News Stories Archives

Somali Clampdown Causes Drop in Global Piracy

Published on January 15, 2014

IMB’s annual global piracy report shows more than 300 people were taken hostage at sea last year and 21 were injured, nearly all with guns or knives. A total of 12 vessels were hijacked, 202 were boarded, 22 were fired upon and a further 28 reported attempted attacks. Nigerian pirates were particularly violent, killing one crew member, and kidnapping 36 people to hold onshore for ransom.

“The single biggest reason for the drop in worldwide piracy is the decrease in Somali piracy off the coast of East Africa,” said Captain Pottengal Mukundan, director of IMB, whose Piracy Reporting Center has monitored world piracy since 1991. IMB says Somali pirates have been deterred by a combination of factors, including the key role of international navies, the hardening of vessels and other recommendations in the shipping industry’s Best Management Practices, the use of private armed security teams and the stabilizing influence of Somalia’s central government.

“It is imperative to continue combined international efforts to tackle Somali piracy. Any complacency at this stage could re-kindle pirate activity,” warned Captain Mukundan.

Read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

Save the date Growth Jobs Prosperity in the Digital Age OECD Shapes the Policy Environment

Published on January 15, 2014

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Save the Date!

Growth, Jobs, & Prosperity in the Digital Age:
OECD Shapes the Policy Environment
March 10, 2014
12:00 noon – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center
901 K Street, NW, 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20001

Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (STI), will lead a unique business/government dialogue, which will include other top experts from the OECD’s Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) division and senior U.S. and foreign government officials. They will explore policy and regulatory challenges affecting U.S. companies that rely on ICT for business operations.

Proposed Topics

  • Internet Governance: Defending Stakeholder Principles
  • Shaping the Future of the Digital Economy: The Role of the OECD
  • Enhancing Trust and Boosting Innovation in the Digital Ecosystem
  • Global Trade & Local Rules: New Opportunities and Challenges for Digital Trade
  • Developments in Colombia’s ICT Sector, Policies and Regulations

Invited Keynotes

H.E. Diego Molano Vega – Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, Government of Colombia
Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda  – Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Information on registration and the agenda to follow shortly.

 

Sponsored by:

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For more information, contact Erin Breitenbucher at ebreitenbucher@uscib.org or +1 202.682.7465.


For sponsorship opportunities,contact Abby Shapiro at ashapiro@uscib.org

Brought to you by:
United States Council for International Business (USCIB)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC)

USCIB Members Enrich Discussions at Internet Governance Forum

Published on October 25, 2013

4625_image001USCIB co-organized two workshops at the 8th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which took place October 21-25 in Bali, Indonesia, enabling USCIB members and other stakeholder groups to make important substantive contributions on Internet governance, mobile telephony and use of the cloud in emerging economies, and the economic engine of digital trade.

At the IGF, some 2,000 participants from business, government, civil society and the technical community participated in nearly 250 workshops aimed at exploring such varied topics as the principles of Internet governance and the multi-stakeholder model of governance, the Internet as an engine for growth and sustainable development, and human rights, freedom of expression, and free flow of information on the Internet.

Mobile communications’ expanding reach

On October 22, Jacquelyn Ruff (Verizon Communications), moderated a standing-room-only workshop on “Mobile & Cloud Computing in Emerging Economies.” It featured commentary from speakers representing a broad cross-section of regional and stakeholder interests, including Verena Weber (OECD), Rohan Samarajiva (LIRNEasia) and João Barros (University of Porto, Portugal). The session focused on the developmental promise for emerging economies from mobile telephony and cloud computing capabilities due to their enormous potential in the next five years, when 90 percent of the world population is expected to have access to mobile coverage.

Key points raised at the workshop included:

  • Cloud computing services can be provided in emerging economies at a low cost and an energy-efficient way. However, cloud computing services can only be used if an Internet infrastructure wired or wireless broadband is in place providing a low latency and robust Internet connection to cloud users.
  • Greater efforts have to be made to connect more individuals, businesses, and government agencies to the Internet, so that developing countries can benefit from cloud computing. Another major infrastructure challenge is the lack of electricity or a reliable electricity supply in many regions to move content to the cloud and to run computers.
  • Trust among nations was also underlined as crucial for cloud computing development. Ultimately, though, the customer is key, along with technology, bandwidth, electricity and the need for redundancy or remote location as sources of confidence.

Spotlight on trade barriers

The following day, Richard Beaird (Wiley Rein) moderated another well-attended discussion on “Global Trade, Local Rules, & Internet Governance.” It featured commentary by Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle), vice chair of USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee, as well as Ruff, Samarajiva, and Sam Paltridge (OECD). The panel focused on the importance of supporting internet-enabled economic growth and how the erection of trade and regulatory barriers can impede such developmental benefits.

Workshop highlights included:

  • The proliferation of smart phones has caused an exponential rise in the use of data, but some solutions aimed at upgrading local telecom networks to meet these demands – adaptations of the sending-party-networks pays (SPNP) approach – work at cross-purposes by creating  unnecessary barriers to content-sharing across borders and operators.
  • Market-driven solutions remain the best approach. In an analysis of phone calls (frequency and duration) made from the U.S. to Africa and India, it was found that the traffic to India has increased tremendously over the last 10 years. This is due to the competitive market forces in India that have driven down termination rates, which at the same time have increased in Africa. Such actions create barriers for communication and trade in Africa.
  • The digital ecosystem is complex and overlapping. A change in one element creates a reaction and possibly a constraint on another aspect. While localized strategies may seem beneficial to an economy (or are security- or capacity-driven), they may in fact have negative effects on innovation and contain an underlying constraint.
  • Active multi-stakeholder discussions are of utmost importance to break the silo effect and create necessary agreements and polices from the trade world that support digital products.

NSA surveillance revelations

According to Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for information, communications and technology policy, the controversy surrounding revelations of unauthorized surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency informed much of the commentary of the IGF, particularly in light of new reports of NSA surveillance of countries such as France and Germany. She said that, in the wake of the NSA revelations, Brazil’s recent proposal to host a meeting in May 2014 to consider new ways of Internet governance dominated formal program discussion at the IGF as well as informal “hallway” consultations.

In an October 24 meeting with members of the International Chamber of Commerce’s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative, which includes USCIB, Brazilian officials said that the conference would include all stakeholders. A goal they would like to see is the development of a set of new principles for governance of cyberspace.

Details concerning the Brazilian initiative changed and evolved throughout the IGF week – and likely will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. ICC-BASIS, USCIB, and other business participants are still assessing what the May conference will mean and how to shape its development. Click here to read more about ICC’s presence in Bali on the ICC website.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

 

ICC Arbitration Cases Now Administered in New York

Published on October 25, 2013
Josefa Sicard-Mirabal (left), who heads the team in charge of marketing ICC dispute resolution services in North America, in the new office in midtown Manhattan, with (L-R) Suzanne Ulicny, Rachel Clarke and Alexandra Akerly
Josefa Sicard-Mirabal (left), who heads the team in charge of marketing ICC dispute resolution services in North America, in the new office in midtown Manhattan, with (L-R) Suzanne Ulicny, Rachel Clarke and Alexandra Akerly

The much-anticipated establishment of a presence of the International Court of Arbitration® of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in New York City has been realized with the opening last month of an office to administer ICC arbitrations in North America.

SICANA, the new U.S. corporate entity responsible for the administration of cases under ICC dispute resolution rules and for the promotion of ICC dispute resolution services in North America, is located in midtown Manhattan at 1212 Avenue of the Americas, in the same building where USCIB is headquartered.

For many years, USCIB has hosted the ICC Court’s North American marketing team, headed by Josefa Sicard-Mirabal, the Court’s longtime director of arbitration and ADR for North America, who has been named executive director of SICANA.

“This is an important milestone for ICC and the Court,” said ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, CEO of McGraw Hill Financial. “Congratulations go out to everyone involved, especially Josefa, who developed the idea and spearheaded its implementation. We look forward to continued growth in the Court’s activities, cementing its role as the premier forum for the resolution of cross-border disputes.”

Sicard-Mirabal and her team took up residence in their new offices in September. The recruitment of a case management team, which will be responsible for administering cases in the region under the well-respected ICC Rules of Arbitration, is at an advanced stage. The new team in New York will work in conjunction with ICC Secretariat case management teams located in Paris and Hong Kong. It will begin to administer existing North American cases and to register new requests for arbitration in November 2013.

“The establishment of a formal presence in one of the Court’s most important markets is a big step forward for parties in North America,” said Mark Beckett, partner with Chadbourne & Parke and chair of USCIB’s Arbitration Committee. “It reaffirms ICC’s commitment to the region and will increase the appeal of the Court’s services, which are already held in very high regard.”

North American parties made up 8.4 percent of the 759 cases filed with the Court in 2012. The new office in the heart of New York City will consolidate the Court’s market position in North America, and will allow parties, counsel and arbitrators in the region direct and convenient access to the services of the ICC Court.

On September 20, John Beechey and Andrea Carlevaris, respectively the Court’s president and secretary general, joined dignitaries from the legal and business communities at a celebratory reception at the Yale Club in midtown Manhattan.

“We are delighted to continue our ongoing close partnership with Josefa and her talented colleagues, even as they move a few floors away from us,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson.”They do an amazing job promoting awareness of ICC dispute resolution and use of the ICC Court. This move to establish a formal office of the Court here in New York is a testament to Josefa’s dedication and vision.”

Sicard-Mirabal thanked Robinson and the rest of the USCIB staff for facilitating the establishment of the new office. “We really could not have done this without strong support and guidance from USCIB,” she said.

For more information about ICC dispute resolution activities in North America, visit www.iccnorthamerica.org.

Staff contacts: Josefa Sicard Mirabal

With Timely European Programs USCIB Advances Trade and Investment Agenda

Published on October 14, 2013
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly (left) makes a point at a well-attended conference in Copenhagen on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly (left) makes a point at a well-attended conference in Copenhagen on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The U.S. government shutdown may have caused the cancellation of planned U.S.-EU trade talks (along with so much else) in the first half of October, but USCIB kept up a high level of activity on key trade and investment priorities, with a number of timely events and meetings in Europe.

Working with the National Foreign Trade Council and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we organized a September 30 program in Geneva on “Localization Barriers to Trade.” The well-attended gathering focused on the importance of global value chains to corporate and national competitiveness (the subject of a recent USCIB-commissioned paper by Dartmouth’s Matthew Slaughter), and how forced localization requirements undercut the ability of global companies to effectively utilize their value chains to generate growth and jobs in those countries that impose them.

Speakers included Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president for policy and government affairs, Hendrik Bourgeois (GE), Jeffrey Schott (Peterson Institute for International Economics) and Rob Atkinson (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation). Afterward, USCIB co-hosted a reception that provided additional opportunity for members to meet with representatives from the WTO delegations of several countries.

While in Geneva, USCIB’s Mulligan attended the WTO’s Public Policy Forum, and met with a number of officials at the WTO, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and UNCTAD. He also took part in a meeting of the ICC Trade and Investment Commission. He later traveled to Brussels, where he joined other members of the Business Coalition for Transatlantic Trade for meetings with EU negotiators as well as EU business representatives to discuss U.S. business priorities and views for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

According to Mulligan, key takeaways from the meeting included the EU’s emphasis on government procurement in the TTIP, and some concern about a slow response from the U.S. on regulatory cooperation issues, a key aspect of the talks. Mulligan and other business representatives highlighted a number of priorities for American business, including comprehensive coverage of investment issues and investor-state dispute settlement, forced localization, cross-border data flows and a comprehensive approach to services market access, including for financial services.

Not to be outdone, Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, journeyed to Copenhagen to take part in a well-attended conference on TTIP organized by the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). Speaking on a panel with the heads of Business Europe and DI plus the CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, Donnelly emphasized that U.S. business is insisting that a TTIP agreement be ambitious, comprehensive and high-standard.

The Copenhagen program was just one of a planned series of briefings and events Donnelly was scheduled to take part in across Western Europe, organized in cooperation with the State Department. Unfortunately, the government shutdown forced him to cancel the rest of the trip.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Pro-Growth Internet Policies Are Essential Says Global Business

Published on October 11, 2013

4625_image001As governments and other stakeholders prepare for the 8th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which takes place October 22-25 in Bali, Indonesia, business is seeking to highlight why greater collaboration between stakeholder groups – and stronger pro-growth international policies – are needed if the Internet is to remain the world’s primary economic enabler.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called for greater efforts to bring about better, more consultative global policy-making, in order to maximize the potential of the Internet to power future economic growth.

“The role the Internet plays today in providing fresh economic opportunity, hope and jobs cannot be underestimated,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “The policy-making community has a shared responsibility to support the Internet in this role by working together to create policy that facilitates new business growth and paves the way for new innovation in business models.”

As part of its focus on the role played by the Internet in job creation and economic growth, ICC’s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative will highlight the dangers of not doing enough to advance policy that promotes international trade and investment that helps corporations of all sizes as well as individuals capitalize on the opportunities made possible by globalization.

USCIB has played an important role in organizing two workshops at the IGF, featuring members as moderators and panelists. These include a discussion of mobile and cloud computing featuring Jackie Ruff (Verizon), and a workshop on “Global Trade, Local Rules & Internet Governance,” where Ruff will be joined by Richard Beaird (Wiley Rein), Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle) and Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president of ICT policy.

The IGF is being held in South East Asia for the first time, highlighting the important role that the region will play in the future of the Internet.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

BIAC Survey on Business and Gender Diversity

Published on October 10, 2013

USCIB would appreciate your input for the BIAC Survey on Business and Gender Diversity, which should take just a few minutes to complete.

BIAC (the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) and Deloitte are partnering on this survey to gauge the extent of change in advancing women into more senior positions that may have occurred within companies and within markets. They also wish to assess the development and impact of government and regulatory support to these efforts over the last few years.

The survey comes in follow-up to a 2012 BIAC report, produced in conjunction with the American Chamber of Commerce in France, entitled Putting All Our Minds to Work: Harnessing the Gender Dividend, which presented a business case for promoting female talent, with examples of how businesses in OECD member countries are advancing women’s empowerment.

The BIAC survey will remain open until October 31.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

USCIB Paper on Chinas WTO Compliance

Published on October 10, 2013

USCIB worked with members to submit a statement last month on China’s compliance with its WTO commitments, in response to a federal register notice from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The statement discusses the following cross-sectoral and sectoral issues:

Cross-sectoral: Certification, Licensing and Testing Barriers, Government Procurement, Intellectual Property Rights, Market Access, National Treatment and Non-Discrimination, Regulatory Environment, Standards, State-Owned Enterprises, Taxation

Sectoral: Agricultural Biotechnology, Audiovisual, Chemicals, Customs, Express Delivery Services (EDS), Software and Telecommunications (Services and Equipment).

USCIB’s China Committee will continue working on a more detailed response to USTR’s request and will be in contact with members to develop further sections, including an Annex which will address China transparency and regulatory notice and comment issues, as well as sections on chemicals, electronic payments and pharmaceuticals.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

More on USCIB’s China Committee

At ILO Employers Urge Steps to Reduce Informal Economy

Published on September 24, 2013
USCIB’s Adam Greene (left) at the ILO meeting
USCIB’s Adam Greene (left) at the ILO meeting

At an International Labor Organization meeting earlier this month in Geneva, business representatives from around the world joined government and trade union officials in contributing perspectives on ways to reduce participation in the untaxed, unregulated “informal” economy.

Under the banner of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), part of USCIB’s global network, the business delegation stressed that a key factor contributing to the prevalence of informality is the cost of doing business in a country. Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor and corporate responsibility, took part and helped prepare the employers’ closing statement.

“Entrepreneurs and enterprises in the informal economy struggle to do business in a situation of legal uncertainty and insecurity, and are faced with numerous economic constraints,” stated Michael Chiam of the Malaysian Employers’ Federation. “They need the tools to buy and sell their products legally, to own property and commercial use of property, to enter into legal contracts, to establish a business identity, to raise capital, to sell shares, to legally export. In essence, to have the official recognition of their property and business ownership.”

According to Greene, the discussion is part of an effort expected to lead to an ILO recommendation on informality in 2015 that will serve as one of the key UN instruments on the issue. “It will, we hope, help push the UN’s effort to develop new Sustainable Development Goals in the right direction,” he said. “Informality can reflect a fundamental lack of effective governance, and good national governance will be critical to assure the success of the SDGs.”

Greene said that, from the employers’ perspective, the ILO has a key role to play in addressing the issue of informality, because promoting employment and sustainable enterprises, as well as fundamental principles and rights at work, are at the very heart of the ILO’s mission.

At the Geneva session, business representatives criticized the narrow focus of an ILO questionnaire on labor markets, which they said had led to unhelpful proposals for formalizing workers and upgrading workers’ rights, but not addressing issues surrounding business formation and entrepreneurship. A focus solely on labor rights, they argued, would actually serve as a disincentive to formalization. They said a wider range of measures should be taken into consideration, including promoting effective national institutions and administration, implementing judicial reform, and easing business registration and licensing.

Staff contact: Adam Greene

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee

UN and Business Must Make Common Cause in Post-2015 Agenda UN Official Declares

Published on September 19, 2013
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson

The business community and the United Nations must rediscover their sense of shared purpose and “reconnect in building a world where international peace and prosperity reinforce each other,” according to UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson.

Eliasson spoke at last night’s USCIB’s International Leadership Award Dinner. His remarks came as USCIB and its allied business groups seek to provide business input into the development of the UN’s post-2015 development agenda, which aims to expand upon the Millennium Development Goals agreed in 2000.

The gala dinner, held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, honored Fred Smith, chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp., who received USCIB’s top award before an audience of several hundred USCIB members, diplomats and business representatives from around the world.

“There is more than just an overlap between United Nations development goals and private sector interests,” Eliasson stated. “We share common ground. If we can get, during the next two years, an acceleration of reaching these goals, then we will create the political momentum to move ahead and address sustainability, poverty and the rule of law.”

USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw (president, chairman and CEO of McGraw Hill Financial) urged business and the UN to work together to map out an ambitious – and achievable – post-2015 development agenda. “This represents a historic opportunity to forge a global consensus in support of public-private activities to lead growth and create a more robust, inclusive world economy,” he said.

McGraw said business will seek to promote several fundamental objectives in the context of the post-2015 agenda. These include setting goals that are achievable in every country, putting a focus on improving national governance, implementing sound macro-economic and fiscal policies, establishing effective national institutions, and providing adequate incentives for business to contribute.

L-R: The UN’s Eliasson, FedEx CEO Fred Smith, USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson
L-R: The UN’s Eliasson, FedEx CEO Fred Smith, USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson

Well deserved accolades for FedEx’s Smith

FedEx’s Smith accepted USCIB’s International Leadership Award on behalf of his company’s employees around the world. “Let me commend USCIB for the important work you are doing,” he said. “I think all of us in this room believe in the power of access, of connecting people, of ideas. Improving people’s lives through global growth has been an important and valuable mission. We are shoulder-to-shoulder with you in this important work.”

Smith is the 32nd individual to receive the USCIB award, which was presented most recently to Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical. The award recognizes efforts to expand world trade and investment, and to improve the competitive environment for American business globally.

Smith founded FedEx Corp. in 1973, and it has grown into a $44-billion global transportation, business services and logistics company. McGraw praised him for his vision and leadership. “Fred Smith has been an active proponent of regulatory reform, free trade and open skies agreements for aviation around the world,” said McGraw. “Most recently, he has advocated for vehicle energy-efficiency standards and a national energy policy. FedEx is consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers and inspires its employees to remain absolutely, positively focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.”

USCIB’s global network turns out

Among those attending this year’s event were members of the executive board of the International Chamber of Commerce, the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the American national committee, as well as the heads of ICC chapters from around the world. The secretaries general of each of USCIB’s affiliated global business groups – ICC, the International Organization of Employers, and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD – also attended the gala.

The dinner marked a starting point for a series of events organized by USCIB, ICC and other business-related groups to focus industry attention on the development of the UN’s post-2015 development agenda. Among the highlights will be USCIB-organized “door-knock” consultations on October 26 for USCIB members with key government delegations and the UN secretariat.

That same day, USCIB will convene a Green Economies Dialogue luncheon roundtable on economic and green growth considerations of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Speakers at the roundtable will include representatives from academia, important governments and the UN to consider policy options that work within the global marketplace.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s International Leadership Award Dinner

Fedex website