News Stories Archives

ICC-Ifo Survey: Global Economic Climate at Four-Year High

Published on February 16, 2011
More than three-quarters of the economists surveyed agreed that currency wars are a signal of looming protectionist measures.
More than three-quarters of the economists surveyed agreed that currency wars are a signal of looming protectionist measures.

A key world economic confidence measure has reached its highest level since 2007, indicating that economic activity overall is picking up.  This according to the quarterly World Economic Survey, from USCIB affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research.

The world economic climate indicator rose significantly, after a slight decline in the fourth quarter of 2010, and is now above its long-term average. It rose based on assessments from 1,117 experts in 119 countries who responded to the survey questions on both the current situation, as well as the six-month outlook.

Growth was more broadly distributed in the first quarter of 2011 than in the previous year, according to the survey, while protectionism emerged as a growing concern for experts in light of the threat of currency wars.

“These results are very promising because they point to the type of wide-reaching growth that in the long run leads to sustainable development,” according to ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “However, the threat of greater protectionism worldwide is worrying and remains a very real threat to blocking this growth.”

The indicator reached 106.8, measuring significantly above its long-term average of 96.9, calculated between 1991 and 2010. The global economic outlook was less fuelled by the BRIC countries − Brazil, Russia, India and China, where forecasts are now more moderate − and to a larger extent by encouraging signs from North America.

In the United States, exports, capital expenditures and private consumption were expected to grow, according to the survey’s respondents. These results indicate that the recovery in the U.S. is gaining momentum and that a so-called “double-dip”, or renewed economic downturn, is not likely.

Click here for the full press release on the ICC-Ifo survey and accompanying charts.

More on the International Chamber of Commerce

Pfizers Barone is New Vice Chair of ICC Customs Committee

Published on February 14, 2011
Anthony Barone
Anthony Barone

USCIB affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has appointed Anthony Barone, director of global logistics policy at Pfizer, as vice chair of its Committee on Customs and Trade Regulations.

In his role as vice chair, Mr. Barone is set to advance the committee’s work program, as well as to provide support to the committee’s chair, Selig Meber, vice president of GE International, in developing consensus within the committee on policy positions and statements.

The committee’s work focuses on customs reform, with the aim of simplifying and harmonizing customs policies and procedures so as to overcome barriers to trade.  “The committee is honored to have Mr. Barone as the new vice chair and is looking forward to benefitting from his contributions,” ICC said in a statement.

Mr. Barone draws on extensive experience in the field of customs and trade.  He was a consultant in international logistics and trade finance before joining Pfizer, the world’s largest research based bio-pharmaceutical firm, in 2001.  He also held senior positions in the third-party logistics industry and with supply-chain IT providers.

Between 2005 and 2009, Mr. Barone served on the U.S. Customs Operations Advisory Committee, and in 2008, he joined the Private Sector Advisory Committee of the World Customs Organization in Brussels.

Mr. Barone is currently a member of the New Jersey Export District Council of the U.S. Department of Commerce.  He graduated from Columbia University with an MBA in management.  Outside of Pfizer, he writes screenplays and is a member of several writer groups.

The committee elected Mr. Barone, whose appointment was announced during their last meeting on January 27 in Brussels.  He will help the chair represent consensus viewpoints of the committee, including those of governmental decision-makers and the media as needed.  He will also be called upon to lead meetings of the committee when the chair is unable to do so.

More on USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee

USCIB Pushes Back Against Efforts to Permit Capital Controls Under FTAs

Published on February 8, 2011

USCIB and other industry groups have written to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to argue against calls by some academics to change capital control rules in U.S. trade and investment agreements.  Presently, U.S. free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties generally preclude the imposition of capital controls, except in extraordinary circumstances.  But some have argued that broader use of such measures may be needed in light of the 2008 financial crisis.

In the letter, the business groups argued that U.S. investment treaties and trade agreements already permit governments to take necessary action, including capital controls, to ensure the safety and soundness of their financial systems.  “That flexibility is more than sufficient to allow countries to take necessary actions to deal with a financial crisis,” the letter stated.

“Moreover, the critics advocating these changes inaccurately characterize the United States as some sort of outlier in including these rules in their trade agreements and BITs.  In fact, most Western European, Canadian and Japanese investment treaties (which are far more numerous than U.S. agreements) have long included similar provisions requiring the free flow of capital.  Most of those agreements are not as flexible as U.S. trade agreements and BITs because they do not contain the prudential flexibility found in U.S. agreements.”

According to USCIB Vice President Stephen Canner, the industry letter is timely in light of next week’s upcoming round of talks under the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative.

Staff contact: Stephen Canner

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

News Brief Business Under Assault in Venezuela

Published on February 7, 2011

The IOE has been in the forefront of raising awareness about attacks – some literal – against employers and their representatives in Venezuela.  A new resource is a video documenting a violent attack perpetrated against leaders the national employers group FEDECAMARAS leaders in October.  The video – in Spanish, with an English-language version is forthcoming – also provides an overview of what the IOE terms “the constant climate of aggression and hostility towards the private sector in Venezuela” by the Chavez government and its allies.  The video is available at www.ioe-emp.org/index.php?id=357.

IOE website

News Brief: Estonia Becomes OECD’s 34th Member

Published on February 4, 2011

In December, Estonia deposited its instrument of accession to the OECD Convention, thereby becoming a member of the organization.  Estonia was invited by OECD countries to open negotiations for membership in May 2007.  This means that the Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETTK) is now officially a full BIAC Member Organization.   “ETTK joins the BIAC membership at a crucial time in which the global economy is facing unprecedented challenges,” BIAC said in a statement.  “The need for greater international cooperation is therefore of fundamental importance for a return to sustainable economic growth, and BIAC is delighted to be able to work closely with the Estonian business community in this effort.”

BIAC website

News Brief: The Costs of Counterfeiting

Published on February 4, 2011

A new ICC report predicts the cost of intellectual property rights abuses worldwide will reach $1.7 trillion by 2015 and put 2.5 million legitimate jobs at risk each year.  Launched at the 6th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, which took place in Paris in early February, the ICC report updates a groundbreaking 2008 OECD study that showed more than $250 billion in counterfeit and pirated goods move through international trade alone.  The revealing ICC study not only brings the estimates up to date but also examines additional impacts not quantified in the OECD report.  These include the value of domestically produced and consumed counterfeit products, the value of digital piracy, and the negative impacts on society, governments and consumers.

Staff contact: Caitlin Martin

More on ICC’s BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy) initiative

UAE Joins Worldwide Network for Duty-Free Imports

Published on January 13, 2011
Dubai’s modern skyline. The city plays host to some 200 trade shows each year.
Dubai’s modern skyline. The city plays host to some 200 trade shows each year.

New York, N.Y., January 13, 2011 – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed that it expects to start accepting and issuing ATA Carnets early this year, making the federation the 69th country to join the worldwide system for duty-free, tax-free temporary imports, according to the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which administers and guarantees Carnets in the United States.

The UAE will begin by accepting goods for trade shows and fairs, according to Cynthia Duncan, USCIB’s senior vice president for Carnet operations.  “It is an important step in linking UAE businesses to the wider global marketplace,” she said.  “With some 200 trade shows annually in Dubai, the UAE’s acceptance of Carnets should be a boon for U.S. companies from all industries.”

ATA Carnets are merchandise passports that permit the duty-free, tax-free export of goods.  In 2009, the most recent year for which worldwide figures are available, over 150,000 Carnets were issued, covering goods worth more than $17 billion (U.S.).  Prior to the UAE’s decision, Moldova and Macao were the latest territories to join the worldwide system, which is overseen by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Customs Organization.

USCIB said the announcement was made last month by the director general of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Hamad Buamim, and his counterpart from the UAE’s foreign trade ministry, Abdullah Al-Saleh.  The Dubai Chamber will assume responsibility for issuing and guaranteeing Carnets throughout the UAE.

The UAE was the largest U.S. export market in the entire Middle East and North Africa region in 2009, and the 19th largest globally, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Transportation equipment, machinery, computers and electronics, and chemicals are the top U.S. exports to the country.  Ms. Duncan said she expected overall two-way trade to grow and diversify further in view of the decision to accept merchandise passports.

USCIB’s Duncan named vice chair of global Carnet administrative body

Separately, ICC announced that Ms. Duncan has been elected  deputy chair of the World ATA Carnet Council (WATAC), which oversees the worldwide operations of the ATA Carnet chain.  ICC said she would support WATAC’s chairman, Peter Bishop deputy chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce, in coordinating the activities of the council and its administrative committee.  Mr. Bishop was re-elected WATAC’s chairman in June 2010 to complete a final three-year term.

Ms. Duncan has headed USCIB’s Carnet operations since 2000 and sits on the WATAC Executive Board.  She also serves on the steering committee of World Trade Week NYC and on the New York District Export Council.  She is a board member of the Organization of Women in International Trade/New York and previously served in a number of other capacities with USCIB, including as vice president for membership.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.

Contact:

Cynthia Duncan, SVP Carnet Operations, USCIB
(212) 703-5079 or cduncan@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s ATA Carnet Export Service

EU Audit Policy Proposals Stir Concern

Published on December 15, 2010

In a move that will have a broad impact on companies operating globally, the European Commission recently published a Green Paper on “Audit Policy: Lessons from the Crisis,” launching a consultation process which could lead to new European legislation on statutory audit and related matters in 2011-2012.  The Commission explicitly stated its intention to assume international leadership on these matters in the context of the G20.

The Commission’s proposals, if enacted into law, would affect not only European-based companies, but also U.S. companies with investments in Europe.  U.S. subsidiaries subject to statutory audit requirements in Europe would be directly affected, and US parent companies would be affected by the indirect impacts on the audit of consolidated financial statements.

The Green Paper is important because it suggests, among other things, audit policy changes and related actions that could:

  • Disenfranchise audit committees of the board and shareholders with respect to the appointment, oversight and remuneration of external auditors and the provision of non-audit services;
  • Impose new costs and increased audit complexity on companies by requiring mandatory rotation of audit firms and/or mandatory retendering of the audit on a fixed schedule;
  • Impose new corporate reporting, communication and audit requirements in areas such as social and environmental responsibility;
  • Expand communications between the auditor and the audit committee of the Board, as well as external stakeholders;
  • Address issues of competition and choice in the audit market; and
  • Substitute regulation for management and market-based decision-making.

This month, USCIB submitted comments on the Green Paper.  We have also addressed some of these issues through our work on corporate governance, capital markets and investment in BIAC and ICC.  While new legislation may be inevitable, it is important that business work at these early stages in the EU’s process to help assure that the outcome is cost-effective, protects shareholder rights, preserves audit quality, and does not unduly burden international companies.

Staff contacts: Justine Bareford-Badimon and Stephen Canner

USCIB comments on the EU Green Paper on Audit Policy

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s European Union Committee

Global Challenges Face Consumer Products Manufacturers

Published on December 15, 2010

Helen Medina, USCIB’s director of life sciences and product policy, participated in the Consumer Specialty Products Association 7th Annual International Affairs Conference — Global Challenges, Trends and Outlook, December 4 and 5 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The CSPA program covered three areas: a downstream user’s perspective on compliance with the European Union’s REACH program to regulate use of chemicals; new regional product stewardship and trade developments impacting market access in Latin America; and developments at the global level.

The later topic area covered multilateral discussions of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, environmental and product sustainability, and consumer product safety.  It included an in-depth panel discussion featuring Ms. Medina on global product strategy and product stewardship in the consumer products industry, and throughout the production chain.

Ms. Medina’s presentation demonstrated how international high-level discussions can impact chemical companies.  Chemicals – and more specifically chemicals in products, and how they can impact human health and the environment – are high on the international agenda, she said.  Although international negotiations may take years to conclude, eventually the outcomes of the talks make their way into national law and regulation.

Consumers, governments and NGOs are increasingly vigilant in requesting that companies disclose information concerning formulations, ingredients and chemicals used in products, Ms. Medina said.  She cited the UN’s SAICM (Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management) as just one of many ongoing discussions related to chemicals and emphasized the importance of becoming involved in the UN’s preparations for the Rio+ 20 conference, which takes place in 2012 and will mark the 20th anniversary of the watershed 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

The main themes of Rio + 20, said Ms. Medina, are the green economy and governance for sustainable development, both of which will undoubtedly touch upon how chemicals are managed. These discussions are extremely important because the conference’s expected final document will most likely be a political one, while possible outcomes range from potential treaty negotiating mandates to institutional changes to promote greater scrutiny of chemicals worldwide.  Additional expectations for business and other non-government actors are a given, she said.

The panel was moderated by John Phillips of Cardno ENTRIX.  Other panelists included Greg Skelton of the American Chemistry Council and Patricia Barone of Unilever.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

Whither the Alien Tort Statute

Published on November 12, 2010

4020_image001USCIB Senior Advisor Timothy Deal participated in a panel discussion on November 10 organized by the DC Bar Association in Washington on “Whither the Alien Tort Statute?”

The ATS, adopted in 1789, gives federal courts civil jurisdiction over non-U.S. citizens for acts in violation of “the law of nations” or a U.S. treaty, such as piracy or attacks on ambassadors.  Since 1980, a number of suits brought by foreign plaintiffs against foreign governments and multinational corporations have stretched the interpretation of the statute and the meaning of “the law of nations” to include human rights abuses and anti-union violence, among other things.

The meeting followed a recent ruling by a U.S. Second Circuit panel in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum that the ATS gives U.S. courts jurisdictions over alleged violations of international law by individuals, but not by corporations.  Joining Mr. Deal on the panel were: John Bellinger, a partner at Arnold & Porter and the former State Department legal advisor; Terry Collingsworth, a partner at Conrad & Scherer; and Professor Ralph Steinhardt of the George Washington University Law Center.  Professor Edward Swaine, also from the GWU Law Center, moderated the discussion.

In his prepared remarks, Mr. Deal outlined continued U.S. business community concerns over the proliferation of ATS lawsuits, which principally target U.S. multinationals.  According to Mr. Deal, a major problem with the legislation is that global companies often “find themselves entangled in litigation brought by non-U.S. plaintiffs alleging wrongs committed outside the U.S., not by companies, but by the plaintiffs’ own government or agents of those governments, over which they have no control.”  He noted that ATS suits increase the risk, uncertainty, and cost of overseas operations and investments.  They can also “expose American companies to costly and protracted smear campaigns.”

While the panelists debated the pros and cons of ATS litigation from varying points of view, all agreed that the Second Circuit’s decision could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, given the importance of the issues addressed and differing views among lower courts throughout the nation about the appropriateness of ATS lawsuits against corporations.

To read Mr. Deal’s remarks in full, click here.

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee