News Stories Archives

USCIB Joins Stockholm+50 Preparatory Meeting at UN Headquarters   

Published on March 30, 2022
Agnes Vinblad

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, the UN General Assembly will convene an international meeting in Stockholm, Sweden June 2-3, 2022. The theme of the meeting will be, “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity.”  

On March 28, the President of the General Assembly Ambassador Abdulla Shahid invited government delegations and civil society to partake in the Stockholm+50 Preparatory Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. Representing USCIB, Policy and Program Associate for Sustainability Agnes Vinblad attended in person. The meeting was chaired by the Stockholm+50 co-hosts, Sweden and Kenya, with sessions organized around the three Stockholm+50 Leadership Dialogues: 

  • Leadership dialogue 1: Reflecting on the urgent need for actions to achieve a healthy planet and prosperity of all.  
  • Leadership dialogue 2: Achieving a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).  
  • Leadership dialogue 3: Accelerating the implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.  

Plenary interventions focused on topics such as mitigation and adaptation, climate finance, sustainable production and consumption, nature-based solutions, and the recommendations outlined in the UN Secretary General’s Report, “Our Common Agenda.”  

“This preparatory meeting emphasized systemic change and the need for new ways to measure economic success through a lens of sustainability and intergenerational justice with an ambition of achieving a just transition,” said Vinblad. “USCIB sees Stockholm+50 as an opportunity for business to yet again show its unparalleled ability to not only contribute to – but also take the lead on – sustainable development.” 

Adopted on June 16, 1972, the UN Stockholm Declaration was the first document to recognize the interconnections between development, poverty, and the environment. Building on this heritage, Stockholm+50 will be a global conference focused on multilateral dialogue to accelerate action on the SDGs towards the realization of Agenda 2030, while serving as a critical steppingstone for the global multilateral community on the path towards UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November.  

Building on the commemorative nature of Stockholm+50, Vinblad said that USCIB wants to fit business into that narrative, showing that the private sector has been concerned with issues related to sustainability and climate change since the inception of the Stockholm Declaration in 1972. 

USCIB Congratulates the Newly Elected ILO Director General Gilbert Houngbo

Published on March 30, 2022
Left to right: USCIB Senior Counsel and ILO Governing Body Member Tom Mackall shakes hands with ILO Director General Elect Gilbert Houngbo of Togo.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) warmly congratulates Gilbert Houngbo of Togo for his election as Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Elected by the ILO’s Governing Body, made up of government, worker and employer members, Director General Elect Houngbo will be the eleventh Director General of the ILO and the first from the African continent.

USCIB Senior Counsel and ILO Governing Body Member Tom Mackall was present in Geneva to cast a vote on behalf of U.S. Employers during this important election.

This election comes at a critical time, and many of the workforce challenges that existed before the pandemic have come into sharper focus in the past two years.

Of this election, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson said, “Building forward together will require our best thinking on how to shape labor market regulations to drive growth and innovation, prepare current and future workers for coming industrial revolutions, and ensure inclusive opportunities for all in the future of work. Director General Elect Houngbo’s years of experience in leadership roles in international organizations, including the ILO, make him an exceptionally qualified candidate. USCIB and our Members look forward to the opportunity to work with Mr. Houngbo on these critical challenges.”

USCIB Policy Experts Participate in B20 Indonesia

Published on March 23, 2022

Several USCIB policy experts are actively participating in B20 2022, the official global business dialogue with G20 nations.

Led by Indonesia this year, the B20 is comprised of seven task forces that develop consensus-based policy proposals outlining business priorities on key issue confronting the G20 nations in the year ahead. Senior Vice President for Innovation, Regulation, and Trade Brian Lowry and Policy and Program Associate for Sustainability Agnes Vinblad are on the Task Force for Integrity and Compliance, USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy Norine Kennedy is on the Task Force on Energy, Sustainability and Climate, USCIB Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Gabriella Rigg Herzog is on the Future of work and Education Task Force, USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner is on the Task Force on Digitalization, and Director for Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark is on the Trade and Investment Task Force.

“USCIB helps shape actionable policy recommendations provided through these task forces that will be shared with the G20 leaders when they meet in Indonesia in November,” said Lowry. “We at USCIB look forward to the advancement of business’ priorities to the G20 policymakers to help inform policies to advance a stable and inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery and supply chain resiliency, while grappling with the difficult national security issues confronting the world today.”

Business Explores Approach to DNS Abuse Mitigation, Ukraine Crisis Hangs over ICANN

Published on March 23, 2022

For more than two years, members of the Domain Name System (DNS) user community have highlighted the need for more effective Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) policies and contractual tools to crack down on abuse in the DNS, which spiked during the COVID-19 crisis. ICANN 73, held virtually on March 7-10, featured a plenary that sought to grapple with DNS abuse mitigation in a more focused and actionable manner. Using as reference an academic study commissioned by the European Commission, plenary speakers explored the distinction between maliciously registered domain names versus compromised domain names and discussed why this differentiation is important for timely mitigation.

According to USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner, who participated as an industry representative, panelists underscored the need for the ICANN community to work together to address this challenge, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate, that DNS users and providers will have to work both inside the ICANN community as well as reach out to “adjacent organizations” like hosting services to develop effective redress, and that “proportionality of harm” must be considered.

Not surprisingly, according to Wanner, the crisis in Ukraine was top-of-mind for all participants, who offered various views about an appropriate response by ICANN and its constituents. On February 28, the Government of Ukraine asked ICANN to revoke permanently or temporarily the domain name certificates for “.ru,” “.su” among others as sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “… a clear act of aggression and a manifest violation of Article 2.4 of the UN Charter.”

Ukraine’s letter to ICANN CEO Goran Marby further justified such sanctions on grounds that “… atrocious crimes have been made possible mainly due to the Russian propaganda machinery using websites continuously spreading disinformation, hate speech, promoting violence and hiding the truth regarding the war in Ukraine.”

Marby responded that ICANN would not intervene in this conflict. While expressing personal concern about Ukrainians’ well-being as well as the “terrible toll being exacted on your country,” he wrote to Ukrainian authorities that ICANN’s mission “does not extend to taking punitive actions, issuing sanctions, or restricting access against segments of the Internet — regardless of the provocations.”

“On March 6, however, the ICANN Board decided to allocate an initial sum of $1 million to be used to provide financial assistance to support access to Internet infrastructure in emergency situations, noting that the distribution ‘will focus on maintaining Internet access for users within Ukraine,’” said Wanner.

On March 7, ICANN further clarified that events in Ukraine would formally be considered an “extenuating circumstance under Section 3.7.5.1 of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). This means that registrars now have the flexibility to extend the domain name registration renewal period for domain name holders in affected areas.

ICANN Board Chair Maarten Botterman further clarified on March 10 that the Board will shortly consider policy advice from the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) aimed at retiring the “.su” domain name.

ICC Releases Recent Trends in Trade and Trade Finance Report, Includes Impact of Ukraine Crisis on Global Recovery, Inflation

Published on March 22, 2022

The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Global Policy department has recently released the report, Recent Trends in Trade and Trade Finance. This report delves into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications on global trade and finance, as well as the major challenges that can hamper a successful economic recovery.

While focused on trade, banking and finance issues, the report is also relevant to other policy areas, such as ICT, workers and the environment.

To complement this analysis, ICC also released a related presentation, looking at the global impact of the crisis in Ukraine on recovery and further inflation through, for example, supply-chain disruptions, lower consumer and business confidence, inflation in agriculture, manufacturing and energy, as well as liquidity and fiscal risks resulting from currency depreciations and increasing financing costs.

According to ICC, the “Recent Trends in Trade and Trade Finance” report will be used for advocacy geared toward increasing resilience to trade disruptions by enhancing trade digitalization.

 

 

USCIB Provides Business Recommendations During ‘Our Common Agenda’ Consultation at UN Headquarters

Published on March 16, 2022
Peter Robinson at the United Nations HQ in NY

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson was invited as a speaker for the fifth and final Informal Thematic Consultation on the United Nations report Our Common Agenda (OCA) on March 11 under the theme Enhancing International Cooperation. Representing USCIB, Robinson attended the consultation in person at the UN Headquarters in New York. 

In his remarks, Robinson referenced a quote by UN Secretary General António Guterres on how the international community currently is facing a momentous choice: will we “break through or break down?”  

“This question is even more urgent in light of recent disruptive events,” said Robinson. “Can the multilateral system survive these challenges? For business, the answer must be yes. Moreover, the private sector is part of the support structure needed to restore and strengthen the multilateral system and realize Our Common Agenda’s vision of more inclusive international cooperation.”

Robinson then went on to express gratitude to USCIB’s partners in the global business community, “When it comes to international cooperation, our focus here today, USCIB is privileged to be part of global leading business groups dedicated to working with the multilateral system – ICC, IOE and BIAC.” 

Highlighting business recommendations to the UN in taking forward the proposals set out in the OCA, Robinson advocated for the need to regard business and employers’ organizations as essential attributes of democratic and inclusive governance in both national and international settings and the critical need to crowd in and mainstream public-private sector partnerships.  

“Let me close with what might at first sound like a provocative statement: there can no longer be any conflict of interest between the private sector and the UN,” added Robinson. “Time and again, whether in response to the pandemic, or in unprecedented support for the Paris Agreement, or in humanitarian responses to help refugees, the private sector has leaned into international cooperation for our shared interests. Let us pursue the OCA’s opportunities through inclusive practical multilateralism, involving business, for the UN we want and need.” 

The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Abdulla Shahid has convened five informal thematic consultations on the landmark UN report, Our Common Agenda (OCA), released by Guterres in September 2021. Through a five-part series of consultations, commencing with the first one in February 2022, Member States and other stakeholders, including the private sector, have been given the opportunity to discuss the proposals outlined in the OCA and their potential implementation in the Decade of Action.  

To find more information on Our Common Agenda, please visit this website.  

Robinson Offers Ideas for WTO Reform at IOE-BIAC Meeting on Postponed WTO Ministerial

Published on March 9, 2022

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Business at OECD (BIAC) co-hosted an event on March 2 to follow up on the postponed World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial. The event, titled “Trade policy to recover and to achieve employment goals and greater resilience: How can an open trading system adapt to the new sustainability expectations?” included representatives of IOE and BIAC member organizations, such as USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, who gave remarks on the topic: “What is needed for WTO reform?”

In his remarks, Robinson pointed out that all three of WTO’s core functions are in crises—negotiation among WTO’s 164 members whose interests greatly diverge, monitoring trade rules and transparency among members, and dispute settlement—the WTO’s Appellate Body, paralyzed since the end of 2019 thus making WTO trading rights virtually unenforceable.

“These three fundamental functions must be redesigned, reconfigured, or reimagined to be fit for purpose,” said Robinson. He then cited a proposed bill, introduced by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware), the “Trading Systems Preservation Act,” which could help reinvigorate the WTO by pushing for agreements that aren’t required to be observed on a most-favored nation basis. “On the issue of negotiation, we also support advancing a comprehensive WTO reform agenda that tackles special and differential treatment, distortive non-market industrial subsidies and state-owned enterprises.”

“USCIB would like to lend its voice in emphasizing the importance of the voice of business, among other legitimate stakeholders, at the WTO,” added Robinson. “While initiatives, such as the WTO Public Forum, are welcome opportunities to engage, all stakeholders in the multilateral, rules-based trading system would benefit from greater ongoing opportunities for dialogue – governments, civil society and the private sector alike.”

Other speakers joining Robinson during the meeting included WTO Deputy Director General Angela Ellard, who spoke about updates on the WTO agenda, Business at OECD Trade Committee Chair Pat Ivory, who discussed business priorities for WTO’s response to the pandemic, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Permanent Observer before the UN in Geneva Crispin Conroy, who shared perspectives on trade and environmental sustainability. Speakers from Keidanren, BusinessEurope and BEF discussed the importance of multilateral collaboration, digitization and strengthening inclusivity and sustainability in global trade.

This dialogue was a follow-up to last year’s launch of the “Business Coalition for Trade, Employment and Sustainable Enterprise,” led by IOE and including business organizations that share the belief that the multilateral, rules-based trading system has been a crucial driver not just for economic growth, but also for employment creation and sustainable development, which have played a key role in reducing poverty and raising living standard in many economies.

USCIB On Hand at Historic UN Environment Assembly Launching Global Plastics Pollution Agreement 

Published on March 9, 2022

The United Nations convened the decision-making UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi, Kenya from February 28 – March 4, hosted at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).  

At this meeting, which also commemorated the 50th anniversary of UNEP’s founding, government delegations reached agreement on the resolution, End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) which sets into motion an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to develop the LBI by end of 2024. In addition, UNEA agreed to establish a new Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution, which will be developed in negotiations over the next two years, to serve as a trusted source of consensus in these areas, much in the same way that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a recognized source of scientific consensus on climate change.

USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy Norine Kennedy represented USCIB on the ground during this landmark inter-governmental meeting, involving all 193 UN member states. USCIB advocated the essential role business must play in addressing the triple environmental crisis, considering and reflecting all-of-economy realities.

“For USCIB, enabling private sector innovation will be key in limiting plastic pollution in the environment,” said Kennedy. “To unlock the full potential of U.S. business innovation to tackle plastic pollution and advance circular economy approaches, any agreement on plastic pollution needs to be flexible with a mix of legally binding and non-binding elements.”

USCIB conducted a live briefing for members from Nairobi on March 2 to pass on the most up-to-date developments, focusing on outcomes relevant to business. American Chemistry Council (ACC) Senior Director, Global Plastics Policy Stewart Harris provided insights on the business opportunities and challenges ahead in the development of a legally binding instrument to address global plastic pollution. Harris and Kennedy referenced the USCIB Letter to the Administration, which set out USCIB member priorities to the State Department and EPA.

During the briefing, Harris characterized the plastics pollution negotiating mandate as a good outcome for business and industry, enabling business leadership initiatives while also assessing effectiveness and supply chain impacts of proposed actions. Moreover, the resolutions prioritize flexibility and recognize the need to engage business in the treaty’s development. Kennedy also pointed out critical outcomes in the areas of circular economy and sustainable infrastructure, among others. 

On March 10, USCIB’s Environment Committee will convene a meeting which will include a more detailed briefing on the outcomes of UNEA 5.2 and their implications for U.S. Business.

Kennedy Advocates for Business Mainstreaming in OECD Expert Panel on Post-COP26 Action  

Published on March 8, 2022

The OECD Washington Center co-organized an expert panel discussion on “Post-COP26: Driving Climate Action” last month. The discussion focused on how to understand and continue the momentum of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which transpired in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. As USCIB’s lead environment, energy and climate change expert, Senior Vice President of Policy and Global Strategy, Norine Kennedy supported USCIB members attending COP26.  

Other speakers on the panel included the Deputy Director of the Environment Directorate at OECD Ingrid Barnsley; Director of International Climate Initiatives at the World Resources Institute David Waskow, and Lead Climate Lawyer at the U.S. State Department Andrew Neustaetter.

Kennedy remarked that COP26 was noteworthy, “not just because of the turnout and the accomplishments, but also because we have never seen that kind of engagement from U.S. business – and indeed – from business at large.” Kennedy also pointed out that hundreds of CEOs attended, as well as thousands of business representatives from all over the world. With numerous and substantial voluntary pledges made by the private sector, COP26 demonstrated the unprecedented willingness of business to act on climate change.

USCIB is already starting to plan its engagement in COP27 in November in Egypt to build on these commitments and to ensure such business actions are taken into account in the Paris Agreement global stock-take, which will provide the basis for additional commitments by governments.   

Yet business received only scant mention in COP26 concluding documents. “While the outcome documents from Glasgow refer multiple times to a range of constituencies, business was barely mentioned, aside from Article 6 on carbon pricing,” said Kennedy.   

In closing, Kennedy emphasized that USCIB members support meaningful inclusion and mainstreaming of business as necessary to scale up action to keep 1.5 alive, ramp up further deployment of private sector innovation and investment and bring private sector solutions and employment, including in connection with adaptation and resilience.

To watch a recording of the panel, please visit this website.  

USCIB Calls for Private Sector Solutions and Engagement at UN Environment Assembly

Published on March 2, 2022

The United Nations is convening a meeting of its central environmental policy body, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi, Kenya from February 28 – March 4. Taking central stage at UNEA is the launch of negotiations towards a legally binding global instrument to tackle plastics pollution. Other expected outcomes include further global decisions on circular economy, green recovery, and a proposed science-policy panel on pollution.    

In a letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina and other Administration decisionmakers, USCIB called for inclusion of private sector expertise and recommendations in the formative stages of that new treaty, which will have supply chain and trade impacts for every industry sector.  

Among several recommendations concerning the expected global plastic pollution agreement, the USCIB letter noted that: “UNEA 5.2 conclusions on plastic pollution should take into account the sectors and supply chains that will be impacted, reflecting potential benefits and challenges. It will be crucial to work closely with experts from the business community to reach an effective and implementable agreement that tackles plastics pollution, promotes innovation and investment, and advances a circular economy.” 

With regard to other expected decisions at the upcoming conference, USCIB encourages UNEA 5.2 conclusions that: “Ensure participation of the private sector and other stakeholders in the development of future UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reports and future work streams, including a potential Science Policy Panel. Any further steps in this area should explicitly include and provide a role for business, and refrain from setting criteria for involvement that effectively disqualify the private sector.”

USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy Norine Kennedy joined U.S. and global business representatives attending the negotiations in person in Nairobi. Kennedy stated that, “as the international community advances action on the triple environment challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, USCIB believes the private sector is indispensable to successful implementation, and we stand ready to provide business views and technical knowhow to inform these vital deliberations.”