ICC Archives

European Chambers Bid to Host 9th World Chambers Congress

Published on March 9, 2012

Chambers of commerce from Biarritz, Dublin, Geneva, Gothenburg, Liverpool, Lyon, Manchester, Northern Ireland and Torino have confirmed their bids to host the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) 9th World Chambers Congress upon its return to Europe in 2015. Held every two years in different regions of the world, the World Chambers Congress is the only international forum for chamber of commerce leaders to share best-practice experience, develop networks and learn about new areas of innovation from other chambers, as they face the challenge of remaining relevant to companies in their region. The 8th
Congress will be held in Doha, Qatar April 22-25, 2013.

“We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of chambers from around the world who have embraced the Congress as their event to reach out and build relationships with their peers, and explore together how chambers are adapting to serve their local business communities,” said WCF Chair Rona Yircali. WCF will announce the winning 2015 Congress host in November. Mr. Yircali added, “The destination chosen by the WCF General Council must address the needs of all our Congress delegates, who come from more than 100 countries.”

World Chambers Federation (WCF)

New Business Guide to the G20 Process

Published on February 28, 2012

4268_image002Business around the world has an increasingly influential role to provide input to G20 decisions regarding economic growth, job creation and open trade and investment. But what is the G20, and what exactly does it do? A new business guide published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), part of USCIB’s global network, sets out to help business leaders and policymakers better understand the G20 process and identify the impact that G20 developments may have on global business.

The guide traces the origins of the G20 and explains its transformation into the world’s leading economic forum for international cooperation. It highlights the principal outcomes of the five summits that have taken place since 2008 and takes a targeted look at issues of particular interest for business. Such issues include restoring global economic growth and stability, promoting open trade and investment, reforming the financial sector, addressing the threat of climate change, fighting corruption, and closing the development gap.

“G20 leaders have already demonstrated their willingness to reach out to business and to listen to its advice. It is now up to business to make its voice heard and contribute ideas to help G20 governments achieve their objectives,” writes Marcus Wallenberg, chairman and CEO of SEB (Sweden) and chair of ICC’s G20 Advisory Group, in his preface to the guide.

The guide will be available for purchase from the ICC Books USA online bookstore beginning March 15. Click here for more information.

ICC-Ifo Survey Reveals Slight Brightening in World Economic Climate

Published on February 16, 2012
The road ahead looks brighter according to the latest ICC-Ifo survey.
The road ahead looks brighter according to the latest ICC-Ifo survey.

After two quarters of successive decline, the global economic climate has begun to improve, although it still remains significantly below its long-term average, according to the latest World Economic Survey, published today by ICC and the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research.The January survey polled 1,129 economic experts from business and academic institutions in 120 countries to assess current and expected economic developments. Their answers were analyzed to reach a quarterly figure representative of the current global economic climate.

While appraisals of the current situation were even poorer than the previous ICC-Ifo survey in October, overall improvement was driven by a more optimistic six-month outlook among experts. The economic climate in Western Europe changed little. While the current economic situation deteriorated further compared to the last quarter of 2011, the six-month outlook brightened slightly but continued to signal skepticism. North America marked a clear improvement from 2011, especially from the U.S., where both the current economic situation and the six-month outlook are more positive. Asia, on the other hand, is pointing to an economic slowdown, after significantly worse appraisals of the current situation further pushed the climate indicator below its long-term average.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

World Economic Survey graphs

WES Ifo Report

South Texas College of Law Wins ICC Mediation Competition

Published on February 9, 2012
South Texas College of Law emerges victorious in most challenging mediation competition to date.
South Texas College of Law emerges victorious in most challenging mediation competition to date.

After five days of intense competition, South Texas College of Law, has emerged victorious in the battle to win the 7th ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition. South Texas beat off competitors Bar Ilan University of Israel, in ICC’s most challenging mediation competition to date. The two schools thrilled an international audience of over 250 people in the Competition final, which took place at the Maison du Barreau in Paris. Featuring over 140 mock mediation sessions, based on real cross-border commercial disputes, the Competition tested the problem-solving skills of 66 teams from 32 countries including teams from Brazil, Singapore, the United States and Australia.

The aim of the annual competition is to train law and business students to better meet the dispute resolution needs of today’s global market, to know how and when to efficiently use mediation, and how to deal with the cultural sensitivities implied in this process. It gives students an opportunity to test their problem-solving skills in international commercial cases in which they take the role of client and counsel, while some of the world’s leading mediators participate to help the students work towards good solutions.

Staff Contact: Josefa Sicard-Mirabal

More on USCIB’s Arbitration Committee

 

Business Gears Up for Global Telecom Policy Conference

Published on February 7, 2012

4244_image001This December in Dubai, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the specialized UN agency that addresses telecom and related policy matters, will hold a major treaty-writing conference – the 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT).  At the conference, ITU member states plan to renegotiate the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), a major telecommunications treaty last revised in 1988.

In the course of the preparatory process for WCIT, member states have proposed adding or modifying provisions of the ITRs that are likely to impact international ICT services and markets.  For example, some proposals could give the ITU regulatory authority over international economic regulation of Internet connectivity, international mobile roaming rates, cyber security and spam, number misuse, Internet governance, and various other topics related to the economics of the international ICT sector.

USCIB and its global network, including the International Chamber of Commerce, are gearing up for WCIT.  In a recent briefing note to members, leaders of our Information, Communications and Technology Policy Committee wrote: “We believe that major policy dialogues like WCIT must be informed by relevant, reliable, and current facts.  We also believe that, at present, some of the proposals for modifying the ITRs are not informed by complete facts.”  The note was sent by Eric Loeb, vice president of international external and regulatory affairs with AT&T and chair of ICC’s Task Force on Internet and Telecommunications; Ambassador David Gross of Wiley & Rein, chair of USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Policy Committee; and Heather Shaw, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy.

In addition, USCIB is organizing a February 9 briefing on WCIT with Ambassador Philip Verveer, deputy assistant secretary of state and the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy, at Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C.

Staff contact: Heather Shaw

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

Call for Nominations for World Business and Development Awards 2012

Published on February 6, 2012

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are delighted to announce the Call for Nominations for the World Business and Development Awards (WBDA) 2012. USCIB serves as ICC’s American affiliate.

Now in its 10th year held on June 19, 2012, the biannual awards are the pinnacle of recognition for the contribution of the private sector in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through their core business. In 2000, 189 world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include eight goals that offer a road map to put people-centered development at the heart of global, national and local agendas. The eight goals, if achieved, could end extreme poverty and its root causes.

The 2012 Awards will be given to companies delivering Inclusive Business models, which include sustainable, commercially-successful business initiatives that expand access for low-income people to goods and services, or improve their livelihoods by engagement in value chains as direct employees, suppliers or distributors.

Taking place at the Rio+20 UN Conference in Brazil, the ceremony will convene when heads of state and CEOs of international businesses gather for the Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD) Business Day. A special category designated for Brazil-based companies will honor the Rio+2- host country.

The WBDA will take place this year in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the UN Global Compact.

The deadline to nominate an initiative is March 25, 2012. Please visit the Awards website:http://www.WorldBusinessAwards.net for more information.

For any questions or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, please email Lea Felluss (lfelluss@uscib.org).

Staff Contact: Louise Kantrow

World Business and Development Awards website

USCIB Will Support the China International Import Expo

Published on January 30, 2012

USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization which USCIB represents in the United States, along with 30 foreign counterparts of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), have confirmed their support of the China International Import Expo (CIE 2012), which will be held from March 29 to 31, 2012 in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province in China.

Starting in 2012, China will accelerate the transformation of its economic development, as well as the strategic adjustment of its economic structure and industry upgrading. Therefore, China will pay more attention to environmental protection and will expand import of technologies and products of the energy-saving and environmental protection industry. This industry is among the 7 Strategic and Newly-Emerging Industries of which China will accelerate the fostering and development in fast pace. The total volume of its investment is expected to reach RMB 3.1 trillion. The highlights on import focus on technology and equipment for processing and recycling waste, saving energy and preventing and controlling air pollution; new-energy technology and equipment; the technology and equipment for the comprehensive utilization in the recycled economy and resource regeneration; new material and composite material; new-energy material; chemical and macromolecular new material, electronic information material, etc.

The pavilion for energy-saving and environmental protection industry is an important part of the expo. With the help of the database of 100,000 main Chinese import companies the CIE 2012 will invite Chinese companies in the energy-saving and environmental protection circle to visit and purchase during the expo.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

More on USCIB’s China Committee

China International Import Expo (CIE 2012)

G20 Business Task Forces Launched for Mexico Summit

Published on January 30, 2012

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has joined with WEF in organizing a number of business task forces designed to feed into this June’s B20 business summit, held in concert with the 2012 G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.  USCIB serves as ICC’s American affiliate, and USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III, a vice chair of the world business body, is a member of ICC’s G20 Advisory Group.

In Davos, Mexican President Felipe Calderon personally invited ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier to take part in a breakfast meeting to launch task forces in preparation for the next B20 Business Summit.

Mr Calderon said he would organize individual video conferences with each working group. The aim of these task forces is to provide recommendations from global business to G20 leaders on key issues including food security, green growth, trade and investment, employment, advocacy and impact, transparency and anti-corruption, information and communication technologies and innovation, and finance.

Read more on ICC’s website.

In addition, ICC has published a review of its recent G20-related activities during 2011.  That review is available for download by clicking here.

New Roadmap for Global Intellectual Property Protection Launched

Published on January 25, 2012

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the American affiliate, has launched the 11th edition of its flagship intellectual property (IP) publication ICC Intellectual Property Roadmap: Current and Emerging Issues for Business and Policymakers.

Presenting the new edition in Geneva at the inaugural Licensing Executives Society International’s Global Technology Impact Forum, David Koris, chair of the ICC Commission on Intellectual Property, said: “The IP Roadmap has undergone extensive updates to reflect key developments in the IP policy landscape. It is an invaluable tool to bring policymakers and business leaders worldwide up to date on IP-related issues, from measures to control copyright and trademark infringement on the Internet to the mediation of IP disputes.”

Containing contributions from ICC experts and members from around the globe, the popular ICC Roadmap is a useful reference tool to help business, policy and legal professionals worldwide keep pace with the rapidly evolving intellectual property landscape. Published every two years, it is translated into several languages including Arabic, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian.

Read more on ICC’s website.

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

2012 Sees New ICC Rules of Arbitration Enter Into Force

Published on January 20, 2012

The ICC International Court of Arbitration, the dispute resolution body of the International Chamber of Commerce (part of USCIB’s global network), has officially begun operating under its newly revised Rules of Arbitration.

San Francisco Conference Among Several Upcoming Arbitration Events

The ICC International Court of Arbitration plans to explain the newly revised Rules at the Third Annual ICC Asia-Pacific Conference, which takes place March 8 to 10 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

The conference will examine cutting-edge topics in international arbitration from the perspective of parties in the Asia-Pacific region, including: electronic document production, third-party funding, sovereign immunity, intellectual property arbitration, combined mediation-arbitration proceedings, natural resource arbitration and arbitrator selection procedures. Visit www.iccnorthamerica.org for registration and other information.

In addition, the USCIB Arbitration Committee plans two luncheon meetings for USCIB members and friends interested in arbitration.  The first will be held on January 26 in Washington, DC at the offices of Arnold & Porter LLP.  Special guest Jason Fry, secretary general of the ICC Court, will address ICC’s efforts in the field of investment arbitration.

The second luncheon will be held on January 30 at the New York offices of Latham & Watkins LLP.  John Beechey, president of the ICC Court, and Mr. Fry will speak. The chairs of the Arbitration Committee’s regional subcommittees will also hold their annual meeting on that date.

USCIB members receive a preferential rate for both lunches. Contact Alexandra Akerly (aay@iccwbo.org) for additional information.

Unveiled in September 2011, the much-anticipated Rules reinforce the Court’s commitment towards an efficient and cost-effective arbitration process responsive to the interests and requirements of users worldwide, including the business community, states and state entities.

Court President John Beechey noted that the new Rules were the result of a two year review notable for the degree of consultation undertaken among members of the arbitration community and, most importantly, with commercial and state users of ICC Arbitration. That exercise, he said, had been an essential element of the review process.

“The initial reaction to the new Rules at various launch conferences, held around the world in the last quarter of 2011, was very favorable,” Mr. Beechey said. “The Court looks forward to administering arbitrations under the new Rules, which are both thoroughly up to date and retain the distinctive hallmarks of ICC Arbitration.”

Like all of ICC’s dispute resolution services, ICC Arbitration is based on a set of rules that ensures compliance with best practice across the world.

The new Rules are available, initially, in more than seven languages, consistent with ICC’s global presence. They reflect contemporary practice through the inclusion of new provisions on multi-party and multi-contract arbitrations, an ‘emergency’ service for resolving urgent issues before a tribunal is constituted, and further time and cost-efficiency measures.

“The entry into force of the 2012 Rules has been a much-anticipated date in the ICC’s calendar. It is gratifying to see this project come finally to fruition,” said Jason Fry, secretary general of the ICC Court.

“The secretariat of the Court has been working hard to ensure that there will be a smooth transition to the new Rules, which contain many new features. We now look forward to seeing the Rules in operation and hope that parties and their counsel embrace them, and their emphasis on better time and cost management of the arbitral process.”

Staff Contact: Josefa Sicard-Mirabal

More on the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration

More on the ICC Court’s North American operations

More on USCIB’s Arbitration Committee