News Stories Archives

USCIB Helps Promote New Center for Human Rights and Sport

Published on April 10, 2019
USCIB President and CEO Peter M Robinson

USCIB teamed up with the Institute for Human Rights and Business on April 9 to organize a full-day workshop to highlight the recently launched Center for Human Rights and Sport. The event raised awareness to U.S. companies of the role of the new center, the connection between sports and human rights, and ways companies can engage.

Over fifty participants contributed to the dialogue over the course of the day, as well as representatives from the U.S. Department of State, former Olympic athletes, and other stakeholders.

“Business has a key interests on the issue of sports and human rights,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson in his opening remarks. “Through sponsorship, through the building of infrastructure, through the production of equipment and by providing services, just to name a few, business is linked to the world of sports and sport events. As part of its responsibility under the UN Guiding Principles, business needs and wants to identify and mitigate possible adverse human rights impact. However, the challenges that companies face in the area of sports and human rights often are systemic issues to which systemic responses are required.”

USCIB members from Nike, Hilton and Bechtel served as panelists during sector-specific sessions on leveraging relationships and partnerships across supply chains to ensure accountability and compliance with human rights and labor standards.

In addition to partnerships, Bechtel’s Global Head of Sustainability and Vice Chair of USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee Tam Nguyen noted the benefits of using data analytics, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to create predictions about forced labor and human rights violations and provided an example of an application of these new technologies in the construction sector.

The Center’s first CEO Mary Harvey outlined main takeaways in her wrap-up remarks, which included the challenge in re-examining what leverage means for companies, the power and potential of accountability and collective action, and appropriate and effective mechanisms for grievance and remedy in sport.

USCIB will continue to follow this topic closely. At the next USCIB-IOE-Coca-Cola Conference scheduled for September 12-13 in Atlanta, there will be a panel dedicated to this crucial topic. At the end of the year, USCIB will participate in the ILO’s Global Dialogue Forum on Sports and Decent Work.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Center for Sport and Human Rights brings together a diverse set of stakeholders to work towards a world of sport that fully respects human rights by sharing knowledge, building capacity, and strengthening the accountability of all actors through collective action and promotion of the Sporting Chance Principles. In fulfilling this mandate, the Center is committed to being independent, principles-based, inclusive, diverse, collaborative, accessible and trusted.

USCIB Briefs Members on New Business and Society Initiatives 

Published on April 9, 2019
L-R: Tom Woods (Wilton Park Foundation) and Mike Michener (USCIB)

USCIB held a special briefing on April 8 in Washington, DC with leading members, USCIB staff and the U.S. Department of State focusing on how USCIB is responding to challenges in the multilateral system around business and society.

Over thirty participants attended the briefing, hosted by USCIB member Beveridge and Diamond, including Director of the Office of Economic and Development Affairs from the U.S. Department of State Margy Bond, President of Woods International and Chairman of the Wilton Park USA Foundation Tom Woods and USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. USCIB members in attendance included representatives from AT&T, Bayer, Cargill, Chevron, DHL Express, KPMG, McDonald’s and PepsiCo, among others.

Bond, who gave a keynote address, noted that USCIB members have been a driving force for constructive business engagement at the United Nations and emphasized that the U.S. government is focused on enhancing private sector involvement at and partnerships with the UN, which will not only help achieve global goals but also help promote growth and create jobs in the United States.

However, as business is expected to step up and provide the investment, innovation and capacity to scale solutions that can solve the world’s largest problems, USCIB members find themselves increasingly in the cross-hairs as anti-business sentiment continues to find traction among policymakers, NGOs and UN entities around the world.

“Our overriding concern is to promote trust and partnership between governments, international organizations and the private sector,” said Robinson. “All too often in recent years, we have seen the public and private sectors set against each other in international forums. We need to move beyond this, so that we can, together, tackle important global challenges like climate change, public health and nutrition, human rights and many others.”

With regards to trust, another value add to this meeting was an overview of the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer by Edelman Intelligence Managing Director  Kari Butcher. Butcher gave insight into the findings of this year’s report and how business can use the data in the report to move forward on solving today’s societal challenges.

Participants had the opportunity to discuss and learn about three new initiatives launched by the USCIB Foundation to respond to these challenges, as well as opportunities for greater engagement through USCIB. These new initiatives are designed to strengthen the pivotal role business plays in furtherance of the 2030 Agenda with regards to nutrition-related SDGs, inclusive engagement of business in key UN forums, and the private sector’s role as a trusted partner in meeting the challenges facing society.

Norine Kennedy, who leads USCIB’s international strategic engagement and USCIB’s All in Campaign emphasized that, “the private sector brings value to the United Nations system. Its success is our success.”

The initiatives that were presented to members include:

  • Together for Nutrition Principles– a joint project between The USCIB Foundation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the Wilton Park Foundation defining a set of principles for public-private sector engagement to advance the nutrition-related SDGs.
  • All In Campaign– an initiative bringing policymakers and global businesses together in key UN cities to begin a global conversation on opportunities for inclusive engagement with businesses from all industry sectors as essential to meeting the SDG goals and other 2015 outcomes.
  • Business in Society: A Crisis of Trust – a USCIB Foundation project that aims to better understand and influence attitudes and behaviors among policymakers through data, analysis and education to demonstrate that business can be profitable and still be trusted partners in meeting societal challenges.

Moving forward, all of the above will be highlighted in USCIB’s 2nd Annual Geneva Week May 6-10, the first All In Campaign Roundtable scheduled to take place in Geneva during Geneva Week, a planned event on the impact of business SDG partnerships on the margins of the High Level Political Forum in July in New York, as well as additional planned All In Campaign roundtables in cities around the world.  USCIB encourages members to participate and welcomes feedback.

USCIB Represents Members at UN Chemicals Conference

Published on April 9, 2019

The Third Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) convened in Montevideo, Uruguay, April 2-4. Approximately 350 representatives of governments, industry, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations attended the proceedings. USCIB was a member of the private sector delegation representing the views of downstream users of chemicals, and included Sophia Danenberg of Boeing, who also serves as chair of USCIB’s International Product Policy Working Group, and Mike Michener, USCIB vice president for product policy and innovation.

During the meeting, participants assessed progress by the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) toward the global goal of achieving by 2020 the use and production of chemicals in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. Delegates discussed the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020, when the current mandate of the Strategic Approach is due to expire, and prepared for ICCM5, scheduled for  October 5-9, 2020 in Bonn, Germany. The OEWG also considered the planned activities and draft budget of the SAICM Secretariat for the period 2019-2020.

The assessment of progress included updates on activities regarding “emerging policy issues” and other issues of concern, including chemicals in products, lead in paint, nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials, hazardous substances within the lifecycle of electrical and electronic products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, environmentally persistent pharmaceutical pollutants, highly hazardous pesticides, and perfluorinated chemicals. The progress assessment also looked at the implementation of the SAICM health sector strategy.

The OEWG3 discussions of a possible post-2020 framework was based on a discussion paper produced by the Co-Chairs of the intersessional process since ICCM4, in addition to discussion papers submitted during the session, one by the European Union and the other by the Latin American and Caribbean Group, African Group and several individual Asia-Pacific countries, regarding financial considerations in a post-2020 framework. OEWG3 produced a composite text that will be the subject of negotiations at the third meeting of the intersessional process, slated for September 30-October 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Unfortunately, little progress was made on some of the unresolved issues, primarily the question of whether the post-2020 framework would include legally-binding elements or remain a voluntary capacity-building platform,” noted Michener. “There were also inconclusive discussions regarding competing ideas on financing the sound management of chemicals and waste, including mainstreaming the issue in national budgets and development plans, possible cost recovery options involving the private sector, and a possible new international fund on chemicals and waste. As such, it was decided that a fourth intersessional process (IP) meeting would be required to continue the negotiations, which Romania offered to host in early 2020.”

The UK also announced that it will host an expert meeting in August or September 2019 to prepare indicators on the sound management of chemicals and waste for consideration at ICCM5.

USCIB Participates in UNCTAD E-Commerce Week in Geneva

Published on April 9, 2019
USCIB Senior Director Eva Hampl

Last week, USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl attended E-Commerce Week hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. The theme of the week was “From Digitalization to Development” and included over 1400 participants from government, private sector, and civil society from around the world. Many of the thematic sessions addressed negotiations of an e-Commerce agreement expected to begin soon at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Seventy-six WTO members, accounting for 90% of global trade in electronic commerce, endorsed the negotiation of a high-standard agreement in January of 2019 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. USCIB supports these negotiations and is looking forward to a high-standard outcome on digital trade issues affecting business.

The UNCTAD meetings also included several sessions of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-Commerce and the Digital Economy, which Hampl joined as a member of the Digital Trade Network (DTN), making substantive contributions on issues of data flows and localization policies.

“Given the broad UN membership, there continues to be push-back from certain countries to UNCTAD engaging on this issue,” reported Hampl. “UNCTAD leadership, however, made it clear in various meetings that there is broad support for negotiations on electronic commerce moving ahead at the WTO, and on general work on digital trade moving forward. This positive momentum is also shared by the WTO, where the work is progressing, and expected to move forward this year.”

USCIB Joins in Business Appeal on WTO Reform

Published on April 2, 2019
L-R: Shaun Donnelly (USCIB), Rafael Nava (Consejo Empresarial Mexicano de Comercio Exterior (COMEX))

USCIB has joined with leading private-sector groups from Argentina, Brazil, the European Union and Mexico in a statement on reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO). Meeting at a daylong seminar on April 2 in Sao Paolo hosted by CNI, the Brazilian industry confederation, the groups underscored the critical importance to business of the WTO “as the proper and only way to guarantee the full range of rules and necessary predictability to promote global economic and investment growth.” The seminar, titled “Reforming the WTO: Proposals for Improving the Governance of the Multilateral Trading System,” was co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Industrial Development Director of CNI Carlos Eduardo Abijaodi presented the joint statement to Tim Yeend, chief of staff to the WTO director general. CNI and USCIB were joined by Union Industrial Argentina (UIA), Business Europe and COMEX of Mexico to participate in the seminar and to underline shared views on the crucial role the WTO plays in providing and enforcing the vital legal rules and procedures underpinning the global trading system.

The five associations emphasized their shared view that the WTO needs to updated and reformed to deal with several outstanding challenges. Senior representatives of all five national business groups were panel speakers, offering business perspectives on the importance of the WTO, its challenges, and possible solutions. Global Policy Director for the ICC’s network Nikolaus Schultze also participated actively in the seminar and laid out the need for strong business input into the WTO reform effort.

In their statement, the industry groups focused on four areas:

  • saving the WTO dispute resolution system
  • updating, strengthen and modernizing WTO rules
  • improving WTO’s monitoring function
  • expanding and improving the WTO’s rule-making function.

The groups also called upon WTO members to establish a formal consultative mechanism for the private sector via a permanent business advisory committee.

L-R: Carlos Eduardo Abijaodi (CNI – Brazil), Rafael Nava (COMEX – Mexico), Tim Yeend (World Trade Organization), Jeff Schott (Peterson Institute of International Economics – US), Peter Draper (University of Adelaide – Australia), Nikolaus Schultze (International Chamber of Commerce, Paris), Shaun Donnelly (USCIB – US), Fernando Landa (Union Industrial Argentina,), Fabrizio Panzini (CNI – Brazil)

USCIB Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly who represented USCIB at the seminar in Sao Paulo, praised CNI and ICC hosts for organizing the session. “We at USCIB are committed partners with CNI and, of course, with ICC, as we are ICC of the U.S.,” said Donnelly. “Today’s discussions, which also included senior WTO and Brazilian Government officials, were candid, substantive and very timely. I was honored to speak on the ‘Business Priorities for the WTO’ panel along with my four association partners and to partner with them in issuing our joint statement. For us at USCIB, the WTO and WTO reform are top priorities. Today we joined with four key partners from Europe, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico to add an international accent to our work on and commitment to the WTO. We and our member companies want to work with all our partners, including the U.S. Government, the U.S. Congress, the International Chamber of Commerce, the WTO Secretariat and our unique network of leading business association partners around the world to help make the WTO the well-respected, updated, strengthened organization we all need it to be.”

The joint statement follows upon USCIB’s earlier paper on WTO modernization, which focused on addressing subsidies and other market-distorting support provided to state-owned enterprises, the establishment of new rules for current issues such as digital trade and customs processes on electronic transmissions, and ensuring a properly functioning appellate body, among other issues.

APEC Workshop Emphasizes Crucial Role of Business

Published on April 1, 2019
L-R: Matías Pinto Pimente (Embassy of Chile), Monica Hardy Whaley (NCAPEC) at APEC Essentials Workshop

USCIB partnered with the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) and C&M International to host an APEC Essentials workshop on March 27 to help participants understand the fundamentals of APEC including its history, objectives and opportunities. The event, which attracted approximately 80 attendees, featured practical case studies led by industry discussants on how several sectors approach priority issues and leverage the APEC platform.

Private sector participation in APEC is organized under the leadership of the NCAPEC, which serves as the designated 2019 U.S. Strategic Partner for the CEO Summit, Secretariat to the U.S. members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and as Chair and Secretariat of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson makes remarks at the APEC Essentials Workshop

“APEC is an incubator where economies and business can come together in a non-competitive, mutually supportive way,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, who gave welcoming remarks and moderated one of the panels. “APEC member economies do not need to worry about binding treaties but indirectly they can influence what’s going on in the world, such as in customs and trade and environmental goods. APEC sets an example. Too many international organizations are shutting out the private sector. APEC welcomes the private sector and other stakeholders and that’s one of the reasons it gets things done.”

USCIB addressed a number of issues through APEC to advance discussions across a range of issues including chemicals regulation, advertising self-regulation, data privacy, customs and digital trade. USCIB members and staff have engaged in several APEC working groups, including the Chemical Dialogue, APEC Business-Customs Dialogue, Customs Procedures Virtual Working Group, Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity, the Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup.

USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation lead Megan Giblin, alongside Customs colleagues

The program featured Matías Pinto Pimente, head of the economic department and trade commissioner at the Embassy of Chile in Washington DC; Emily Fischer, principal APEC coordinator, economic policy advisor, U.S. Department of State; Jillian DeLuna, director for APEC affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; Monica Hardy Whaley, president, National Center for APEC; and Ambassador Robert Holleyman, president and chief executive, Crowell & Moring International; Partner, Crowell & Moring; former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative.

Chile will host this year’s APEC meetings.

USCIB Joins Global Dialogue on Anti-Corruption and Technology

Published on March 27, 2019

On March 20-21, 2019, the OECD hosted its annual Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum in Paris. This year, the Forum’s theme was “Tech for Trust” and it focused on the risks and opportunities of new technologies for anti-corruption and integrity. USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl represented USCIB at the Forum.

The sessions covered issues including data analytics, tax information sharing, parcels trade, regulation, state-owned enterprises, and lobbying.

The OECD is currently reviewing their 2009 Anti-Bribery Recommendation which was adopted by the OECD in order to enhance the ability of the States Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention to prevent, detect and investigate allegations of foreign bribery. This document, which is open for review in a public consultation, was also the topic in several sessions last week in Paris. The lively debate that included USCIB and others representing Business at OECD raised issues such as the demand side of bribery, voluntary self-disclosure, incentivizing investing in compliance systems, and state-owned enterprises.

“The issue of bribery and corruption more broadly continues to be a significant cost to business,” said Hampl, reporting from the meeting in Paris, “Technology, including blockchain, big data analytics, AI and others are transforming the way business is done, but they also have the potential to address many of the anti-corruption issues. As this discussion continues at the OECD, business will be at the table providing valuable input from dealing with these issues at the front lines.”

USCIB Gathers Stakeholders to Discuss OECD Digital Project 

Published on March 26, 2019
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson at the 2019 Going Digital Conference

The OECD Summit on Going Digital, held March 11-12 in Paris, presented the main findings and policy messages of the OECD’s two-year Going Digital Project. In light of this milestone, USCIB teamed up with the OECD and Business at OECD to organize an event in Washington DC on March 25 bringing together over fifty representatives from U.S. government, the private sector and press to discuss outcomes and next steps.

The March 25 Conference, hosted by the AT&T Forum for Technology, Entertainment and Policy, introduced the Going Digital Toolkit and included in-depth discussions on indicators, experiences and innovative policy practices, particularly as they relate to economic growth and societal well-being, privacy, security against cyber-threats, as well as harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for economic and social prosperity.

Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft and Co-Chair of the Business at OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy Julie Brill gave opening remarks, praising the OECD project. “The global digital project will serve as a foundation for policymakers around the world to ensure that the technological revolution is a catalyst for inclusive growth that benefits all,” said Brill. “The timing couldn’t be more appropriate or more important.”

Common themes that emerged among panelists and participants included emphasis on economies to invest in people through increased access to STEM training, innovative use of apprenticeships and skills-based training and retraining programs to ensure that the work force is adaptable and is prepared for the challenges of the future. There was also consensus on the need to reduce barriers to promote AI innovation and application to realize more of the potential of AI in providing new opportunities and even creating new sectors of industries. At the same time, governments need to establish principles to ensure public trust and confidence in AI technologies.

“The OECD undertook the Going Digital Project at a time when other multilateral organizations and individual countries were responding to the digital transformation of the economy in a way that undermined the potential economy and societal benefits,” said Barbara Wanner, USCIB vice president for ICT policy. “USCIB members appreciate how the OECD has navigated the plethora of conflicting views and developed sound, evidence-based recommendations that can guide countries and organizations to benefits of digital innovation. We look forward to shaping the all-important Phase 2 of the project, which will focus on practical steps.”

OECD’s Andy Wyckoff

Other speakers at the conference included OECD Director for Science Technology and Innovation Andy Wyckoff, Director for International Communications, Information, and Emerging Technologies from the U.S. Department of State Adam Lusin as well as The White House Assistant Director for Artificial Intelligence, Office of Science and Technology Lynne Parker.

The day-long event titled, Going Digital: OECD Insights for a Changing World, was dedicated to the late Joseph Alhadeff and commemorated his decades-long leadership and contribution to the ICT space both domestically and globally. Alhadeff was a long-time USCIB supporter, colleague and mentor who served on the USCIB Board and was a Vice Chair of the USCIB ICT Policy Committee for over 15 years.

UN Environment Assembly Advances Ambitious Environmental Policy Agenda

Published on March 26, 2019
4th UN Environment Assembly

The world’s highest-level decision-making body on environmental policy the Fourth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) met in Nairobi, Kenya, from March 11 – 15 under the overarching theme “Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production”. A record number of 5,000 delegates from 179 countries, NGOs and business attended. Many stayed on for the 2nd round of deliberations on a proposed UN Global Pact for Environment (GPE) from March 18 -20.

USCIB members, including the American Chemistry Council, Croplife, IBM, 3M and Novozymes, and USCIB staff were involved in several events during and alongside the UNEA4 conference and subsequent GPE deliberations.

USCIB worked closely with the U.S. government delegation attending the meeting, and held a roundtable for members in Nairobi with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Marcia Bernicat and other administration officials.

Speaking at a high-level dinner for government delegations convened by Global Business Alliance for the Environment (GBA4E), Norine Kennedy, USCIB vice president for environment, energy and strategic international engagement, stated that U.S. business regards the 17 SDGs as the blueprint of integrated objectives for environment, social, development, and economic policy and actions.

“It will take ‘out of box’ thinking by governments and business  to implement systems-thinking and systems-doing approaches on environmental protection,” said Kennedy.

The 2nd substantive deliberations on a proposed UN Global Pact for the Environment (GPE) continued member state consideration of the substance and form of a possible Pact, intended to:

  • address “gaps” in international environmental law,
  • reach consistency on existing (such as “polluter pays” and “precautionary” principles) and new (such as “planetary boundaries” and “rights of mother earth”) “soft law” environmental principles
  • improve coordination across existing multilateral agreements and environment related instruments.

Although UNEA4 reviewed options for policy cooperation and action on a wide range of environmental matters, the main political momentum focussed solidly on addressing plastic waste, especially in the form of marine debris and/or single-use plastics.  Governments proposed three separate resolutions on marine debris, and India added a fourth resolution on single-use plastics.  Numerous NGOs on hand also targeted plastic waste and called for a treaty and ban on plastics, citing environmental impact and its indirect link to climate change through petro-chemicals.  The eventual outcomes of UNEA4 stopped short of launching a legally binding treaty negotiation on these matters, but expectations that political pressure will continue to build behind these challenges remains high.

UNEA4 received and reviewed two major international environmental agenda-setting reports: the 6th Global Environmental Outlook (GEO6) and the Report of the International Resources Panel (IRP). These will likely drive international policymakers’ attention, much as the IPCC findings are significant rationale for climate policy. Other science-policy connections discussed at UNEA-4 included attention to big data and geo-observation. The 2 reports present scientific expert analysis relating to resource scarcity and health impacts of environmental degradation, and highlight priorities that will surely be considered in further international policy discussions. The IRP report considers the possibility of Science Based Targets for finite resources, applicable to business.

Government deliberations on proposed UN Global Pact for Environment concluded with a wide range of views and little evident consensus, beyond general support for the importance of strengthening implementation of international environmental law.  Government delegations continued to discuss different definitions of what constituted “gaps” and “challenges” relating to international environmental law.  Delegates considered different forms a Pact might take, including a declaration of the UN General Assembly, or additional mandated activity in UNEnvironment, or a legally binding instrument, or some combination of those and other outcomes.

The GPE deliberations resume from May 20 – 22, again in Nairobi.

The next UN Environment Assembly (UNEA5) takes place in February 2021.

Donnelly Offers US Perspectives to Nordic Business Delegation

Published on March 26, 2019

USCIB joined with the local Washington offices of key international partner business groups, including the Representative of German Industry and Trade RGIT/BDI, CII from India, TUSIAD from Turkey, Keidanren from Japan and CBI from the UK, in a very useful free-wheeling briefing session for a visiting delegation from leading Nordic business associations.

The visiting Nordic delegation included senior representatives from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (”SE”), Confederation of Danish Enterprise (“DI”), Confederation of Finnish Industries (“EK”), and Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (“NHO”), all of which are national committee partners of USCIB in one or more of USCIB’s international groupings of Business at OECD (BIAC), the International Organization of Employers and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Shaun Donnelly, USCIB vice president for investment and financial services, was the only representative in the room from a U.S. trade association, offering American perspectives and explanations for some of the unprecedented current policy developments in the U.S. and globally.

“Our Nordic partner business organizations are generally strong pro-market, pro-liberalization allies for U.S. business globally and, importantly, within the EU,” said Donnelly. “The delegations had met with the usual suspects on the Washington trade scene in their packed three-day visit but, frankly, left town with as many questions as answers. USCIB will continue to work our Nordic partner associations and other allies across our unique global network to advance our key policy objectives.”