Business In Society Archives

Cheryl Miller with fellow members of the IGF Experts Group.

Cheryl Miller, Vice President, Digital at USCIB, joined the Internet Governance Forum’s (IGF’s) 2026 Expert Group Meeting in New York to discuss business’ views on how the forum can implement its new permanent mandate. The 31 participants echoed the recommendations from business, government, the technical community, and civil society during discussions that examined IGF’s working modalities, participation, financing, and national and regional initiatives.

Miller raised the importance of IGF’s impact on global AI policy development. Through the annual meeting and intersessional work, the IGF facilitates dialogue between stakeholders on the benefits and challenges of AI expansion. These conversations are valuable for developing countries and companies working together to improve innovation and investment in targeted areas.

The group noted the value of a new IGF Leadership Panel, the retention of experienced Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) members to help with this new phase for the IGF, and the need for new funding. They discussed hosting future IGF’s on UN-based properties to mitigate the annual meeting’s costs, and the need for increased community outreach to educate on how the IGF impacts global digital policy through its multistakeholder model of cooperation.

Xavier Delgado (Johns Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies), Alice Slayton Clark, Carolyn Kim (UPS), Lucas Malinowski (Global Automakers of Canada), and Michael Florian (Keurig Dr Pepper Canada).

USCIB hosted the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for a series of panel discussions on April 13 as part of the Chamber’s 2026 Mission to Washington, DC. The event convened policymakers, US and Canadian businesses, and think tanks to discuss bilateral economic integration and supply chain resiliency, ahead of the upcoming review of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA).

Nazak Nikakhtar (Wiley Rein).

Alice Slayton Clark, Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy at USCIB, delivered welcome remarks and spoke on a panel From Shock to Strategy: Rebuilding Resilient Supply Chains. Clark underscored the importance of tariff stability, regulatory cohesion, and digitalization to facilitate trade. She also highlighted USCIB’s recent multi-association letter to the Trump Administration, recommending changes to the implementation of Section 232 to ameliorate tariff impacts on businesses.

Hera Abbasi (Mastercard).

Clark was joined by panelists Lucas Malinowski (Global Automakers of Canada), USCIB member Carolyn Kim (UPS), Michael Florian (Keurig Dr Pepper Canada), and moderator Xavier Delgado (Johns Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies).

USCIB members Hon. Nazak Nikakhtar (Wiley Rein), Marta Prado (Visa), Hera Abbasi (Mastercard), and Peter Tabor (Holland & Knight LLP) were also panelists at the event.

Joshua W. Walker (Japan Society), Masanori Tsuruda (Embassy of Japan in the US), Whitney Baird, and Yoshiyuki Uemura (Daikin US Corporation).

Whitney Baird, President and CEO at USCIB, spoke on the Trusted Partners, Shared Future: US-Japan Innovation Leadership panel of the Daikin Future Forum on April 10 in Washington DC.

Baird emphasized the importance of the US–Japan economic relationship to USCIB members, underscoring the deep supply chain integration of both countries in strategic sectors across advanced manufacturing, autos, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, digital services, and more.

Baird also stressed that Japan is an indispensable ally in shaping 21st century global trade, highlighting progress on the US-Japan Trade Agreement, cooperation in critical minerals, joint efforts to strengthen supply chains, and the establishment of a bilateral Rapid Response Group.

Masanori Tsuruda, Minister at the Embassy of Japan in the US and Joshua W. Walker, President and CEO at Japan Society, joined Baird on the panel. Yoshiyuki Uemura, President at Daikin US Corporation, made welcoming remarks.

Whitney Baird and USCIB member Emily Dickens (SHRM).

The USCIB Foundation and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), in collaboration with USCIB member Salesforce, convened a kick-off roundtable on, AI and Digitalization in the Workplace: Innovation Breakthroughs for Safety and Health, in New York on April 7.

IOE and The USCIB Foundation have partnered on this joint project to examine how these technologies are transforming Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management. The event featured practical discussions with occupational health and safety experts from six continents, in person and virtually. The discussion highlighted practical AI applications – from predictive risk management and digital hazard monitoring to wearables and robotics – while also addressing emerging risks, skill needs, and governance considerations.

The meeting set the foundation for a forthcoming Tools and Approaches for Employers report and future roundtables in Washington DC and Geneva, strengthening collaboration between business, employer organizations, and technology leaders on AI-enabled OSH solutions. These discussions featured key speakers including Whitney Baird, President and CEO at USCIB, Roberto Suarez Santos, Secretary General at the IOE, USCIB board member Emily Dickens, Chief Administrative Officer at the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), Itai Assao, Vice President, AI Research at Salesforce, Norine Kennedy, Senior Vice President for Global Strategy and United Nations Affairs and Executive Director, The USCIB Foundation at USCIB, and IOE’s Pierre Vincensini and Chiara Cirelli.

Whitney Baird and Andrew Puzder (US Ambassador to the EU).

USCIB and the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) co-hosted a conference, Transatlantic Relations: Navigating Change, Building Bridges, Driving Growth, from March 23-24 in Brussels. The conference explored opportunities for US-EU bilateral engagement in 2026, discussing challenges in ongoing trade negotiations, the pursuit of common ground on regulatory simplification, and strategies to enhance economic competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic. The event was generously sponsored by USCIB members ExxonMobil and Cisco.   

Several USCIB members were featured speakers, including Lisa Schroeter (The Dow Chemical Company), Bart Vermeulen (ExxonMobil), Rachele Ciavarella (Salesforce), Liam Benham (Boeing and Chairman of AmCham EU), Amélie Coulet (IBM Europe), Ania Helseth (Meta), Federica Rampulla (The Walt Disney Company), and Matteo Quattrocchi (Cisco). Members shared business priorities for transatlantic cooperation on energy, circularity, trade stability, Artificial Intelligence, and the digital economy, to an audience of over 100 representatives from US and European business, the European Parliament, European Commission, and US government. 

Whitney Baird, President and CEO at USCIB, moderated a fireside chat with Andrew Puzder, US Ambassador to the EU, to discuss the state of transatlantic relations at a moment of growing economic and geopolitical complexity. Alice Slayton Clark, USCIB SVP for Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy led a discussion on transatlantic competitiveness and how to achieve alignment on regulatory reform and simplification. 

Sophie Talarico (ICC), Lorena Perez Bajo (ipieca), Agnes Vinblad, and Ulrike Schopp (ExxonMobil).

Agnes Vinblad, Senior Director for Environment and Sustainability at USCIB, represented members, as the global lead delegate for Business at OECD (BIAC), at the OECD—International Energy Agency (IEA) Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG) and its Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change in Paris, March 18-19. The CCXG brings together government delegates, leading experts, and stakeholders to discuss key issues relevant to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

For business, these conversations matter because the Global Stocktake helps shape the international signals that can influence future national climate plans, regulatory frameworks, and investment environments. Vinblad made several interventions throughout the two days, highlighting the importance of preserving policy coherence and ensuring that business perspectives are meaningfully reflected as governments consider how the second Global Stocktake (GST-2) of the Paris Agreement outcomes can inform the next phase of action under the Paris Agreement. USCIB also emphasized that the private sector remains a key implementation partner, particularly in sectors central to the energy transition.

Over 500 participants attended this hybrid session, which focused on technical preparations for the GST-2 and on unpacking the Conference of Parties (COP) 30 outcomes related to the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), including early engagement with the new Belém Adaptation Indicators. The agenda also featured discussions on how the international climate landscape has shifted since the first Global Stocktake that took place at COP28 in Dubai, the role of GST-2 in driving ambition and implementation, as well as discussions on recent OECD and IEA analytical work on the global energy investment landscape.

“The discussions in Paris reinforced that the climate process is continuing to move towards a strictly implementation-focused phase, where clarity, predictability, and practical pathways forward will matter more than ever,” said Vinblad. “For US business, it is important that the Global Stocktake continues to send signals that can support coherent national policymaking, energy security, investment planning, and effective engagement with the private sector as a core implementation partner.” The impacts of current geopolitical challenges on energy security also dominated the discussions, according to Vinblad.

As the sole official US affiliate of Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB provides members with a unique platform to engage in OECD processes and contribute business perspectives to important international policy discussions.

USCIB submitted a response to the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) request for comments on the design of a plurilateral agreement on trade in critical minerals and policy actions to strengthen the resilience of critical mineral supply chains. The submission urges the Administration to cooperate with allies to advance critical minerals resilience through diversification, trade facilitation, market‑based production, and increased investment among trusted partners, rather than mandating localization or broadly restricting imports. 

The submission provides policymakers with USCIB member companies’ objectives for the plurilateral agreement regarding criteria for participation, pricing mechanisms, investment incentives and investor protections, regulatory predictability, mechanisms for cooperation, supply chain diversification, and secondary or recycled critical minerals. USCIB also urged USTR to provide the business community with a central role in shaping the agreement to ensure its provisions are practical and enduring. 

USCIB Vice Chair Rick Johnston (Managing Director for Global Government Affairs at Citi, Chair of BIAC, Chair of USCIB’s Trade & Investment Committee).

USCIB Vice Chair Rick Johnston (Managing Director for Global Government Affairs at Citi, Chair of BIAC, Chair of USCIB’s Trade & Investment Committee) and Whitney Baird, President and CEO at USCIB, were in Paris for the annual Consultation with OECD Ambassadors and Leadership, organized by Business at OECD on February 13. The Consultation is an opportunity for the heads of BIAC’s National Committees to outline their priorities for the year ahead and to discuss how the OECD can support growth and competitiveness. The OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann opened the session, which was attended by a large group of USCIB member companies, including USCIB board members Ravi Aurora (Mastercard) and Alejandra Castro (Bayer).

USCIB board members Ravi Aurora (Mastercard) and Alejandra Castro (Bayer) with Mathias Cormann (OECD Secretary General) and Hanni Rosenbaum (BIAC Executive Director).

As part of the opening plenary, Baird presented US business’ top priorities for the year—advancing regulatory simplification and trade resilience, championing digital innovation, promoting reliable sources of energy and securing access to critical minerals. The session also featured Steffen Kampeter (BDA, Germany’s leading industry group), Fernando Trevino (COPARMEX, Mexico’s leading industry group), and Kiyotaka Morita (Keidanren, Japan’s leading industry group).

Whitney Baird.

In addition, Baird spoke on the keynote panel during a special BIAC session on trade, Navigating Uncertainties Together, alongside Jonas Berggren (Swedish Foreign Trade Association) and Keidanren’s Morita. Baird highlighted supply chain stability and resilience, regulatory reform and coherence, preserving the global rules‑based trading system, WTO reform, protecting and facilitating innovation in the AI space, and safeguarding investments.

Prior to the Consultation, Johnston chaired the BIAC Executive Committee meeting and Baird attended BIAC’s annual General Assembly on February 12, where she briefed on the US B20 host year.

USCIB appreciates this regular opportunity that BIAC provides to connect with OECD ambassadors and leadership.

USCIB congratulates Ambassador Julio Cordano of Chile on his election as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Global Plastic Pollution Treaty (INC).

Representing over 300 Fortune 500 companies spanning the full plastics lifecycle—from upstream producers to downstream consumer brands—USCIB is deeply committed to a treaty that addresses plastic pollution while preserving the material’s essential role in society and the US economy.

Our members bring expertise from every stage of the plastics value chain and are ready to contribute through transparent collaboration, technical guidance, investment insights, and practical solutions.

The US business community is united in supporting a treaty that promotes better waste management, encourages private sector innovation, and enables circularity. We see this agreement as an opportunity to incentivize solutions that protect our environment and waterways by scaling circular systems across the plastics lifecycle.

We look forward to playing our part in supporting a robust intersessional period under Ambassador Cordano’s leadership, marked by bridging existing divides and seeking common ground. US business – in all its diversity – remains united in wanting a Global Plastic Pollution Treaty.