Communication Department Archives

USCIB Statement: Setting the 2030 Sustainability Agenda In Motion

Published on April 20, 2016

un_headquarters_lo-resNow more than ever, business and the global community share a common goal of advancing economic development and sustainability while effectively addressing climate change. This week in New York, governments, business and civil society are gathered to move forward on the landmark decisions of 2015. Through USCIB’s Campaign2015, USCIB and its members supported and informed the decisions of Addis, Paris and New York.  This week our message is clear — it is time to get to work!

Together we have an opportunity to design and carry out promising solutions for the world’s economy and governments, reflecting the UN 2030 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the conviction that business and governments should work together to address global challenges.  These universal agendas speak to everyone, including the business community. USCIB will approach these imperatives holistically, working with our global business network, the U.S. and other governments, and numerous other partners.

USCIB members are committed to advance the vital outcomes of Addis, New York and Paris, both those that have been decided, as well as those requiring further discussion and elaboration.

Addressing the challenges of sustainability demands new ways of working together, through partnership and enhanced engagement between governments and business.  We understand that the real effort is now beginning, as governments determine working details and put commitments into action.  In business, we too are moving to define priorities for further elaboration and what it will take to mobilize and scale up business investment, innovation and action going forward.

Our joint priorities should include:

  • Strengthening specific and distinct business interfaces to the UN system, such as the Private Sector Coordinating Group for FfD, the HLPF and to the UNFCCC and its bodies, such as the Technology Mechanism and Green Climate Fund
  • Tapping business expertise to catalyze and design enabling frameworks for, among other things, research, development, deployment and management of efficient and low-carbon technologies, investment, trade, finance, MRV, adaptation, risk management, and frameworks to promote effective, inclusive and efficient results.

We welcome the UN’s willingness to work in partnership with business so that we can build solutions to energy security, lower carbon development and sustainable economic growth together. USCIB’s platform, Businessfor2030, highlights the fundamental role business will play in helping to achieve the SDGs and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

USCIB and its members are ready to demonstrate what we are ready to bring to this global effort, and look forward to working with governments, the UN community and society as a whole.

Read more about USCIB’s 2015 activities in support of the UN 2030 Development Agenda

Broadening the Oversight of a Free and Open Internet

Published on April 20, 2016

Via the Wall Street Journal

USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce were cited in a Wall Street Op-Ed about the transition of the stewardship of the Internet from the United States to the broader multistakeholder community. Author Stephen Crocker, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board notes that business has a keen understanding of the importance of the Internet in strengthening the global economy and creating jobs and economic growth.

On March 17, representatives from the Intel Corporation, the Internet Society and others told Congress they supported the transition. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Council for International Business, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Software & Information Industry Association and others also approve of the plan.

Business leaders from companies like Google, Verizon, AT&T, Cisco and Yahoo participated in the development of the proposal. Academics from Harvard, George Mason University and other institutions also weighed in. From the International Chamber of Commerce to the Center for Democracy and Technology, diverse organizations have voiced support.

Read the full Wall Street Journal article (Subscription required)

USCIB Discusses Future of U.S. Manufacturing at Bloomberg Seminar

Published on April 20, 2016
Rob Ivester, Deputy Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, SelectUSA, U.S. Department of Commerce; Shaun Donnelly, Vice President, Investment and Financial Services, USCIB; Matthew Philips, Associate Editor, Blomberg Businessweek (Moderator)
L-R: Rob Ivester (U.S. Department of Energy), Vinai Thummalapally, (U.S. Department of Commerce), Shaun Donnelly (USCIB), Matthew Philips (Bloomberg Businessweek)

With aging and outdated infrastructure, the U.S. manufacturing industry is stalling. How will the United States regain its place as the global leader in manufacturing, and what will future manufacturing plants look like?

USCIB’s Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly was a lead panelist in Bloomberg Government’s April 19 Washington seminar “The Future of Manufacturing.” Sharing the panel with senior officials from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy, Donnelly offered a private-sector perspective on the role foreign direct investment (FDI) plays in U.S. manufacturing, and on the unique strengths and challenges of the United States as a manufacturing location.  He emphasized the rapid changes in manufacturing around the world that have led to increased competitive pressures.

“In today’s and tomorrow’s global value chain world, FDI drives growth here at home and is also a key tool for U.S.-based manufacturers, large and small, to serve growing international markets,” Donnelly said.

The seminar drew a large audience of Bloomberg subscribers on-line and in-person at Bloomberg Government’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

UN 2030 Development Agenda Week

Published on April 18, 2016
Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.

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Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.

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L-R: Amina Mohammed (UN), Peter Robinson (USCIB), Alex Thier (USAID). Shawn Miles (MasterCard) and moderator Matthew Bishop (The Economist).

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Ronnie Goldberg unveils the Business for 2030 website at the Global Employers’ Summit in Bahrain.

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Business & Climate Summit 2015, ICC Secretary General John Danilovich.

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Business & Climate Summit 2015, ICC and USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw.

L-R: John Danilovich (ICC), Christiana Figueres (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Terry McGraw (ICC).L-R: John Danilovich (ICC), Christiana Figueres (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Terry McGraw (ICC).

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L-R: John Danilovich (ICC), Christiana Figueres (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Terry McGraw (ICC).

As United Nations members gather in New York to sign the Paris Climate Agreement and discuss follow-up on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed last year, we thought it timely to recap some of the activities USCIB and its global network undertook in 2015 in support of these pivotal initiatives:

Read USCIB’s Statement: “Setting the 2015 Sustainability Agenda In Motion”

North American Regional Consultation on Climate Change

USCIB convened the North American Business Consultation  on Climate Change on June 23 in Washington, D.C.; this session, organized with the International Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the International Emissions Trading Association, highlighted U.S. and Canadian business priorities for the U.N. climate agreement to be finalized in Paris this December.

In his opening comments to the day-long conference, with over 80 participants including government officials, business leaders, United Nations delegates, and academics, USCIB’s President and CEO, Peter Robinson stated: “USCIB has followed climate change for 20 plus years, and while the issues have evolved, become broader, been through ups and downs in the U.N. negotiations, it has remained a priority for member companies.  And en route to Paris, we see it evolving again, to include a strong element of corporate citizenship and social equity.”

Financing the Sustainable Development Goals

Last year, the United Nations agreed to an ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, a grand vision for sustainability that will reshape the practice of development globally, as well as the private sector’s role in building a more prosperous, healthy world. USCIB is deeply engaged in all aspects of Agenda 2030, advocating for good governance and the rule of law, inclusive economic growth, investment in infrastructure, enabling environments to foster innovation, strong public-private partnerships and above all, an open channel for business input into policy negotiations and implementation at the international and national levels.

USCIB has played a central role in marshaling business input into the UN’s Financing for Development process, having worked actively with members and our global network to ensure that the private sector’s voice was heard at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development last July, where UN member states established a new financing framework to support sustainable development for the next 15 years – the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The new financing framework is generally positive for business, with policies that include an emphasis on governance and domestic resource mobilization, support for blended finance and a move away from an overly-narrow focus on official development assistance. USCIB is also actively engaged in the first follow-up and review of this new framework Financing for Development conference, participating in several high-level events during the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development in New York, April 18-21. USCIB also raised and continues to monitor intellectual property and tax concerns as part of the financing for development process.

Business for 2030

In September 2015, USCIB officially launched its well-received Business for 2030 web portal, a catalog of business engagement that showcases the private sector’s contributions to the SDGs. Business for 2030 features over 140 initiatives from 35 companies in over 150 countries of how businesses are helping to achieve 72 of the 169 SDG targets. In addition to educating the business community about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, the website highlights concrete initiatives and public-private partnerships to inspire renewed trust in the private sector, and to catalyze sustained and active business engagement in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through its blog and Twitter presence, the site also targets business perspectives to the UN community to sensitize them to business perspectives on SDG priorities and implementation.

USCIB Represents Business at Cool Earth Forum in Tokyo

USCIB attended the 2nd Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF2) on October 6-7 in Tokyo.  ICEF2, convened at the initiative of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, focused on promoting technological innovation as a means to address climate change. The two-day forum brought together 1,000 researchers, business representatives and policymakers from around the globe to present a broad range of innovative technologies, and discuss what innovative measures should be developed, how the innovation should be promoted, and how cooperation and public private partnership should be enhanced.

At High-Level Summit, Business Representatives Urge Ambitious Climate Pact

Private-sector representatives from around the world endorsed the conclusion of an ambitious and comprehensive worldwide agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience, while advancing energy access and security in the context of sustainable development.

During a December meeting at the headquarters of the French business federation. MEDEF, company executives and business federation officials from more than 20 countries agreed on a joint declaration stating: “Climate change is a common responsibility for all stakeholders, including for businesses in every part of the world, of every sector and every size, large groups and SMEs.”

United Nations Paris Climate Agreement (COP21) 

In December 2015, the United Nations concluded what was possibly the most important environmental meeting in history, when 194 countries agreed to a long-term climate treaty designed to curb global greenhouse gas emissions. The climate negotiations in Paris (COP21) saw unprecedented support and involvement from the business community, with USCIB and member companies on the ground at COP21 to demonstrate their commitment and stake in the accord.

Thanks to sustained advocacy from USCIB and other business organizations, the final climate agreement recognizes the need for enabling investment frameworks in global markets, as well as policies necessary to mobilize business innovation across all borders. Innovation, enabling frameworks for cost effective and scientifically sound policy design, and the need to work with business in partnerships are priorities for USCIB’s ongoing involvement in UN environmental work.

IOE Calls for Structural Reforms at DC B20 Gathering

Published on April 18, 2016

worker_femaleInternational Organization of Employers (IOE) President Daniel Funes delivered a strong message in Washington over the weekend at several meetings of the B20, whose deliberations followed those of the G20 Finance Ministers.

While the final communiqué issued by the finance minsters expressed concern over “modest global growth,” Funes went further, saying that persistent delay to structural reforms in G20 labor markets risked turning an already serious employment challenge into a “huge social crisis”.

“What we really need are structural reforms that create an enabling environment for companies, especially SMEs, to hire more easily.”

He expressed the disappointment of the B20 Employment Task Force that the G20 had yet to prove itself the engine of reform it had promised to be.  This, he said, was a direct result of G20 governments failing to implement their commitments at the national level, consistently falling short of tackling the “the core issues to make labor markets more flexible and dynamic”.

Giving his reaction to the new multi-annual work plan of the G20 Employment Working Group, to be adopted at the end of the month in Shanghai, he noted that language around structural reform was conspicuous by its absence: “What we really need are structural reforms that create an enabling environment for companies, especially SMEs, to hire more easily.”  Additional urgent reforms were needed to help job growth catch up with GDP growth, such as better aligning education and training systems to labor market needs. “Employment opportunities for young workers are not keeping pace with demand,” said Funes, “This is a major concern and could impact social stability.”

He concluded by saying that the IOE would continue to support the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in producing an annual scorecard, mapping the extent to which the G20 was delivering on its commitments and that the IOE, in collaboration with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, would be paying particular attention to the level of ambition of G20 employment plans, as well as progress in their implementation.

Funes met with B20 leadership, spoke in the B20 plenary, and made an intervention in his capacity as co-chair at the B20 Employment Task Force session in a series of meetings on April 16 and 17.

Obama Appoints USCIB Members to National Cybersecurity Commission

Published on April 14, 2016

White_HouseGiven society’s increasing reliance on computer systems and information and communication technologies (ICTs), cybersecurity must lie at the heart of any national security strategy. To that end, President Obama announced today his appointees to the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, a new office established within the Department of Commerce to raise awareness about digital security in the United States.

“I have charged the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity with the critically-important task of identifying the steps that our nation must take to ensure our cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world,” President Obama said in a White House press release. “These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to this important role, and I look forward to receiving the Commission’s recommendations.”

Two USCIB members were appointed to the 12-member commission: Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard, and Peter Lee, corporate vice president of Microsoft Research. USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee has actively shaped the development of a model cybersecurity framework in the OECD, as well as an International Chamber of Commerce practical business guide to implement the OECD security guidelines. USCIB also contributes regularly to the U.S. government’s calls for public comments on cybsercurity challenges.

OECD Chief Economist Discusses Global Economic Trends at USCIB

Published on April 14, 2016
Mann
Catherine Mann

Dr. Catherine Mann, chief economist and head of the Economics Department at the OECD came to USCIB on April 13 for wide-ranging discussion with members and staff.  Mann, one of the most senior U.S. citizens in the OECD secretariat, has extensive experience in Washington from her earlier positions at the Federal Reserve, the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, and at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Her presentation covered global trends in economic growth, productivity, and trade and investment, identifying some challenging issues ahead, and interesting work underway at the OECD in those areas. In that context, she had some particularly interesting observations on the Chinese economy and China’s economic relationships with the world. Mann is very interested in finding ways to strengthen private sector input into OECD’s work on economics and in other important areas.  Her very candid and thought-provoking observations gave members some interesting issues to ponder.

Global Business Body Highlights Crucial Importance of FDI for Growth and Development

Published on April 11, 2016

Money_globeNew York, N.Y., April 12, 2016 – In the face of growing populist rhetoric from some quarters calling into question the very nature of global trade, investment and private sector-led growth, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a ringing defense of foreign investment as a driving force in improving people’s lives around the world.

In its statement, Foreign Direct Investment – Promoting and Protecting a Key Pillar for Sustainable Development and Growth, the Paris-based global business body – which encompasses companies from all sectors in some 130 countries, developing as well as developed – voices its strong support for FDI as an effective tool to foster economic growth and sustainable development. ICC calls on governments to both maintain and strengthen investment protection and promotion agreements, including the investment provisions now common in many U.S. free trade agreements.

The statement was released by ICC’s American national committee, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

“A key lesson from the past half century and more is that investment, including foreign direct investment, is crucial in influencing a country’s overall prospects for economic progress and prosperity,” said James Bacchus, the former chief judge for the World Trade Organization and former U.S. Congressman who chairs ICC’s Commission on Trade and Investment Policy, which developed the paper. “Countries that put in place strong, well-considered policies both to promote and protect investment, and ensure the rule of law, benefit more from FDI as well as from domestic investment. Those countries have more effective institutions and higher standards of living.”

The ICC statement encourages governments to pursue high-standard bilateral and regional investment agreements. These important agreements should continue to include strong dispute resolution provisions, through investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) with independent proceedings to settle investment disputes, the paper says. It further proposes that, in the longer term, an equally high-standard multilateral framework on investment could further foster FDI in support of growth and sustainable development.

Other key messages from the ICC policy statement include:

  • Discrimination is never a good idea. ICC calls on national governments to avoid any sectoral restrictions in investment agreements coverage or access to dispute settlement.
  • Governments around the world should give greater attention to investment challenges related to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) so as to ensure a level playing field when private companies (domestic or foreign) compete with SOEs.
  • National security or “essential security” reviews by governments should be narrowly focused on true national security issues and not become an excuse for discrimination against foreign investors.
  • All governments should avoid “forced localization” requirements against foreign investors.

“We need sensible policies to promote and defend FDI in order to meet the numerous challenges we face in the years ahead,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “This strong and timely policy statement, coming as it does from the leading global business organization, provides a useful contribution to the ongoing debates on investment, investment agreements and, more specifically, ISDS. We urge policy makers in the United States and other nations, as well as the policy community more broadly, to read and digest its recommendations.”

About ICC:
ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its global network comprises over six million companies, chambers of commerce and business associations in more than 130 countries, with interests spanning every sector of private enterprise. A network of ICC national committees mobilizes and supports business in its interactions with governments and international organizations around the world. The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC. More at www.iccwbo.org.

About USCIB:
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include 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. More at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

Washington Update: February – March 2016

Published on April 11, 2016

washington-Lincoln-MemorialsDuring the months of February and March 2016, USCIB staff met with Mark Linscott and Jai Motwane (USTR) on the WTO and TTIP negotiations, participated in APEC ITC, Customs, and Health meetings, represented members at OECD meetings on Investment, anti-Bribery, and State-Owned Enterprises, submitted formal comments to the ITC on the TPP, met with CBP and USTR about TPP and the MPF, spoke on panels in D.C., Paris, and Silicon Valley, and much more.

Download the full update.

Inside:

USCIB Trade Committee Meets with Mark Linscott and Jai Motwane from USTR
At the March meeting of the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee, members met with Mark Linscott, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, and USTR Senior Director for Services and Investment, Jai Motwane. They provided a wide-ranging assessment of the WTO post-Nairobi, and discussed, among other topics, the recently concluded TTIP Investment discussions.

USCIB Provides Written Submission to ITC on TPP
In February, USCIB made a written submission to the International Trade Commission on the TPP, which highlighted USCIB’s belief that the TPP will contribute substantially to economic growth in the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, cement U.S. global leadership and provide significant new opportunities for U.S. businesses, workers and farmers. The submission presented views on specific issues covered by chapters of the TPP of particular interest to our members.

Commerce/USTR Officials Brief USCIB Members on “EU-U.S. Privacy Shield” Data Transfer Framework and APEC Privacy-Related Work
During USCIB’s March ICT Policy Committee meeting, members were briefed by Krysten Jenci and Michael Rose from the Commerce Department, and Robb Tanner from USTR on key features of the new EU-U.S. Privacy Shield as well as the implications of the agreement for the TTIP negotiations.

USCIB Submits Comment Letters to IRS and OECD
On March 22, 2016, USCIB submitted a comment letter to the IRS on its proposed regulations under section 6038 addressing the effective date and the resulting gap year, the date of filing, constituent entities and the MNE group, and several other issues raised by members. USCIB also submitted a letter to the OECD advocating for mandatory binding arbitration and strongly supporting short-form arbitration.

CBP Presents to USCIB Customs Committee on TPP and MPF Changes
CBP Senior Trade Advisor, Maria Luisa Boyce, delivered a presentation on Merchandise Processing Fees and the TPP to the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee at its March meeting. Boyce walked members through the background they had developed using ACE data. USCIB is working with members to assess the impact of the MPF changes.

Download the full update.

Talking Up Trade in an Election Year

Published on April 11, 2016

By Peter M. Robinson

The presidential candidates are distorting the facts about trade and jobs. We all need to push back.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson

To hear many of the contenders for the White House tell it, international trade is a dead end. There have been numerous memorable quotes from both sides of the aisle that I won’t dignify by repeating here. Nearly all the candidates say the Trans-Pacific Partnership needs to be scrapped or renegotiated.

Such rhetoric, coming from politicians who use it to convince people to vote for them, is extremely disturbing. Why? Because it is distorting the facts about trade and jobs! While the anti-trade diatribes coming from the campaign trail tap into a tangible belief among many disaffected voters that trade policy and the economy in general are rigged against them, they fly in the face of a recent Gallup poll that reports that Americans continue to believe—by a wide margin, 58 to 34 percent—that international trade presents an opportunity rather than a threat.

We in the business community have a responsibility to remind people – including our political leaders – of the facts, and cut through the hyperbole. We need to speak out to help our employees, our shareholders and the communities we operate in understand that the world is growing around us, and that we cannot – nor can other countries – afford to turn inward.

Page2_GallupThe fact is, expanded trade over the past two decades has boosted annual U.S. income by about ten percent of GDP – thousands of dollars per household – relative to what would have been otherwise. A study from the Peterson Institute for International Economics says the United States stands to be a big winner – the biggest winner – from the TPP, with income gains of some $130 billion by 2030. This growth is essential if we are to meet our goals in terms of new and better jobs, and an expanded middle class.

U.S. negotiators drove a hard bargain in the TPP talks, and – while no one, including the business community, got everything they wanted – we came away with an agreement that puts our most competitive industries, and the people they employ, in a good position for strong growth in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific marketplace. This is good news for American workers, since export-oriented companies pay, on average, 18 percent higher wages than their non-exporting counterparts.

It is also important to remember that trade liberalization serves an important geopolitical role, cementing U.S. leadership and a safer, more prosperous world – one where we can address common challenges like tackling climate change, fighting terrorism and lifting people out of poverty. In today’s world, everyone benefits when America leads.

We should take anxiety over trade seriously. But the gains from an agreement like TPP far outweigh the costs. And jobs lost to trade as a result of the agreement can and should be addressed via enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance, something the business community has long supported. We also need to acknowledge that job dislocation is being spurred by technological advances and corresponding transformative disruptions.

An important priority will be connecting necessary skills development to the jobs of tomorrow. And as World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo has observed, increased trade, by boosting income and creating better jobs, can play an important role in raising skills and reducing inequality, both within countries and across borders.

Boosting investment for the future

To meet both the opportunities and the demands of the 21st-century economy, the United States needs a comprehensive approach to invest in enhanced competitiveness. Such an approach should encompass serious efforts to improve education and training, rebuild our infrastructure, reform the tax code and improve our regulatory environment.

We also need to invest in future agreements to open up markets for American goods and services. In this regard, it is extremely important to promote open and well-functioning investment policies and regimes. Private investment, in addition to traditional trade, will be a critical factor in the years to come.

At every opportunity, USCIB has sought to demonstrate the positive economic benefits of foreign direct investment – both inbound and outbound – for the American economy. A 2013 report by Professor Matthew Slaughter of Dartmouth, commissioned by USCIB and the Business Roundtable, demonstrated convincingly that U.S. companies who grew their overseas operations to access foreign markets exported more, and provided more and better jobs at home.

USCIB is working hard to address barriers to investment abroad, both in trade agreements like TPP and international organizations that design rules of the road for their member governments. Our members continue to face policy and regulatory barriers that inhibit entry into specific markets, and impede their ability to design, produce, market and distribute their products globally. Unlocking their ability to invest and compete abroad will be critical to American success in the 21st century, leading to sustainable enterprise and job creation.

In a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Professor Slaughter and Morton Kondracke, the former executive editor of Roll Call, posed the question: “Who will step up to tell the compelling trade story that America needs to hear?”

We, for one, will. And I hope that we can count on everyone in USCIB’s membership to join us and our partners in the broader pro-trade community, in Washington and around the world, to make the case for international trade, and for investing in the future of our country.