News Stories Archives

ICC Launches New Tool to Promote Business Sustainability

Published on June 24, 2015

Charter_sustainability_sourceThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) launched a radical update of its respected Business Charter for Sustainable Development. The third edition of the ICC Charter has been designed to reflect a more holistic approach to sustainability, drawing on the expertise, experience and good practices of a broad range of international companies and business associations across all sectors and industries. Based around eight guidelines, the charter sets out a framework to enable companies to place sustainability at the heart of their operations – from staff recruitment to the development of new products and services.

Speaking at the charter’s launch on the margins of the United Nations Global Compact’s annual meeting, ICC Secretary General John Danilovich said: “Sustainability needs to be understood as a key business driver, rather than a luxury investment or a public relations tool. A growing body of evidence shows that developing a corporate culture of sustainability is a major source of competitive advantage in today’s economy.”

Danilovich added: “Our message with the launch of the charter is that becoming a sustainability leader requires changes in all relevant business practices, but that the effort to do so is most certainly worth it – in environmental, social and economic terms alike.”

The new charter has been carefully designed to provide a common and accessible starting point for companies to develop or enhance their business sustainability strategy. In doing so, ICC aims to better enable small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in emerging market economies, to integrate sustainability considerations in their operations.

This September will see the finalization of new global sustainable development goals (SDGs), under a process initiated by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon some two years ago. It is widely anticipated that the SDGs will place a significant focus on the private sector to deliver sustainable and inclusive global growth.

The launch of the charter represents ICC’s initial response to this process with the aim of more fully engaging the corporate sector in the implementation of the SDGs.

Danilovich said: “Delivering on the promise of the SDGs will require widespread engagement of companies large and small across the world. The launch of the charter is the start of a concerted push by ICC to ensure that the power and reach of the private sector is fully harnessed in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.”

ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development

Read more: A Turning Point for International Climate Policy: ICC North American Regional Consultation

 

OECD Report: TFA Could Significantly Reduce Costs of Global Trade

Published on June 19, 2015

4556_image001Implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) could reduce worldwide trade costs by anywhere from 12.5% to 17.5%, according to the updated 2015 OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs). The OECD TFIs are designed to inform governments on potential measures to improve border procedures, reduce trade costs, boost trade flows and reap greater benefits from international trade. The Indicators identify areas for action and enable the potential impact of reforms to be assessed after implementation.

The TFA creates a significant opportunity to improve the speed and efficiency of border procedures, thereby reducing trade costs and enhancing participation in the global value chains that characterize international trade. The 2015 OECD TFIs find that countries which implement the TFA in full will reduce their trade costs by between 1.4 and 3.9 percentage points more than those that do only the minimum that the TFA requires. The opportunities for the biggest reductions in trade costs are greatest for low and lower middle income countries.

The 2015 OECD TFIs cover 152 countries across different geographical regions and levels of development. Using cost estimates from the updated ESCAP-World Bank Trade Costs Dataset, they provide the most current assessment of the potential impact of implementing the measures included in the TFA. They also allow countries to identify their strengths and weaknesses in trade facilitation, prioritize areas for action and mobilize technical assistance and capacity building in a more targeted way.

The OECD TFIs measure the actual extent to which countries have introduced and implemented trade facilitation measures in absolute terms, but also their performance relative to others, using a series of quantitative measures on key areas of the border process.

Read the OECD’s full policy assessment.

USCIB Represents Business Views in “E15” Investment Policy Group

Published on June 18, 2015
Shaun Donnelly (center)
Shaun Donnelly (center)

With opinions on foreign investment, including such issues as investor-state dispute resolution, sometimes sharply divided, finding common ground is important. USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was one of only three business representatives at last week’s meeting of the Investment Policy Experts group under the overall “E15” (E for Experts) initiative of 18 different subject-matter groups convened in Geneva throughout 2015 under the auspices of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).

Each of the experts groups, including Donnelly’s , is debating possible policy options which the WEGF and ISCTD will package for further discussion around the WTO Ministerial in Nairobi in December and at the WEF’s annual Davos gathering in January. Other leading American experts, including from USCIB member firms, are active on other issue groups.

The range of views is vast among experts within the investment group. Donnelly and his colleagues from academia, think tanks and international organizations are struggling with issues from investment agreements and dispute settlement to how investment can drive sustainable development. After intense two-day sessions in March and last week in early June, the Investment group remains divided on specific policy initiatives.  So Donnelly and his colleagues will have more tough work over the course of this year.

BIAC and B20 Turkey Call for Strengthening the Financing of SMEs in Global Value Chains

Published on June 18, 2015

SMEs“For SMEs to benefit more fully from global value chains, urgent actions are needed to improve the coordination of financial regulations, strengthen access to financing and skills, and maximize the sharing of information through digital platforms,” said Bernhard Welschke, BIAC secretary general, commenting today on the release of a BIAC-B20 Turkey special publication.

Faced with the slowest post-crisis global investment recovery since the early 1970s, there is a pressing need to unlock growth, investment and jobs. However, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – which account for the majority of employment and over half of value-added in OECD countries – have struggled to access the financing they require to participate in and across world markets as banks have deleveraged to meet new regulatory requirements.

Conscious of the financing challenge, BIAC and B20 Turkey have released a publication halfway through the Turkish G20 Presidency entitled “Business Access to Global Value Chains and Financing SMEs.” Bringing together chapters written by prominent thinkers in government, academia, finance, and business, the publication seeks to pave the way for actions to support SMEs, in contribution to the G20 ahead of the Leaders’ Summit in November 2015.

“This BIAC-B20 Turkey publication underlines that SMEs can be best supported if all relevant actors in markets – public and private alike – undertake coordinated actions that support businesses in global value chains,” commented Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, B20 Turkey Chair. “Connecting the various B20 and G20 activities is central to this effort.”

Considering the outcomes from a BIAC-B20 Turkey conference held on June 4, 2015 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, the final chapter of the publication presents three overarching recommendations to G20 Leaders:

  1. Focus on coordination, consultation and impact assessment
  2. Raise SME access to finance and skills through an integrated approach
  3. Maximize the sharing of information through digital platforms

“We encourage G20 Sherpas to use this publication as a key point of reference in preparing the G20 Leaders’ Summit Communiqué,” added Hisarcıklıoğlu.

Read the report.

At UN Climate Talks in Bonn, Negotiators Make Incremental Progress

Published on June 12, 2015

Paris2015

Continuing the march to COP21 in Paris, governments wrapped up two weeks of negotiations in Bonn, Germany yesterday under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. While that march has been at a snail’s pace, it has made some limited progress, according to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for environment and energy, who took part in the talks.

“Negotiators were able move the draft negotiating text forward with a bit of streamlining,” Kennedy said. “But the contentious issues of finance, reduction commitments and the role of carbon markets remain and there is still a long way to go, with only 10 official negotiating days before the Paris Climate Conference.”  Business is watching discussions of technology closely, as well as emerging issues of liability for loss and damage due to climate change, and the role that markets will be allowed to play for countries meeting their reductions commitments.

The Bonn meeting, attended by over 4000 representatives of countries, the U.N., business and NGOs, was opened by France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius.  Governments are seeking to avoid a repeat of the collapse of the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009, and build a longer term durable agreement based on national pledges of greenhouse gas reductions and other actions.

Kennedy reports that, given the complexity of issues and multiple proposals, countries have now asked co-chairs of the negotiating process to speed up the pace, and to produce a “non paper” that would be a tool to move the text closer to the legal form needed for a binding agreement.

“Negotiators were asked to limit their comments to edits and restructuring, rather than substance,” according to Kennedy. “There was limited time dedicated to so-called cross-cutting issues, such as the legal form of the agreement, differentiation of commitments across countries, etc.”  Countries are showing increased interest in the role that non-state actors, such as cities and the private sector, can play in advancing climate action complementary to government implementation.

Business representatives from U.S., European, Japanese and international business organizations, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), were invited to make statements during the course of the Bonn talks.  USCIB statements underscored the need for a recognized interface for business with the UNFCCCC. In addition to Kennedy, USCIB was represented by Nick Campbell (Arkema).

Click here to access USCIB’s information and resources page on business engagement in the UN climate talks.

USCIB Conference Assesses Status of Controversial BEPS Project

Published on June 12, 2015
L-R: Grace Perez-Navarro (OECD), Carol Doran Klein (USCIB), David Camp (PwC), Pascal Saint-Amans (OECD)
L-R: Grace Perez-Navarro (OECD), Carol Doran Klein (USCIB), David Camp (PwC), Pascal Saint-Amans (OECD)

This week, USCIB convened the tenth annual OECD International Tax Conference, in Washington, D.C. June 10-11, for a timely discussion of global tax policies and their impact on international trade and investment.  The sold-out event, produced with the OECD and BIAC, has become a huge draw for global companies and those involved in crafting international tax policies.

As the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting (BEPS) project draws to a close, policymakers, business representatives and tax practitioners gathered to take stock of the OECD’s efforts to rewrite global tax rules. The BEPS project’s goal is to craft new rules that tax profits where economic activity is generated, without imposing undue compliance costs on taxpayers.

“As we enter the home stretch in the BEPS exercise, global companies and national tax authorities are naturally thinking about implementation as well as next steps,” said Carol Doran Klein, vice president and international tax counsel with USCIB. “Our conference is more valuable than ever as a resource to learn about and discuss transfer pricing, prospects for U.S. tax reform, and many other topics. The OECD is of course a critical resource in this area.”

Discussions on the first day of the tax conference included sessions on “BEPS: Current State of Play,” “U.S. Tax Reform and BEPS,” “Transfer Pricing in Line with Value Creation,” and a keynote address by former U.S. Congressman David Camp (PwC).

camp_lo-res
Former Congressman David Camp (PwC) stresses the importance of U.S. tax reform at the 2015 OECD International Tax Conference in D.C.

Former Congressman David Camp (PwC) stresses the importance of U.S. tax reform at the 2015 OECD International Tax Conference in D.C.During Camp’s speech, he stressed the need for the United States to reform its tax code, explaining that the U.S.’s high statutory corporate tax rate makes it difficult for American companies to remain competitive, and it incentivizes those companies to reinvest their profits abroad rather than at home. On the BEPS process, Camp noted that concerns about double taxation on cross-border investment continue to be serious issues for the United States. He urged attendees to address these concerns before the BEPS process is over without rushing to a hasty conclusion.

“From a business standpoint, we really must have tax reform,” Camp said.

Read Camp’s full remarks

During the conference, speakers from governments involved in the BEPS negotiations, including Robert Stack, deputy assistant U.S. Treasury secretary for international tax, provided their assessments of the overall success of the project.

“It is clear that the BEPS has been very challenging, we hope the OECD and countries will commit to continue to improve the process and outcomes,” said Bill Sample (Microsoft), chair of USCIB’s Taxation Committee.

Legislators weighing the impact on domestic tax reform

The conference takes place as American policymakers consider how to make U.S. tax law more internationally competitive. On June 10, Rep.  Paul Ryan (R-WI) said in an interview with Bloomberg BNA: “The question is: Can we take a couple of steps in the right direction, particularly with international tax laws and international tax rules? Ours are really anti-competitive. Can we do some things to fix that so we can make American businesses more competitive?”

As the BEPS process comes to a close at the end of this year, the U.S. business community will be looking to its government to make the U.S. tax code more conducive to international trade and investment.

“BEPS is going to change the landscape of international tax. If Congress wants to shape that landscape, they should be paying attention, following the discussions and making their views known. Congress staking out a position soon would be helpful” USCIB’s Klein told CQ News.

On June 10, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD released a position paper that identifies the business community’s primary concerns with the BEPS process.

Read BIAC’s Position Paper.

On the second day of the OECD tax conference, participants covered “Interest Deductibility and CFC Rules,” “Permanent Establishments and Profit Attribution to Permanent Establishments,” “Treaty Abuse,” “Dispute Resolution,” looked ahead to “BEPS: Post-2015,” and listened to a keynote address by Sunita Manik of the South African Revenue Service. 

USCIB and BIAC will continue to provide constructive input into the BEPS process as the project reaches its final stages at the end of this year.

View photos from the OECD International Tax Conference (Flickr)

ICC’s 9th World Chambers Congress Kicks Off in Italy

Published on June 11, 2015

TorinoThe 9th World Chambers Congress began June 10 in Torino, Italy bringing together chamber and business leaders from 109 countries. Under the theme ‘Identity, Community, Vision’, the world’s largest gathering of chambers will address current global trends affecting chambers of commerce and their respective communities, from economic recovery to climate change and other pressing issues that transcend national boundaries.

Peter Robinson, USCIB’s President and CEO, and Cindy Duncan, senior counsel and SVP of international Carnet development attended the congress.

Organized by the International Chamber of Commerce’s World Chambers Federation (WCF) and hosted by the Torino Chamber, the biennial Congress offers hands-on solutions to support the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and showcases pragmatic tools for trading in today’s global marketplace.

“Chambers of Commerce play an increasingly important role in the global economy and are central to ICC’s vision to promote trade as a driver of growth, jobs and sustainable development. The World Chambers Congress is an essential forum to promote knowledge sharing between chambers from around the world—driving real innovation in the important services they offer to businesses and in the development of public-private partnerships,” said ICC Chairman Terry McGraw.

Mayor of Torino Piero Fassino who inaugurated the event said: “Torino is happy and honoured to host the 9° World Chambers Congress and welcomes all those who have come here from every corner of the world. Chambers of commerce are a privileged tool in the economic world to circulate ideas, create projects and start a dialogue with markets that are becoming more global and articulated. We are proud to host the Congress, especially because Torino can count on important international assets that we are strongly promoting abroad.”

Taking place over three days, the 9th World Chambers Congress features four plenary sessions on a range of issues including the changing nature of world trade, the impact of migration and the availability of skills, how chambers can help businesses adapt to the challenges of climate change and the need for business input from local contexts into the Millennium Development Goals.

Find out more about the 9th World Chambers Congress by visiting the website.

USCIB’s Goldberg Presides at 2015 International Labor Conference

Published on June 5, 2015
Ronnie Goldberg speaks at the closing ceremony of the 2015 ILC.

Every year, USCIB organizes the American Employers’ delegation to the International Labor Conference (ILC), the highest decision-making body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) which brings together government delegates from the organization’s 185 member states, representatives from workers’ organizations and employers’ organizations such as the International Organization of Employers (IOE). USCIB is the American affiliate of the IOE.

With this year’s ILC underway, which runs from June 1 to June 13, Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel, is serving as the employer’s co-chair during the proceedings.

Noteworthy projects of the 2015 ILC include an item proposed by global employers, led by the International Organization of Employers (IOE), is the Committee on the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy, which will conclude its two-year work on a draft Recommendation to governments on facilitating transitions to more formal economies. In addition, the conference covered discussions on building enabling environments for small- and medium-sized enterprises and on ILO’s work on social protection, focused on labor inspection.

During his opening address to the ILC, ILO Director General Guy Ryder called for a global debate on the future of work. “The issues of jobs, equity, sustainability, human security, labor mobility, social dialogue, which need to be tackled in a future of work initiative, are almost by definition the key policy issues of our time,” said Ryder.

The proposed initiative would be structured around four conversations: work and society; the organization of work and production; decent jobs for all; and the governance of work. Subsequently, a high-level commission on the future of work would prepare a report to the ILO’s centenary Conference in 2019.

Also on June 1, Ryder, Goldberg and other ILO delegates signed a signature panel symbolizing support for the “50 for Freedom campaign” to end modern-day slavery. The campaign’s goal is to encourage 50 member states to ratify, by 2018, a protocol to the ILO Forced Labor Convention.

Read more: IOE Stresses B20 Recommendations for Skills Development and Inclusive Labor Markets

UN Members, Private Sector Prepare for Big Development Finance Conference in Ethiopia

Published on June 3, 2015

FfD

Members of the United Nations are busily negotiating the planned outcome document for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from July 13 to 16. This pivotal conference aims to map out the framework for global development finance for the coming years, following upon previous high-level gatherings in Monterrey (2002) and Doha (2008).

Negotiators are tackling a cross-cutting global policy agenda – one that touches on multiple areas of interest to USCIB members and the global business community. These include global tax harmonization, trade and investment policies, climate and energy, intellectual property, food and agriculture, and corporate responsibility issues such as transparency and anti-corruption.

According to Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, the potential impact of the Addis Ababa conference is broad. “It’s important the companies view what goes on in the UN holistically,” he said. “Decisions made at FfD3 will directly affect the direction of UN debate over the Post-2015 Development Agenda, as well as the climate change negotiations.”

USCIB is actively working with our members and our global network, including the International Chamber of Commerce, to ensure that the private sector’s voice is heard in Addis Ababa. In mid-May, USCIB members participated in a discussion with the lead U.S. negotiator for FfD3, John Hurley of the Treasury Department, who provided an update on the process and on U.S. priorities. USCIB has reviewed and provided detailed comments on both the first and second drafts of the outcome document. Meyerstein, who serves as co-chair of the Development Subcommittee on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, has also met on several occasions with the co-facilitators of the FfD3 process, the Ambassadors from Norway and Guyana, as part of a delegation of the Business Steering Committee for Financing for Development, chaired by the ICC’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Louise Kantrow.

In addition, USCIB is playing a key role in the Business Steering Committee in helping to organize a Business Forum to be held on July 14, concurrently with the FfD3 Conference. According to Meyerstein, the forum will be a unique platform to demonstrate the value the private sector offers to sustainable development. A key focus will be on the business enabling environment required to attract investment to least developed countries, the role of public-private partnerships and the need for new innovative approaches to financing, such as blended finance, which uses public funds, including Official Development Assistance, to catalyze increased private flows.

“It will provide an opportunity for business participants to interact with senior government officials, business leaders and other experts, and let companies and other stakeholders showcase their initiatives related to development and development finance,” he said.

There is still time for companies to nominate high-level business representatives to speak at the Business Forum and during the intergovernmental roundtables at the FfD3 Conference itself. In addition, high-level representatives will be invited to a special dinner hosted by the government of Ethiopia for business leaders and heads of state.

 

USCIB Statement on ICANN Accountability Represents Business Consensus

Published on June 3, 2015

USCIB filed comments on the first draft of ICANN’s (Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) Cross-Community Working Group (CCWG) on Enhancing ICANN Accountability proposed Accountability Enhancements on Wednesday, June 3. These comments represented an important cross-sectoral and cross-community consensus of USCIB’s member companies.

Overall, USCIB members applauded the work of the CCWG in developing accountability mechanisms that will replace the “back stop” function currently provided by the contract between the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and ICANN concerning stewardship of the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) functions. That contract is set to expire on September 30, 2015, but likely will be extended for a limited period to give the ICANN community additional time needed to thoughtfully develop a sound transition plan. In particular, USCIB supported elements of the draft proposal that would give the ICANN multistakeholder community power to reject a budget or strategic plan as well as recall Board members if deemed necessary. USCIB further urged inclusion of a new Bylaw aimed at preventing government capture or undue ICANN influence on public policies unrelated to ICANN’s core mission.

“A spirit of cooperation prevailed as USCIB members across the ICT sector as well as the contracted and non-contracted houses of ICANN worked hard to reach a consensus ultimately aimed at ‘getting the transition right’,” said Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy.

Read USCIB’s comments.