Seoul and New York, November 9, 2010 –G20 leaders meeting in Seoul should resist protectionism and economic nationalism, restore trade finance to more normal levels and strengthen multilateral cooperation to improve the health of the global economy, ICC Chairman Rajat Gupta told Korean President Lee Myung-bak today.

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

As world leaders head to Seoul for G20 talks this week, ICC voiced the views of global business and pledged continued engagement in the G20 process during a private meeting with Mr. Lee at the president’s office.

Mr. Gupta told Mr. Lee that business welcomed the opportunity to feed its views and expertise into the G20 process and promised that the value of business input would be clearly demonstrated during the summit.

ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world, providing global business views to the G8 and G20.  Its thousands of member companies in over 140 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

Mr. Lee told Mr. Gupta he shared ICC’s views and that he intended to encourage other world leaders at this week’s G20 Summit to halt protectionist measures and to bring the Doha Round of trade negotiations to a swift conclusion.

Mr. Lee and Mr. Gupta agreed that the best way to counteract the threats posed by currency wars and protectionism was to strengthen the multilateral system by concluding the Doha Round.

During the private meeting with Mr Lee at the President’s office, ICC voiced the views of global business and pledged continued engagement in the G20 process.

The meeting took place on the eve of the two-day G20 Business Summit (B20) – an international gathering of more than 100 global chief executives which is being held just before the G20 Summit of heads of state.  ICC contributed heavily to the four-month policy preparations and is playing a leading role during the B20.

During the meeting with President Lee, Mr. Gupta drew attention to the imminent threat of “currency wars” that could seriously hamper attempts to rebalance the world economy and spark degeneration into protectionism.

“While some progress was made by G20 finance ministers earlier in the year, it is paramount that the Seoul Summit agrees upon a framework aimed at addressing imbalances through a collaborative and multilateral approach,” he said.

Underscoring the crucial role of trade to strengthen the global economy and raise living standards around the globe, Mr. Gupta also told Mr. Lee that business would like to see commitment and a personal engagement on the part of each G20 leader to bring the Doha Round of trade negotiations to a swift conclusion.

Mr. Gupta said: “We have an obligation not only to provide economic growth but to make that growth inclusive and equitable.”

ICC paper

ICC outlined its recommendations to the G20 Summit in a paper presented to the Korean president entitled “Business and the world economy.”

The ICC paper said “a buoyant expansion of international trade is a key element in the fight to improve the health of the world economy” and noted that world trade had contracted by 12 percent in 2009, the sharpest decline in 70 years. World trade is currently forecast to rebound by 13.5 percent in 2010, according to the World Trade Organization.

The ICC paper cited the falling cost of trade finance and the rising volume of transactions as part of the improving trade conditions, but cautioned that trade finance volumes seem to have exhibited a high level of volatility, that recovery appears to be uneven across countries and that significant differences persist in the cost of trade finance.

With respect to regulatory issues, ICC added: “Although it is crucial to improve regulation of the financial sector following the crisis that broke towards the end of 2008, it is also important to develop regulatory measures that will not be detrimental to global trade − and particularly to developing economies where trade finance is much needed.”

Climate change

Stressing that global challenges require collective actions, the ICC delegation meeting with Mr. Lee discussed the role of business as a crucial partner in devising solutions to climate change. While ICC supports sustainable development, Mr. Gupta said that closer cooperation between governments and business was required to bolster efforts towards reduced greenhouse gas emissions and green growth.

Referring to outcomes of the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where several governments committed to mobilize $100 billion (U.S.) a year for climate finance by 2020, ICC told Mr. Lee: “Business invests when there is a clear and predictable policy framework.”

Business and the G20 agenda

The ICC leaders congratulated Mr. Lee on creating the B20 Summit and asked him to recommend that the G20 put in place a permanent mechanism that would enable business and governments to follow up and facilitate the implementation of pertinent proposals emerging from the G20 and B20 Summits.

“We believe that the Seoul Business Summit will create a legacy of cooperation between business and the G20,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “To carry forward this work, ICC believes it is essential to maintain the dialogue between business and the G20 – not just for the next summit in France, but throughout the year in between summits.”

As the voice of business worldwide, ICC said that it stands ready to contribute to and coordinate such a mechanism.  ICC is a trusted representative of business interests and has long provided policy views and recommendations on behalf of business to the G8, and more recently the G20.

The ICC delegation that met with Mr. Lee also included ICC Korea Chairman Young Tae Kim and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Kyung-shik Sohn.  Choi Joong-kyung, senior presidential aide for economic affairs, and Hong Sang-pyo, senior presidential aide for public affairs, also attended the meeting, as well as members of the media.

Click here to read the full text of the ICC G20 statement.

About USCIB
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top 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.

Contacts:

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

Dawn Chardonnal, ICC
+33 1.49.53.29.07 or dawn.chardonnal@iccwbo.org

ICC website

Paris and New York, June 23, 2010 – In the wake of one of the most challenging years in business history, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called on G8 and G20 leaders meeting in Toronto this week to take action in three areas that are crucial to the future of the world economy: international trade and investment; climate change and energy; and intellectual property and innovation.

The ICC recommendations include prioritizing the restoration of trade finance levels, resisting protectionism, concluding the Doha Trade Round of trade negotiations before the end of the year, a list of specific steps to be taken for effective action on climate change, and upholding commitments to curb counterfeiting and piracy.

ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world, providing global business views to the G8 and G20.  Its thousands of member companies in over 140 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as ICC’s American national committee.

The London G20 Summit in 2009 pinpointed international trade as an engine of economic growth. The current ICC statement cautions leaders that lurching into economic nationalism would seriously dislocate commercial activity and have far-reaching negative effects across supply chains worldwide.

World trade, which contracted by 12.2 percent in 2009, is forecast to rebound by 9.5 percent in 2010 if oil prices, major currencies and financial markets remain relatively stable.

“The multilateral trading system has again proven its worth during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s,” said ICC Chairman Victor K. Fung. “But we call on world leaders to avoid protectionist measures that would be detrimental to the still fragile economic recovery.”

Given the present state of the world economy, ICC warrants that completion of the Doha Round of trade negotiations is more pressing than ever before. Expressing disappointment at the lack of progress in the negotiations, the ICC statement appeals for decisive leadership to bring the Round to a successful conclusion before the end of the year.

“A deal this year would send a strongly positive signal – just when it is direly needed – that governments can work together effectively to reinforce and update a central pillar of the international economic system,” ICC said. “There are many hard-won, trade- and wealth-creating offers already on the table. These must not be lost.”

In a call for continued efforts to restore trade finance to more normal levels, the ICC statement draws attention to a recent ICC survey that reveals prospects for strong and lasting trade recovery are mixed. Despite some positive signals, ICC notes that access to affordable trade finance remains constrained with small- and medium-sized enterprises facing the biggest obstacles.

“ICC believes it important to further enlarge multilateral trade finance programs in order to expand both capacity and coverage, especially for low-income and export-dependent countries,” the statement said. “At the same time, national programs should be reinforced to guarantee the flow of trade in times of economic stress and to provide refinancing options – in particular through export credit agencies.

Climate change and energy

Emphasizing synergies between comprehensive global action on climate change and multilateral rules-based trade, ICC states that economic growth and open trade provide the best conditions for the dissemination of climate-friendly technologies. ICC maintains that while the Copenhagen Accord reached at the United Nations climate change summit in 2009 was an important step forward, it did not give business the clear signals it sought to unleash investment and deployment of cleaner technologies required to combat the problem. ICC noted however that the Accord can provide direction for important next steps if it can be translated into efficient and effective action.

“Despite the absence today of a post-2012 global framework agreement, companies worldwide will maintain their already substantial efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ICC statement said. “The private sector is the most important innovator and investor in clean technologies but can do more if provided with clarity, predictability and flexibility through a global framework agreement.”

Counterfeiting and copyright piracy

Leaving virtually no industry sector untouched, counterfeiting and copyright piracy has become a global epidemic, depriving governments of tax revenues, endangering the lives of consumers and undermining their confidence.

According to a new study by Frontier Economics, commissioned by ICC, counterfeiting and piracy cost G20 governments more than €100 billion a year in lost tax revenues and place 2.5 million legitimate jobs at risk.

ICC calls upon the G8 and G20 to commit their countries to introduce and effectively enforce sanctions that are real deterrents to intellectual property crimes.

Referring to ICC’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy initiative, the statement concludes: “[ICC] stands ready to assist governments the world over in the elaboration and implementation of effective anti-counterfeiting and piracy programs at national level, and to advise them on improving cross-border cooperation.”

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and 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 information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contacts:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Alba Rooney, Communications and Media Relations Assistant, ICC Communications
+33 1 49 53 28 22 or are@iccwbo.org

ICC G8-G20 statement

Results of ICC’s global survey on trade finance

ICC’s efforts to stop counterfeiting and piracy