News Stories Archives

USCIB in the News: Doran Klein at Pacific Rim Tax Conference

Published on March 13, 2017

USCIB’s vice president for international taxation policy Carol Doran Klein was recently quoted in a Bloomberg BNA piece “U.S. Will Remain Engaged in OECD Tax Work: IRS Official” regarding her comments during a panel in last week’s Seventh Annual Pacific Rim Tax Conference in Palo Alto, California. The two-day conference brought international tax policy and management issues to the forefront of corporate tax leaders and tax professionals, focusing on the Pacific Rim.

Doran Klein spoke on a panel titled “Challenges and Opportunities of BEPS,” alongside Theodore D. Setzer, assistant deputy commissioner (international), Internal Revenue Service. In her remarks, which were captured by BNA, Klein stated that “Companies are very concerned that the U.S. might move away from the multilateral framework. USCIB is encouraging U.S. officials to keep participating in the international tax work of organizations such as the OECD and the United Nations. Dialogue in not improved when your voice is not in the room.”

Doran Klein said Setzer’s remarks were “really important for my members.” She said companies were very concerned that the U.S. might move away from active participation in multilateral tax forums. USCIB would encourage U.S. officials to keep participating in the international tax work of organizations such as the OECD and the United Nations, Doran Klein added.

“Dialogue is not improved when your voice is not in the room,” she said.

Read the full Bloomberg Government piece here.

Donnelly Leads Business Push at OECD for FDI

Published on March 13, 2017

ShaunDonnelly_BIAC_OECD_InvestmentForumUSCIB’s Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly was leading the business voices at multiple events around the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Investment Week in Paris last week. Donnelly was the lead business speaker at the panel on “Is Investment Liberalization Shifting into Reverse?” at the OECD Global Forum on International Investment and the lead business respondent to presentations by academic experts on “Societal Benefits and Costs of Investment Treaties” at the OECD’s Third Annual Conference on Investment Treaties.

In both formal presentations, as well as in formal and informal interactions with government delegations from both ‎OECD member countries and leading developing and emerging governments, Donnelly emphasized the importance of investment agreements, including strong enforcement provisions, to facilitate much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows.

Per established OECD practice, Donnelly played a lead role in BIAC’s formal consultation, along with the parallel labor and civil society stakeholder groups, with the OECD’s Investment Committee on Wednesday, March 8.  With investment agreements under attacks from some quarters, it is important for business to speak up these sorts or international fora, whether at OECD or elsewhere, on the importance of FDI for both the host economy and the home country and especially on the important role high standard investment agreements and strong enforcement provisions play in today’s global economy.

Senior investment policy experts from the State Department, U.S. Trade Representative and Treasury Department also participated in the meetings last week.

Washington Conference Looks at OECD’s Role in Fostering Digital Transformation

Published on March 13, 2017
OECD Deputy Secretary General Doug Franz
OECD Deputy Secretary General Doug Franz

Cross-border trade in digital goods and services has grown 45-fold over the past decade. How can policy makers and the business community work together to ensure that new technologies and digital applications can lead to a more prosperous, productive, inclusive and socially beneficial world? And what lessons can be learned from current discussions and related work within the 35-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)?

This was the focus of a conference today in Washington, D.C., “Facilitating Digital Transformation: The OECD’s Role,” organized by the USCIB Foundation, the educational arm of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), in partnership with the OECD and Business at OECD (BIAC).

In opening keynote remarks, David Redl, chief counsel for communications and technology at the Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, compared extending broadband access to the construction of the interstate highway system. “Despite everyone’s best efforts, there are still parts of the United States that lack the infrastructure to meet universal availability and adoption,” he stated. Redl said government spending alone won’t get the job done. “We must also foster investment in U.S. networks, streamline regulation, and improve online trust and security to bring the benefits of the Internet to every American.”

OECD Deputy Secretary General Douglas Frantz identified several factors as key to ongoing digital transformation: improved communications infrastructure and services, new and innovative business models, improved consumer trust and privacy protection, effective policy making, and a robust approach to the challenges and opportunities posed by improvements in artificial intelligence (AI). On the latter point, he proposed that the OECD work toward some sort of policy instrument to address AI.

Andrew Wycoff, director of the OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, outlined the OECD’s work to assess the G20 economies’ uneven progress to date toward enabling the digital transformation. He said the OECD’s upcoming policy recommendations would focus on the importance of boosting investment in digital infrastructure, ensuring competition in the ICT sector and the broader economy, and establishing sufficient trust in the digital economy while also making it truly inclusive.

Jacqueline Ruff, Verizon, gives remarks during panel
Jacqueline Ruff, Verizon, gives remarks during panel

During an industry roundtable on emerging technologies, Jacqueline Ruff, vice president for international public policy and regulatory affairs with Verizon, said public policy will be important to remove barriers to the deployment of fifth-generation wireless technology, while creating a pro-investment environment. “They key to 5G will be smart communities,” she stated.

Other conference panels examined questions of equity and potential negative effects of digital technologies, as well as ways to enhance trust in an increasingly connected world. Organizers said the event would help steer discussion toward practical measures to maximize the benefits of new technologies. Panelists also focused on jobs, as well as education and skills-development challenges and opportunities, posed by digital transformation and the efforts by companies, such as IBM, to create “new collar jobs” enabling a segment of workers in more mature industries to become productive participants in the digital economy.

“Getting policy right for digital innovation is a critical factor for economic competitiveness, for trust and confidence in the digital environment, and ultimately for societal well-being”, said Bernhard Welschke, Secretary General of Business at OECD. “We need to communicate the benefits of digital transformation and Business at OECD will continue to work closely with the OECD on this challenge.”

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson stated: “We hope that today’s discussions will enable those who may not participate directly in OECD meetings to learn more about the OECD’s work and its value to the process and substance of crafting sensible, effective policy and regulation. Whether it is in providing frameworks, or in the development of consensus-based guiding principles, the OECD has a lot to offer and think about.”

USCIB, OECD and BIAC Leadership Discuss Trade, Digital Revolution

Published on March 10, 2017
Rob Mulligan, Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs addresses OECD and USCIB members, alongside USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson (center) and Rick Johnston, Citi (left)
Rob Mulligan, Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs addresses OECD and USCIB members, alongside USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson (center) and Rick Johnston, Citi (left)

USCIB hosted leadership from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Business at OECD (BIAC) on March 9 in Washington DC, following a successful joint OECD-BIAC-USCIB Fostering Digital Transformation Conference the day prior. Nearly forty of USCIB’s leadership and members attended the meeting, including USCIB Vice Chair Rick Johnston (Citi) and Vice-Chair of USCIB’s China Committee Tad Ferris.

OECD and Business at OECD officials included OECD’s Deputy Secretary General Doug Frantz, Secretary General of Business at OECD (BIAC) Bernhard Welschke, Senior Policy Director at BIAC Nicole Primmer and Acting Head of the OECD Washington Center Susan Fridy.

This was a timely opportunity for USCIB, OECD and BIAC to have a roundtable discussion on a wide range of issues that are being addressed in the OECD such as tax, cross-border data flows, health, investment, digital trade, the Sustainable Development Goals and the G20. These issues were framed in a larger discussion of the role of business in the current political and economic climate in the U.S., about which Frantz said, “we need help from business to convey that free trade, open borders and anti-corruption guidelines require multilateral engagement. The U.S. and the U.S. business community benefit enormously from the work done at the OECD.”

Doug Franz, Deputy Secretary General OECD addresses USCIB members
Doug Frantz, Deputy Secretary General OECD addresses USCIB members

Frantz also emphasized the role of digital innovation in providing future growth, prosperity and equal distribution of wealth to curtail the negative effects of the digital revolution, noting “taking digital innovation and its breakthroughs and making sure that the breakthroughs are more evenly distributed through training, skills-building and education that is based on deductive reasoning, will cushion the fall for people who are at risk of losing their jobs to the digital revolution.”

ICC and USCIB Hold Educational Events on Arbitration

Published on March 6, 2017
Emmanuel Gaillard, visiting professor at Yale Law School and head of International Arbitration at Shearman & Sterling LLP
Emmanuel Gaillard, visiting professor at Yale Law School and head of International Arbitration at Shearman & Sterling LLP

The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and USCIB’s Arbitration Committee organized two educational events in New York last month—the fifth annual Proskauer Lecture on International Arbitration on February 21 and the Eleventh Vis Moot Practice Session on February 24.

The Proskauer Lecture is organized jointly by ICC, USCIB, Proskauer, and Columbia University School of Law’s Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Law. As in previous years, the lecture featured a globally-renowned expert delivering a lecture to the international dispute resolution community in New York. This year’s expert lecturer was Emmanuel Gaillard, visiting professor at Yale Law School and head of International Arbitration at Shearman & Sterling LLP who spoke on the topic: International comity, ‎lis pendens, res judicata: Do the principles of judicial practice apply to international arbitration? “Emmanuel Gaillard gave a tour de force lecture on comity that has gotten people talking about the issue and even thinking about it in a different manner,” noted Peter Sherwin, Partner at Proskauer. “Through presentations like his, the Proskauer Lecture has become a must-attend event for the international arbitration community in New York and beyond.” A summary of Gaillard’s lecture will appear in the next issue of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR).

A few days later, Dentons LLP hosted eight universities in the eleventh annual ICC/USCIB Vis Moot Practice Session. Participating law schools included the University of Bucharest, Brooklyn Law School, Cardozo, Fordham University, New York University, Pace Law School, Rutgers Law School and St. John’s University School of Law. The practice session serves as an invaluable opportunity for teams to hone their arguments in front of mock arbitrators prior to The Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna (April 7-13) or Hong Kong (March 26 – April 2), during which times teams from around the globe will compete in a mock arbitration. John Hay, partner at Dentons LLP stated that “Events like this provide for all the participants a worthwhile learning experience where they see, firsthand, which presentation styles and techniques work, and which do not.”

Consistently growing since its inception eleven years ago, the Vis Moot Practice Session gathered nearly thirty arbitration practitioners who volunteered their time and expertise to serve as mock arbitrators and provide feedback to teams before the real competition commences in Vienna or Hong Kong. Speaking on the networking opportunities presented to law students and future arbitration practitioners, Soeun (Nikole) Lee, deputy director, head of ICC Young Arbitrators Forum North America Chapter, stated that “the VIS moot is the best introduction to international arbitration as a student.  It is intellectually challenging, fun, and a phenomenal opportunity to meet future colleagues and mentors.   ICC VIS moot practice session serves as a great “moot for the Moot”.  We were very impressed at the students’ level of preparation and quality of arguments.”

Global Partnerships Week Launches With Focus on SDG-17

Published on March 6, 2017
(L-R) Kathy Calvin, President & CEO, UN Foundation, Trevor Davies, Global Head, International Development Assistance Services Institute, KPMG and Claus Stig Pedersen, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Novozymes
(L-R) Kathy Calvin, President & CEO, UN Foundation, Trevor Davies, Global Head, International Development Assistance Services Institute, KPMG and Claus Stig Pedersen, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Novozymes

Global Partnerships Week (GPW) kicked off yesterday, March 6, to celebrate the role of public-private partnerships in promoting global development and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two-week, annual event is organized by Concordia, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, and PeaceTech Lab and engages experts from the public and private sectors, as well as foundations and multilateral institutions.

The U.S. Institute of Peace hosted GPW’s day-long Global Practitioners Forum yesterday, which focused on engaging practitioners in achieving what many consider to be the most imperative and interconnected SDG, Goal 17. Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar moderated the opening panel titled “Goal 17 in 2017: Partnerships for the Global Goals,” which featured USCIB members KPMG and Novozymes, as well as UNESCO, UN Foundation and New America. The panel aimed to explore the role of partnerships in addressing challenges presented by inequality, poverty and governance to ensure the achievement of a comprehensive 2030 development agenda.

Claus Stig Pedersen, head of corporate sustainability at Novozymes, presented participants with anecdotes and insights around partnership challenges, as companies look to align both longer-term strategies and growth opportunities with the SDGs. “It’s not just about partnerships for the sake of doing partnerships, it’s an investment in the future, but it takes time,” stated Pedersen. Pedersen cited several examples including Novozymes’ leadership in the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL), first launched by the United Nations and World Bank at the Rio+20 Summit in 2012, where it subsequently helped establish a coalition of partners aimed at developing and deploying sustainable bio-energy solutions. “Although the partnership was first launched in 2013, we [Novozymes] have continued to stay engaged, establishing concrete projects and cases that are driving the initiative forward.” While many stakeholders increasingly subscribe to the idea of partnership, Pedersen noted some of the success factors behind this effort. “We all really need to do our due diligence and build up good relationships together, as well as learn to draw on each other’s strengths as we look to partner to achieve greater positive impact.”

Additional information on Novozymes public-private partnerships can be found on USCIB’s Business for 2030 website, which serves as an important tool to showcase business’s past and continuing contributions to sustainable development through the prism of the SDGs.

WTO Becomes a Target in Trump’s Trade Agenda

Published on March 6, 2017

WTO OMCPresident Trump’s Administration has recently released a congressionally mandated annual report on the U.S. trade agenda, which re-examines the U.S.’s relationship with multilateral organizations and, in particular, targets the World Trade Organization (WTO). The report asserts that the U.S. has a right not to abide by WTO decisions that are not favorable to the U.S. trade agenda.

USCIB supports numerous elements of the report, specifically those regarding an open and fair global trading system, eliminating trade barriers, enabling U.S. companies to compete on a level playing field around the world and effectively enforcing trade rules. But it urged caution regarding the WTO.

USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson stated: “We encourage the new administration to engage with the WTO in addressing areas for improvement in the operation of the WTO. But it’s important to recognize that the American economy, our companies, and our workers benefit from U.S. participation in the WTO, including through such agreements as the WTO Information Technology Agreement, and will reap important benefits from the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement that just entered into force last week.”

Senior administration officials concurred. “The WTO is in some ways very necessary,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on CNBC. “You probably do need an arbiter of some sort if you’re going to have international trade.”

As reported by CNBC, Ross, who said he will be largely focusing on trade issues, added the administration will also be cracking down on enforcement of existing trade laws and making sure that countervailing and anti-dumping duties established in trade remedy cases are being collected. Part of the trade agenda will be facilitating U.S. exports to international markets, but the flip side is “preventing illegally subsidized goods from coming in — and really enforcing it,” Ross said.

The full interview with Ross is available on CNBC is here.

USCIB Urges Business Access in Comments to UNFCCC

Published on March 3, 2017

As uncertainty in U.S. participation and leadership in UN climate negotiations and the Paris Climate Agreement continues, USCIB and its global network are pushing to ensure that business has a voice in the global climate policy process.

USCIB, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF) recently submitted coordinated comments to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of its Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 46) meeting, to take place in Bonn, Germany on May 8-18, 2017. The USCIB, ICC and BizMEF submissions all make the case for enhancing engagement of Non-Party Actors (NSAs), particularly the private sector, in order to strengthen Paris Agreement implementation. USCIB’s Norine Kennedy, Vice President for Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment will attend the Bonn meetings, along with USCIB members from Monsanto and Novozymes.

In preparing the comments Kennedy noted, “As it stands today, the UNFCCC institutional infrastructure does not adequately reflect the role of the private sector and therefore must be updated and expanded to recognize and mobilize business engagement as part of global efforts to deliver on the Paris Agreement. In our view, the May Workshop during SBI46 on enhancing NSA engagement could provide valuable ideas to begin to build this vital institutional infrastructure for implementation of the Agreement.”

Governments have recognized the major contribution of the private sector to achieving the Paris Agreement, its entry into force and other follow-up activities.  As a long-time observer organization representing American business in the UNFCCC since 1993, USCIB has consistently sought to extend existing opportunities to participate in the international climate processes.  USCIB’s advocacy has focused on broadening and improving existing options to create a more comprehensive, recognized channel for business engagement to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement and ensure the effectiveness and resilience of the UNFCCC.

In its comments, USCIB emphasized that enhancing business engagement requires innovative governance and partnership, and will be a prerequisite for successful and cost-effective implementation. Kennedy stressed that “the UNFCCC should adjust its means of working with business to a more collaborative and mainstreamed mode. This will require innovative leadership by policy-makers to engage the private sector in new ways.”

USCIB’s comments also included suggestions for the SBI workshop’s objectives, a long-term vision for business engagement in the UNFCC, and the role of business in national pledges under the Paris Agreement, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The full submission can be accessed here.

 

OECD Holds Workshop to Measure Business Impact on Well-Being

Published on March 3, 2017

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organized a workshop on measuring business impacts on people’s well-being in Paris on February 23-24. The workshop is part of the OECD’s Better Life Initiative for which the OECD developed a series of indicators enabling governments to design policies for improving well-being in areas including income, health, education, security and environment. An increasing number of actors are looking at how companies impact well-being, but lack specific guidance on how to accurately measure these impacts. Statistical evidence on business’ contribution to well-being is scattered and firms’ performances on environmental, social and governance as well as responsible business conduct issues remain hard to benchmark.

Building on in-house knowledge and experience in measuring well-being and responsible business conduct, the OECD, in collaboration with Fordham University, the Society and Organization Center of HEC Paris and the Humanistic Management Network, organized a workshop to discuss foundations measuring business impacts’ on well-being and explored interest in creating a consistent system of indicators based on existing corporate responsibility metrics, corporate practices and OECD’s experience in measuring well-being.

The workshop emphasized the importance of using coordinated information systems for different actors, such as businesses, NGOs and governments, to encourage them to adopt a common channel for promoting well‑being in the broad sense. It will bring together researchers, experts, business executives and a wide range of actors on the ground.

Additional information on the event is available on the OECD’s website. Official notes from the sessions are available here.

OECD’s Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum

Published on March 3, 2017

Compass direction pointing towards IntegrityThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is organizing a Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum on March 30-31 in Paris, which will focus on integrity and anti-corruption. The Forum aims to bring together a diverse array of stakeholders from policy communities, the private sector, civil society and academia to discuss topics such as reducing the inequality gap, stimulating fair competition and economic growth as well as shaping a level playing field for business.

The Forum will also feature presentations from academia connecting academic insights and evidence with policy-making and will highlight innovative research on integrity, anti-corruption and trade, gender and corruption and inclusive growth. The agenda for the meeting is available here. Registration is now open.