the CO market, especially as export and customs-related documents are increasingly going digital, allowing for a more efficient model over the current paper-based, messenger-intense standard. As a trusted name in the United States and among customs administrations around the world, USCIB has over four decades of experience in export documentation.”

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization that USCIB represents in the United States, is working to set international operational standards for COs, through its ICC Guidelines on Certificates of Origin and CO Task Force.

The ATA Carnet Department (recently renamed the Carnet and Trade Services Department) is now managing its online bookstore, USCIB International Bookstore, formerly known as ICCBooks USA. The USCIB International Bookstore specializes in the titles of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and in the future plans to expand its trade-related offerings. The Bookstore is the exclusive distributor of ICC titles in the U.S.

Staff Contact: Cynthia Duncan

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