Communication Department Archives

USCIB Op-ed: It’s Time to Save NAFTA

Published on October 27, 2017

USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson has joined ICC Mexico Chair Maria Fernanda Garza and Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Perrin Beatty in publishing an op-ed, “A trade deal in distress: It’s time to save NAFTA,” in The Hill.

The op-ed has also been published in Spanish in the Mexican newspaper El Economista.

The op-ed comes as negotiators from the United States, Canada and Mexico take stock following the most recent round of talks, which exposed divisions between the U.S. and its two neighbors on a variety of issues.

The three business leaders express their support of efforts to improve and modernize NAFTA. They also state their concern over proposals that they believe are inconsistent with the principles of free trade and free enterprise, calling them “a dramatic reversal of long-held U.S. trade policy objectives” that “would greatly restrict, rather than enhance, cross-border commerce.”

Please click here to read the op-ed in its entirety on The Hill’s website.

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to Be Honored by USCIB at Annual Gala

Published on October 26, 2017

New York, N.Y., October 26, 2017 – Ajay Banga, president and chief executive officer of Mastercard, will be honored by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s leading global companies. Banga will receive USCIB’s International Leadership Award at a gala dinner on November 28 at United Nations headquarters in New York, in recognition of Mastercard’s ongoing leadership to extend the benefits of an expanding economy to all segments of society.

“Ajay Banga and Mastercard were among the first to recognize that financial inclusion can set in motion a virtuous cycle of equitable economic growth,” said USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw, chairman emeritus of McGraw Hill Financial (now S&P Global). “As we saw during last month’s UN General Assembly opening, many companies have now joined this movement to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Mastercard was one of the first supporters when the global goals were launched in 2015, and the company has been working with the public and private sectors to use its technology and expertise to help address issues such as poverty, hunger and gender equality.”

McGraw added that the November 28 gala would provide a platform to underscore ongoing American and global business support for the SDGs, policies that promote more open cross-border trade and investment, and robust U.S. engagement with the UN and other international bodies.

Mastercard has connected more than 300 million people around the world to the formal economy, providing critical access to services that allow them to live and work with greater efficiency, security and dignity. Through innovative products such as Mastercard Aid Network, which is helping NGOs improve the delivery of humanitarian aid so that people can get back on their feet after a disaster, and Masterpass QR, which gives small businesses a low-cost way to accept digital payments, Mastercard is making progress towards the SDGs as well as advancing its mission to create a more inclusive economy.

Banga is a member of the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, and is a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum. He is a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, co-chairs the board of directors of the American India Foundation, and served as a member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

Banga serves on the executive committees of the Business Roundtable and the Financial Services Roundtable, and is vice chairman of the Business Council. He is a member of the board of overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College and the board of governors of the American Red Cross. He also serves on the board of directors of The Dow Chemical Company.

Prior to Mastercard, Banga was chief executive officer of Citigroup Asia Pacific. He began his career at Nestlé in India and also spent two years with PepsiCo in India. He is a graduate of Delhi University and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Established in 1980, USCIB’s International Leadership Award is presented annually to a leading CEO, international figure or institution, recognizing outstanding contributions to global trade, finance and investment, and to improving the global competitive framework in which American business operates. Recent recipients have included Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T, and Roberto Azevedo, director general of the World Trade Organization. More information on the event is available at www.uscibgala.com.

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, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million people worldwide. As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

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

USCIB Ramps Up Work on Intellectual Property and Innovation

Published on October 25, 2017
L-R: John Sandage (WIPO) and Paul Salmon (USPTO) at the October 18 launch of USCIB’s Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee

Washington, D.C., October 25, 2017 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s most innovative and successful global companies, has redoubled its efforts to promote American competitiveness with the launch of its Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee.

The new committee, chaired by Sharon Reiche, corporate counsel for global patents and policy at Pfizer Inc., builds upon USCIB’s longstanding commitment to improved protection of intellectual property – and the innovation and creativity it underpins – via robust U.S. trade policy and expanded international diplomatic commitments.

The inaugural meeting of the new USCIB committee took place on October 18 in Washington, D.C. Special guests at the meeting included John Sandage, deputy director general for patents and technology at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Paul Salmon, senior counsel for international affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“Broad-based business groups like USCIB sometimes find it difficult to reach consensus on some aspects of innovation and IP policy,” said Michael Michener, USCIB’s vice president for product policy and innovation, who is the lead USCIB staff member supporting the new committee. “We are confident that, with a new structure and a new commitment to working proactively toward the common goal of improving our members’ global competitiveness, we will be able to forge ahead and identify new international initiatives to secure IP rights and promote innovation.”

Michener said the committee will focus its activities via four newly created working groups, covering trademarks, trade secrets, patents and copyrights.

Another guest at the October 18 meeting was Daphne Yong-d’Herve, chief intellectual property officer with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the exclusive American affiliate. Yong-d’Herve provided an overview of ICC’s newly elevated status as an observer in the United Nations General Assembly. This is expected to augment ICC’s longstanding work with WIPO and other international agencies, as well as national governments, to promote effective protection of intellectual property around the world.

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, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million people worldwide.

As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

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

 

USCIB Travels to Geneva to Deliver Employers Statement on Human Rights

Published on October 23, 2017
USCIB Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs at the International Labor Conference earlier this year

USCIB’s Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Gabriella Rigg Herzog is attending this week’s Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations and other business entities with respect to human rights (IGWG) in Geneva. This is the third meeting of the IGWG.

USCIB participated in each of the first two IGWG sessions in 2015 and 2016, which entailed general discussions on issues including the scope and applicability of a proposed binding instrument. On this point, business and key governments stated clearly their view that focusing solely on transnational corporations was not appropriate, and that any future instrument should cover all business entities – in particular national companies. The expectation was set that the third session would entail a discussion of proposed “elements” of what might get included in a binding instrument.

Just three weeks prior to this 3rd meeting, Ecuador released “draft elements” for a binding instrument. In response, Business at OECD, the International Organization of Employers (IOE), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Foreign Trade Association have produced a final joint business statement, found here. USCIB, as the U.S. affiliate of IOE, Business at OECD and the ICC, was able to provide substantive input. This statement was shared with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, other business groups abroad, governments and other stakeholders, and it serves as the basis of business’ interventions during the IGWG session this week.

Rigg Herzog will be part of the IOE delegation and will participate in a panel on corporate liability on Wednesday.

USCIB Applauds 20 Years of Anti-Bribery Convention

Published on October 23, 2017

As the OECD celebrates 20 years of the Anti-bribery convention and 40 years of the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) this year, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Business at OECD will host a conference on “No Turning Back: 40 Years of the FCPA and 20 Years of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention” on November 9th in New York. USCIB will be represented at this event by Eva Hampl, director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services.

USCIB, through its affiliation with Business at OECD, has been working with the OECD Working Group on Bribery, which monitors the implementation and enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Through annual consultations and USCIB’s advocacy efforts, the Working Group has taken up issues that are of interest to U.S. business in their future work plan.

The conference will draw upon expertise and examine the major impact of ground-breaking instruments and corporate behavior and law enforcement priorities. It will explore the role of cooperation between nations in investigating and persecuting foreign bribery and the effectiveness of different approaches to corporate responsibility for bribery. The event will be hosted by NYU School of Law’s Program on Corporate Law and Enforcement. U.S. businesses interested in anti-bribery issues may learn more about the conference and register here.

Prior to the NY event, Hampl will also speak on a panel in a similar event on November 8 in Washington DC and hosted by American University Washington College of Law. Hampl will speak on a panel titled, “Leveraging the Convention and Addressing the Corruption Challenges Ahead,” alongside representatives from the Department of Justice, OECD’s Anti-Corruption Division and Global Financial Integrity. Registration for the Washington event is available here.

USCIB Urges Withdrawal of Global Tax “Toolkit”

Published on October 20, 2017

USCIB recently submitted comments to the Platform for Collaboration on Tax concerning a proposed draft “toolkit” on the taxation of offshore indirect transfers of assets. The Platform for Collaboration on Tax is a joint effort launched in April 2016 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank Group (WBG). USCIB urged The Platform that the taxation of offshore indirect transfers should not be considered in the context of a “toolkit.”

The discussion draft proposes potentially significant shifts in taxing rights for “source” and “residence” countries.

“Decisions on significant shifts in taxing rights ought to be debated among countries at the appropriate multilateral fora and not resolved by guidance provided by the staff of international organizations without debate among the countries,” said Carol Doran Klein, USCIB’s vice president for tax policy.  “As such, the letter recommends withdrawal of the toolkit.”

Doran Klein added: “USCIB is concerned that tax authorities may treat the toolkits as authoritative guidance. Each toolkit should make clear that they are not authoritative and cannot override contrary guidance that is authoritative.”

Hampl Advocates for Open and Fair Investment Policies at OECD

Published on October 20, 2017

As USCIB continues to advocate for open and fair investment policies in NAFTA and at recent discussions in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, USCIB Director of Investment, Trade, and Financial Services Eva Hampl was in Paris last week, participating in the meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Investment Committee. Hampl also held several bilateral meetings with various OECD investment staff and officials from the U.S. Mission to the OECD.

The agenda of the OECD Investment Committee was extensive, including the work of the Freedom of Investment Roundtable, covering issues including societal costs and benefits of international investment agreements, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and related issues, particularly regarding an overview of arbitrators in investment arbitrations and adjudicator compensation systems in dispute settlement. The meetings also discussed the strategic direction for the OECD investment work.

During the stakeholder consultation, Business at OECD made strong statements focused primarily on international investment agreements, specifically ISDS and related issues.

“We maintained our position that investment agreements are very important to business, and are necessary for a robust international investment environment,” said Hampl. “Unfortunately, the OECD has not yet been able to produce reliable data definitively proving the benefits of IIAs,” she added.

Hampl also made an intervention on behalf of U.S. industry, underlining the importance of empirical research in this area, and raising concerns about leaving a vacuum of information in the space related to IIAs.

“In today’s political environment that appears to be progressively more hostile toward foreign investment, advocating for these protections is vital,” said Hampl. “As the OECD continues to develop policy documents on these issues, USCIB will actively participate in shaping these policies.”

Big Turnout on Capitol Hill Raises Alarm on NAFTA Talks

Published on October 18, 2017

Last week, as the fourth round of talks between the United States, Canada and Mexico on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement unfolded, USCIB joined many of its members and other associations in flooding Congressional offices on Capitol Hill, raising serious concern over the direction of talks. According to Eva Hampl, USCIB’s director of trade and investment policy, who took part, private-sector representatives spent a full day talking to House Republicans as well as a few Democrats, mainly staff members but also including a few members themselves.

Hampl stated: “The views from House offices varied from understanding the problems presented by statements coming from many U.S. negotiators and administration officials, to having a few specific issues they cared about, to not yet having decided a position on NAFTA modernization. We spent a good amount of time explaining to those who were bogged down in specific issues, or those who did not yet care, that the key elements of the U.S. trading system of the U.S. are at risk.”

Worrisome, and potentially protectionist, proposals coming from the U.S. side in the NAFTA talks address rules of origin, government procurement, investor-state dispute settlement, and a proposed sunset provision that would essentially force NAFTA to be renewed at regular intervals.

“At the same time, a lot of progress is being made in the negotiations in chapters such as customs, digital trade, and in the regulatory space,” Hampl noted. “The U.S. could certainly log a win in this modernization effort if NAFTA 2.0 included those provisions.” But she said there is “great concern” in the business community that NAFTA is being set up to fail with some of the proposals that are being tabled.

USCIB co-sponsored a reception on the sidelines of the NAFTA talks, where Hampl amplified USCIB’s central message of urgency, noting that USCIB members rely on the agreement and its benefits for their operations, which provide jobs for U.S. workers. “NAFTA has done a lot for the U.S. economy and USCIB member companies over the last 23 years, so while this is a great opportunity to bring this agreement into the 21st century, if the existing benefits are lost, that effort will be significantly undermined,” she said.

Another Capitol Hill business lobbying day is planned for October 24. At the conclusion of the fourth round of NAFTA talks, negotiators agreed to defer the next round by at least a month, and to extend negotiations at least through the first quarter of 2018. The next round is slated to begin November 17 in Mexico.

Mulligan Talks NAFTA at CSI Summit

Published on October 18, 2017
Rob Mulligan at CSI

USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan spoke at a Coalition of Services Industries (CSI) summit earlier this week on USCIB’s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) priorities.

USCIB members have benefited from NAFTA and believe the current negotiations should ensure that the beneficial parts are preserved, that is ‘do no harm,’ while also taking advantage of the opportunity to improve it in areas that were not addressed two decades ago.

Mulligan noted that NAFTA can be brought into the 21st century by including provisions that ensure cross-border data flows, include strong e-commerce rules, protect against data localization requirements, and level the playing field for firms competing against state-owned enterprises.  More can also be done to improve the customs processes with Canada and Mexico.  Increased transparency in the publication of laws, regulations and procedures would improve customs administration. And bringing de minimis thresholds into relative alignment would facilitate trade, especially for small businesses. All of these steps will help U.S. businesses grow and create jobs.

However, Mulligan raised concerns over several moves by the U.S. during the fourth round of negotiations, “Recent U.S. proposals for a sunset clause, to restrict government procurement, allow an opt out of ISDS, and impose new content requirements for autos will not expand trade and we are concerned that they could force eventual failure of NAFTA that would severely impact the U.S. economy and millions of jobs that are tied to NAFTA.”

Mulligan noted that while USCIB member companies strongly support NAFTA and have greatly benefited from it over the last 23 years, they want the governments to avoid changes to existing parts of NAFTA that would harm trade rather than expand it.

USCIB Huddles with US Mission in Geneva

Published on October 16, 2017
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly at meetings in Geneva

On the margins of the UN Conference on Trade and Development  (UNCTAD) meetings in Geneva, USCIB Vice President for Trade Services Shaun Donnelly went to the U.S. Mission (i.e. the multilateral US Embassy) to UN agencies for a morning of meetings on October 12. Donnelly, a retired State Department ambassador, had a wide-ranging, hour-long meeting with the U.S. Mission Chargé D’affaires Ted Allegra in the absence of a new U.S. Ambassador (yet to be nominated.)

Donnelly also had a roundtable with U.S. Mission staff managing U.S. participation on a range of UN agencies including the International Labor Organization, World Health Organization, WIPO, Human Rights Commission and the World Trade Organization. They discussed concerns of USCIB and its members on policies, budgets, and business access in several Geneva agencies.

Donnelly noted afterwards, “I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down with U.S. Chargé in Geneva Ted Allegra, an experienced and respected diplomat, and to highlight priorities and policy concerns of our members.”

Donnelly and other USCIB staff routinely stay in close contact with various staffers in the U.S. mission in Geneva. “But the opportunity to voice our key concerns directly to the acting U.S. Ambassador in Geneva was both timely and useful,” he added.