Communication Department Archives

Global Business Calls on G20 to Ensure That Actions Match Words on Trade Protectionism

Published on April 15, 2015

FourthEd_Scorecard_Banner_150x50Washington, D.C., April 15, 2015 – On the eve of the 2015 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called on G20 governments to do more to address the growing impact of protectionism on the global economy, according to ICC’s American chapter, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

The fourth installment of the ICC G20 Business Scorecard – which assesses the response of the G20 to recommendations put forward by the international business community – highlights that G20 governments have done a “poor” job in implementing their commitment to roll back trade restrictive measures introduced since the financial crisis.

Commenting on the launch of the Scorecard, ICC Chairman and co-chair of the B20 Trade Task Force Terry McGraw said: “There is a paradox right now at the heart of trade policymaking. On the one hand, we’ve got possibly the most robust negotiating agenda in two decades—with a range of deals on the table that, with the right political leadership, could provide a major stimulus to the global economy.

“But at the same time, we are seeing governments subtly employing regulatory measures – or non-tariff barriers – to restrict international trade. While the G20 deserves great credit for holding the worst protectionist excesses in check, action is needed now to curb the steady drip feed of measures which we have seen since the financial crisis.”

Research suggests that, despite G20 commitments, the global stock of protectionist measures has continued to increase over the past year. One recent study indicated that since 2008, over 70% of the changes to trade rules around the world have curbed trade, rather than spurring it.

ICC Secretary General John Danilovich added: “Protectionism is not just bad for business: it also has a significantly negative effect on job creation and consumer welfare. The G20 now needs to lead by example, as it has done in many other areas, and take action on its longstanding commitment to roll-back protectionist policies.”

“The IMF has just lowered its growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent. What’s more, 200 million people remain unemployed across the globe. Trade policy needs to be viewed as the next economic stimulus. Implementing the B20’s four trade recommendations from 2014 could add some $3.4 trillion to global GDP.”

The release of the Scorecard also comes ahead of the anticipated introduction of so-called “fast-track” legislation in the United States – which would give President Barack Obama authority to negotiate free-trade deals with other countries under special rules.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson said: “It is critically important for individual G20 member countries to keep moving forward on trade. We are delighted that the U.S. and many of its G20 partners are involved in ambitious, market-opening negotiations such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.”

“We also applaud the imminent introduction of Trade Promotion Authority legislation in the U.S. Congress, which will be a very welcome sign of new wind in the sails of global trade liberalization.”

The full G20 Business Scorecard is available at: http://www.iccwbo.org/Global-influence/G20/Reports-and-Products/ICC-G20-Scorecard/

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, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

Media contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB

+1 917.420.0039, jhuneke@uscib.org

 

Too much on the table? How businesses should approach the SDGs

Published on April 14, 2015

Devex – April 14, 2015

The proposed post-2015 development agenda currently consists of 17 goals and 169 targets. From a business standpoint, how should the private sector make sense of these? Watch this video interview with USCIB’s Norine Kennedy:

Too much on the table? How businesses should approach the SDGs

USCIB Leads Business Interests in UNEP Chemicals Program

Published on April 10, 2015

Test_tubesUSCIB lead a multi-industry association effort urging the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to make its Chemicals in Products (CiP) program initiative attractive to business.

“Many global industry sectors have well-established systems for suppliers to communicate relevant information on chemicals in products that they place on the market,” USCIB and other business associations said in a statement. “It is recognized that such systems, however, may not yet be fully realized or internalized in many developing nations. This poses the biggest challenge to standardizing global approaches on chemicals.”

Central to the modern economy, chemicals are traded widely across borders and are used in the production of thousands of different products, from pharmaceuticals to computer microchips.

The International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) is an inter-governmental ministerial that convenes UN member delegates and stakeholders for discussions on chemicals management. Adopted by ICCM in 2006, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is a policy framework aimed to foster the safe and sound management of chemicals. SAICM’s Chemicals in Products (CiP) program a voluntary initiative designed to give guidance on how to share relevant information on chemicals in products along the supply chain and throughout their life cycle.

In a letter submitted to UNEP, USCIB and nine other industry associations noted that in order for the Chemicals in Products (CiP) to achieve its objectives, it should acknowledge the array of existing company, industry and regional systems and programs for communicating reliable, relevant information on chemicals contained in products that are placed on the market.

USCIB will continue to monitor work on SAICM and provide regular updates to members. Medina will attend the fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management in September 2015.

Students Travel To D.C. To Discuss Antitrust Law With Federal Officials

Published on April 6, 2015

Duke Today – April 6, 2015

Duke university undergraduate students met with the chair of USCIB’s Competition Policy Committee, among others, during their visit to Washington, D.C. as part of their research into the politics of market competition in the global economy.

Students Travel To D.C. To Discuss Antitrust Law With Federal Officials

 

Washington Update: February – March 2015

Published on April 6, 2015

During the months of February and March 2015, USCIB hosted the second joint ICT conference titled “Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Digital Economy: The OECD Evidence and Practice Base” and hosted the first-ever joint USCIB/ICC Customs and Trade Facilitation Symposium, “Finding Solutions to Cross-Border Challenges.”

Staff and members met with Everett Eissenstat, Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee and William Danvers, Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, as well as officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative, the EPA and multiple bureaus of the State Department; participated in public consultations with the OECD on tax, investment and ICT; and represented member views on panels in California, Washington, DC, Geneva, Brussels and Paris.

Download the full update

IOE: Big Think on Jobs Must Address Structural Reforms

Published on April 3, 2015

In his keynote address to the 2015 Economic and Social Council Integration Segment in New York on Monday, 30 March, International Organization of Employers (IOE) President Daniel Funes de Rioja underlined the urgency in addressing structural reforms and labor-market oriented training for increasing job opportunities, particularly for young people.

The opening panel, “The ‘Big Think’ on Jobs and Growth,” provided an overview of the current global economy within which an effective framework could be established for inclusive and balanced growth, with full employment as a macroeconomic policy objective.

While welcoming the successful labor market reforms undertaken by some governments, the IOE president called for the removal of regulatory barriers. He noted that greater workplace flexibility resulted in a win-win situation for both companies and the individuals they employed, with positive impacts on productivity, quality of work and employee retention.

Workplace flexibility also enhances the transition of enterprises from the informal to the formal economy, with higher employment rates being recorded in countries where companies, particularly SMEs, could adapt quickly to a rapidly changing world, Funes noted.

On the topic of ensuring adequate training systems, Funes said, “If there is a silver bullet to address youth unemployment, then it is high quality apprenticeship systems.”  Despite this, IOE research had found that in many countries there were still significant skills mismatches.

To address this challenge, USCIB’s global network initiated the Global Apprenticeships Network (GAN), launched to promote exchanges of experience and best practice in the area of training and work-readiness programs around the globe.

Funes highlighted the value of national GAN networks, such as those recently launched by the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK). He urged governments to support such initiatives by enabling the institutional and regulatory environment for companies to engage in offering apprenticeships, including by involving companies and employers’ organizations in the design and implementation of VET systems, and by promoting excellence in STEM subjects in schools.

Business Supports Economic Integration in Southeast Asia

Published on April 3, 2015

In the run-up to the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community later this year, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, led by Chair Phil O’Reilly, contributed actively to a series of OECD Southeast Asia Regional Program events held in March in Jakarta, which focused on economic integration in the region. O’Reilly emphasized the importance of this OECD initiative and the benefits that come with good economic governance in the region.

A joint Business Statement by BIAC, the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC), was presented to regional policymakers and sets out five important steps for economic integration in Southeast Asia. The Business Statement encourages closer cooperation between Southeast Asian countries and the OECD.

Last month the OECD also released its latest Economic Survey on China. Many of the priorities raised by the BIAC China Task Force during the early drafting stage are reflected in the Economic Survey, such as recommendations that all firms should be allowed to compete on a level playing field, and that China needs to scale down state-ownership in commercially-oriented service enterprises and open up more industries for private investment.

USCIB is BIAC’s American affiliate.

Corporate Governance Spotlighted in G20 Istanbul Forum

Published on April 3, 2015

The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance are being revised with a view to supporting sound financial markets that serve the real economy. The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD has actively contributed to the discussions and participated in a series of consultations over the last year. On 10 April, the OECD and the G20 are organizing a forum to further discuss the content and the direction of the review of the OECD Principles. It is intended to present the revised Principles at the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in September 2015 for transmission to the G20 Summit.

The forum will address two specific issues that are of crucial importance to private sector growth: the institutional capacity of small and medium-sized companies to grow and capital market development in emerging market economies. Dan Konigsburg of Deloitte, chair of the BIAC Task Force on Corporate Governance, will represent BIAC as a speaker on the first panel on “Having Finance Serve the Real Economy: Towards New OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.”

USCIB Urges US to Engage Business on UN Climate Action

Published on March 31, 2015

4991_image001USCIB urged senior U.S. cabinet officials to include business in talks about limiting greenhouse gas emissions as part of the United Nations’ global effort to develop a new international cooperative climate accord.

In December 2015, world leaders are expected to conclude a new UN climate agreement, the world’s first binding and universal agreement committing all countries to reduce carbon their emissions. This international agreement is built around each country’s individual Independent Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs), or national pledge, whereby the country commits to reducing its carbon footprint by a certain amount in the coming decades.

The United States released its INDC proposal on March 31, unveiling a blueprint for cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third over the next 15 years. The private sector was not consulted during the drafting of America’s INDC proposal. Business is expected to support and finance the UN’s climate agreement; therefore business must be included in talks to inform the national pledges and the world’s climate change agenda at every step, from setting priorities, to crafting policy options, to taking action.

“We have a common interest in INDCs that are successful and synergistic with international regulatory frameworks and the global marketplace,” wrote USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson in a letter sent Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and other senior U.S. cabinet officials. “We believe that NDCs can be strengthened and aligned through consultation and coordination with business to discuss how proposed efforts will affect the economy and environment, where additional initiatives can supplement and add to INDC submissions and to seek advice on how to assess proposals by other nations.”

USCIB is a member of the Major Economies Business Forum on Energy Security and Climate Change (BizMEF), which comprises national and regional business organizations representing millions of companies all over the world. BizMEF members have participated in and shared at UN climate change conferences since the Copenhagen conference in 2009. BizMEF released a set of views on how business can contribute to the development and implementation of INDCs:

  • Business has a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to offer concerning creation and dissemination of innovative technologies and approaches to manage risk and promote opportunities that should be a the very heart of discussions – formal and informal, domestic and international – about what INDCs could achieve.

 

  • Early and continuous involvement of business (and others) will be essential to help understand the feasibility and implications of proposed INDCs. Business can also provide insight on implications of the entire portfolio of proposed INDCs for global commerce, investment, competitiveness and aggregate consequences for emissions and the economy.

 

  • Business has significant experience in measuring, reporting and verification which will be essential to assess policy impacts, environmental integrity and comparative efforts among nations.

As negotiations intensify around the UN climate agreement set to be finalized in Paris in December, USCIB encourages all governments to consult with business going forward to help understand and assess each country’s national pledge.

USCIB Talks Sustainable Development at Brookings Panel

Published on March 30, 2015

4990_image002The United Nations’ Post-2015 Development Agenda is expected to reframe the global conversation around economic and social development – and by extension corporate responsibility – for the next 15 years, applying to all UN member states and potentially touching upon almost every aspect of human existence.

In the run-up to the agenda and the specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will be finalized by the UN this September, USCIB has played a leading role in making the SDG negotiations accessible to business and showcasing business contributions to sustainable development through the lens of the SDGs in its advocacy with UN Member States.

As part of its efforts to showcase the private sector’s role in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, USCIB represented business at a day-long event of high-level policy discussions at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. about “Governance Innovations to implement the Post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” The conference is an opportunity to revisit the concepts on multi-stakeholder governance introduced by the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy, which formally concluded in 2008.

Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, was a featured speaker on a panel on “National Consultation Processes for Multi-stakeholder Engagement and National Accountability.” The panel addressed how to engage domestic stakeholders to adapt the SDGs to national contexts and to develop national strategies for implementing the SDGs, as well as how to make national data accessible for domestic accountability and to create space for civic engagement to support the goals’ implementation.

Meyerstein noted that a significant accomplishment of the SDG process thus far was the level of buy-in they have generated in contrast to the UN’s earlier Millennium Development Goals, which were not adopted through a similarly broad consultative process with all Member States or the private sector.  What remains to be achieved, he said, is “how to put nationally-based governance frameworks in place that will encourage multi-stakeholder partnerships to help drive implementation and true national ownership and collaboration in achieving the SDGs.”

Other panelists included Nancy Lee (Millennium Challenge Corporation), Robert Orr (Dean of the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland) and Paul O’Brien (Oxfam).

From March 23 to 27, the UN began a round of SDG negotiations on goals and targets, including discussions on indicators and metrics. As the UN works to finalize the goals by September 2015, USCIB will continue to advocate for business to be consulted and relied upon as a partner in planning and implementing sustainable development strategies both globally and on the national level.