Business In Society Archives

The UN SDGs and Post-2015 Development Agenda USCIB’s Ongoing Involvement

Published on June 28, 2013

Background on the Post 2015 Development Agenda

4540_image002Since Rio+20, the United Nations has combined a several related deliberations into an ambitious initiative, collectively referred to as the Post 2015 Development Agenda.  This initiative aims to establish an internationally endorsed framework for economic, social and environmental progress, including the establishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Related elements include next steps for the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); new agenda-setting assessments in ecosystems and biodiversity (IPBES, GEO); and numerous linked climate change and energy initiatives.

USCIB’s input to the UN Process at Rio+20 and beyond

USCIB has been active in multiple UN processes:

  • Norine Kennedy was on hand at Rio+20, representing US industry and serving as advisor to the US government delegation
  • Adam Greene provided input to papers by the International Organization of Employers, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD on Post-2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals
  • USCIB submitted comments on a draft report by Jeffrey Sachs: “An Action Agenda for Sustainable Development.”  Sachs is Director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the UN Secretary General’s special advisor on the MDG’s.

USCIB’s Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals

USCIB will be tracking these complex discussions to their conclusion and has established a cross-cutting Working Group to develop USCIB positions and represent business views in UN negotiations. Two dozen USCIB members have joined the Working Group thus far. This SDG group will:

  • develop USCIB policy and strategy on the SDGs
  • advocate USCIB positions with the U.S. Government, the UN and other relevant actors
  • participate in relevant UN forums and negotiations on the SDG’s
  • coordinate positions with our international business affiliates (ICC, IOE and BIAC)

U.S. Council Foundation’s Green Economies Dialogue

The US Council Foundation, along with numerous partners and sponsors, launched the Green Economies Dialogue (GED) project in 2011. In its first phase, GED1 developed information, tools and a platform for business to engage with national governments, thought leaders, academics and others on the way to Rio+20. These included convening dialogue events in Washington, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo and Brasilia, and inviting a set of peer-reviewed papers published in Energy Economics that provided academic Green Perspectives on business-relevant issues.  Through BIAC, GED1 provided input to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on green growth and sustainable development, which built on the 2011 OECD Green Growth Strategy. GED1 products, networks and activities for engagement provide an evergreen platform for business to build on to participate in and contribute to Post 2015 Development discussions.

Phase 2 of the GED project (GED2) will direct its focus to “green economy” and “green growth” aspects of the U.N.’s Post 2015 Development Agenda and related UNEP and OECD efforts.  Based on early indications in the Post 2015 Development Agenda and stocktaking events with OECD and UNEP, GED has identified potential new areas for additional academic papers.

USCIB’s September events during the UN General Assembly

USCIB is planning a host of events during September’s UN General Assembly, including a Roundtable on meaningful business engagement in the UN, co-organized with the ICC; a Green Economies Dialogue session; and an all day UN “door knock” program that would allow USCIB Members to meet with select UN delegates and officials.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

One Year After Rio+20 UN Moves Ahead on New Sustainable Development Goals

Published on June 21, 2013

4526_image001With this month marking the first anniversary of the 2012 World Summit on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, the United Nations is moving into high gear to frame new global economic, social and environmental goals – and a high-level political body to administer them.

“Rio+20 may have been criticized as more sound than substance, but its outcomes are now taking shape, and look to be influential for both governments and the private sector,” according to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment.

”USCIB has followed the first steps to put Rio+20 deliverables into motion throughout the UN system,” Kennedy said. “We are assessing the opportunities and risks for business, and mapping a strategy to provide constructive input to the discussions from the start.”

At the Rio+20 Summit, governments agreed to develop Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the purpose of addressing poverty eradication, environmental protection, and sustainable consumption and production. The SDGs will likely drive and set the tone for international policy on these issues over the next decade. They will also shape the expectations that stakeholders and investors have for business on these issues. Initial SDG discussions in the UN have already raised business issues, such as mandatory integrated sustainability reporting, and the importance of good governance and enabling frameworks for investment, enterprise creation and job growth.

Speaking at a recent U.N. meeting of governments on the SDGs, Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for  labor affairs, corporate responsibility and governance,underscored the necessity for conditions that support job creation by the private sector, and economic growth. “Employment and inclusive growth cannot and will not happen in the absence of a conducive environment for economic growth at the national level,” he said. “Global goals are useful, but we must recognize that all the key drivers for development take place within a national context and must be implemented through national institutions.” (Click here to read the full statement.)

The SDGs will be a central element of the UN-wide Post-2015 Development Agenda, which will build on and go beyond the UN Millennium Development Goals (Click here to read a recent column from USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson on this process.). While it is not clear how the SDGs will relate to the MDGs, we expect that they will differ in at least three key aspects:

  • they will apply to all UN member countries, rather than just to developing countries;
  • they will cover a broader range of economic, social, environmental and governance issues; and
  • they may also include targets addressed to business and other stakeholder groups.

USCIB will be tracking these complex – and often confusing – discussions to their conclusion over the next year and has established a cross-cutting Working Group on the SDGs to develop USCIB positions and represent business views in the UN negotiations.

Staff contacts: Norine Kennedy and Adam Greene

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

More on the Green Economies Dialogue

World Bank President Upholds Doing Business Report

Published on June 13, 2013

As we reported last month, governments and interest groups that are highly critical of the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” report and ranking launched a broad attack on the program under the guise of a review. In response, USCIB joined with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Organization of Employers
(IOE) to urge the Bank to maintain the integrity and rigor of the report. These efforts appear to have paid off.

Last week, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim issued a statement in response to an independent review panel’s assessment of the Doing Business report, essentially upholding the report’s methodology and ranking while committing the Bank to work toward its improvement going forward.

Kim’s statement read in part:

“The World Bank Group’s work on business climate development, including the Doing Business report, is core to our mission of ending poverty, and in fact we expect it to grow. Our client countries are demanding it, because there is broad consensus about the need for jobs to eliminate poverty and boost growth. We are committed to this work.

“It is indisputable that Doing Business has been an important catalyst in driving reforms around the world. The Panel has made valuable suggestions for how to enhance the report, which merit consideration. Going forward, I will be pushing World Bank Group staff to focus their efforts on improving all aspects of Doing Business, including its data, methodology, and rankings. I am committed to the Doing Business report, and rankings have been part of its success.”

USCIB will continue to monitor the evolution of the Doing Business report, which we regard as a uniquely valuable catalyst for market-oriented reform, private investment, economic growth and job creation around the world.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly and Adam Greene

New York Times: How the World Bank Makes Doing Business Easier

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s Labor & Employment Committee

Business Keeping the Pressure on Negotiators at UN Climate Talks

Published on June 13, 2013

4530_image002Governments meeting in Bonn on climate change continue to face contentious issues in the context of new, game-changing energy options, economic challenges in Europe and the emerging influence of the BRICs countries.

Disagreements about UN decision-making rules will further complicate the negotiations, adding to the tough choices ahead for the next high-level climate meeting in Warsaw in November, which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend. The current agreement has been plagued by volatility in carbon markets, inflexibility on technological options and only partial coverage of emitting countries.

USCIB members – including Arkema, Dupont, GE and Qualcomm – have been on hand over the last two weeks, consulting with government delegations, UN representatives and other non-governmental organizations, making the case for a durable, flexible agreement that recognizes business as an important partner, and delivers policy and market clarity for climate and energy.

“U.S. companies are already addressing climate change risks in many institutional, regulatory and market settings, domestically and internationally,” according to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment. “So we encourage governments to lay the foundation in Warsaw for an international framework that works in harmony and synergy with existing structures for trade, investment and intellectual property rights protection, rather than in opposition.”

Working with and helping to support the International Chamber of Commerce delegation in Bonn, Kennedy delivered business statements to the incoming Polish chairmanship of the climate discussions, and to the Norwegian and Indian co-chairs of the post-2020 agreement negotiating track.

The UN climate change regime aims to develop a more inclusive and ambitious post-2020 agreement by 2015. Many developing country governments are reluctant to adopt greenhouse gas emissions commitments, without the delivery of financial and technical support from developed countries. Consequently, governments in Bonn are keen to mobilize private-sector financial resources toward the $100 billion per year commitment made by the U.S. and other OECD countries to assist developing countries with climate challenges.

USCIB has recently secured accreditation to the UN climate agreement’s Green Climate Fund, to provide business recommendations to this new entity for the enabling conditions to catalyze private-sector resources. USCIB is emphasizing quality as well as quantity of investment and aid, via cost-effective and prioritized projects and the deployment of new technologies for efficiency, adaptation and greenhouse gas reduction.

USCIB has also worked through the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF) to argue for meaningful and recognized engagement opportunities for business in the UN climate process, modeled on the consultative relationship between BIAC and OECD. “Business input and advice is indispensable to well informed choices by policymakers on the technologies and investments that the new agreement will depend on,” Kennedy said.

Next year’s release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Scientific Assessment Report will certainly intensify government and business focus on the international climate process. After a UN climate change summit for heads of state in New York in September 2014, Peru will host ministerial-level climate meetings in December. USCIB will remain closely involved, attending international meetings and conveying member views to the U.S. negotiating team, and ultimately seeing the completion of the new agreement through to its resolution at a summit in Paris in 2015.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

ICC Marketing Commission Advances Global Advertising Standards

Published on June 11, 2013
ICC’s Marketing and Advertising Commission met near an epicenter of advertising, New York’s Times Square.
ICC’s Marketing and Advertising Commission met near an epicenter of advertising, New York’s Times Square.

In early June, marketing experts from around the world gathered in New York as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Commission on Marketing and Advertising held two days of meetings, at the headquarters of News Corporation, to address emerging challenges in mobile marketing, alcoholic beverages and a number of other areas.

ICC, the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the American national committee, has served for many years as the standard-bearer in developing respected industry advertising standards worldwide. The commission is chaired by Brent Sanders (Microsoft), who also chairs USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee.

Digital communications were top of mind for many commission members. A working group chaired by David Fares (News Corp.) weighed the possible development of new rules on marketing to mobile devices, and reviewed current regulatory initiatives as well as technical solutions designed to promote consumer choice, and protect privacy, in an increasingly mobile environment.

“We had a good discussion of the various programs and tools being developed to ensure company compliance with the EU’s e-privacy directive and self-regulatory programs to address online behavioral advertising,” said Sheila Millar (Keller & Heckman), a vice chair of the commission. “Industry is being pro-active in the face of fast-moving technological changes, demonstrating that it takes both choice and privacy seriously.”

Alcohol framework

The commission agreed to develop a new global framework for responsible marketing of alcoholic beverages, responding to global commitments for robust rules that can serve as a baseline for the establishment of local codes in markets where these do not already exist. An experts’ group discussed a draft guide, which identifies existing principles from the Consolidated ICC Code of Marketing and Advertising and offers interpretation and further guidance to help marketers and self-regulatory authorities. The final product may be ready as early as this fall.

“This voluntary effort, initiated from within the alcohol beverage industry, reflects the goal of the industry to act responsibly around the world,” observed Carla Michelotti (Leo Burnett Worldwide), the vice chair of USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee and a member of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council in the United States. “These voluntary principles, if adopted by ICC, would certainly have a significant impact on advertising for alcohol beverages in many countries where no self-regulation is in existence.”

Looking to the Asia-Pacific

USCIB and ICC are also working with other stakeholders to encourage further progress on advertising standards within the Asia-Pacific region. Alongside relevant sectoral associations in several APEC countries, we are supporting initiatives by the Australian government and advertising standards body. At a dialogue last November in Vietnam, APEC governments, industry and experts from economies using globally aligned advertising standards recommended further work towards a common APEC approach, including educational and capacity-building programs.

Also at the meeting, John Manfredi, the former longtime chair of the ICC Commission and USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee, was presented with the ICC Merchant of Peace Award by USCIB Chairman and ICC Chairman-elect Terry McGraw, the CEO of McGraw-Hill Financial. Manfredi, managing partner with Manloy Associates, and previously an executive with Proctor and Gamble, Gillette and Nabisco, led efforts to develop and revise ICC codes and guidance resources on topics such as environmental advertising, marketing and advertising on the Internet, and food and beverage marketing. Click here to read more about the award presentation on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

Experts Developing Framework for Responsible Marketing of Alcohol

Published on May 30, 2013

4522_image001The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), for which USCIB serves as the American national committee, has a long and distinguished history of establishing global self-regulatory standards for marketing and advertising.

Now, heeding the call of industry to ensure that robust rules are well understood and coherently applied across markets, the ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising is developing a new global framework for responsible marketing communications of alcohol.

An experts’ group will convene at the upcoming commission meetings in New York on 3-4 June to discuss the draft guide, which identifies existing principles from the Consolidated ICC Code and offers interpretation and further guidance to help marketers and self-regulatory authorities.

“The ICC framework will complement steps already taken by sectoral groups to bolster existing self-regulatory efforts and expand on them in markets where they are lacking,” said Brent Sanders, chair of ICC’s Marketing and Advertising Commission and associate general counsel with Microsoft (who also chairs USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee). “While the commission’s work is oriented to rules for broad business interests and not sectoral codes, we agreed that the interpretive instrument proposed would help self-regulatory bodies implement existing ICC Code articles more effectively and coherently across markets.”

“The goal is to increase existing confidence in the self-regulatory approach even further, and ensure that it reaches across all markets,” said Oliver Gray, co-chair of the ICC experts’ group drafting the framework and executive director of the European Advertising Standards Alliance. “This new initiative will do just that and, by building on the global commitments of the major alcohol beverage companies, will demonstrate responsibility via strong and coherent industry rules.”

Development of an ICC framework was initially proposed by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) with strong support of the World Federation of Advertisers. The base draft was developed against the background of the ICAP guiding principles. These represent a consensus built and globally committed to by CEOs of 13 major companies representing beer, wine and spirits producers.

ICC has served as the authoritative rule-setter for international advertising since the 1930s, when the first ICC Code on advertising practice was issued. Since then, it has updated and expanded the ICC self-regulatory framework on many occasions to assist companies in marketing their products responsibly and to help self-regulators apply the rules consistently.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

On Bangladesh Global Employers Call for Focus on Tripartite Process

Published on May 24, 2013
Rescue workers at the collapsed Rana Plaza building site in Bangladesh
Rescue workers at the collapsed Rana Plaza building site in Bangladesh

Employers around the world have closely followed developments surrounding the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,000 people.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE), part of USCIB’s global; network, issued a statement reiterating its deep regret and sadness, and expressing solidarity with the victims and their families. “Efforts must now be intensified to ensure that these kinds of tragedies are not repeated,” the IOE said.

The problems culminating in the Rana Plaza collapse affect more than one sector of Bangladesh’s economy, not just the garment sector, the IOE noted. “Fire safety, and issues of health and safety generally, are applicable across sectors and across business size, whether it produces for export or for domestic consumption.”

The IOE voiced support for the action plan the International Labor Organization created as the result of a high-ILO level mission to Bangladesh, following broad tripartite consultation with the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation, workers representatives and the Bangladesh government.

The IOE “calls on donor governments to provide the ILO with the resources necessary to implement the plan of action and in doing so to respond to the needs of constituents in Bangladesh that they have themselves identified.”

According to Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor and corporate responsibility, lasting change can only come from within the country, with the national government working directly with the social partners in Bangladesh.  “That is why we fully support the ILO-lead National Action Plan and will support a Better Work program in Bangladesh after the government makes the necessary labor law reforms,” he said.

A joint initiative of the ILO and the World Bank, with strong support from the IOE and USCIB, the Better Work program brings together governments, employers, workers and global companies to address working conditions in supplier factories. The program assesses compliance with international labor standards and national labor laws, posts reports online and provides targeted remedial training to improve compliance with labor standards.

Staff contact: Adam Greene

More on USCIB’s Labor & Employment Committee

USCIB Rallies Support for World Bank Doing Business Reports

Published on May 8, 2013

4529_image002USCIB and its global partners, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Organization of Employers (IOE), are spearheading business advocacy to maintain the integrity and rigor of the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” report and ranking.

In a response to criticism from China and other countries, the new president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, appointed an independent panel of outside experts to review the Doing Business reports, which many in the business community view as a useful measuring tool for understanding the comparative attractiveness of a country’s business and investment climate.

The Doing Business reports currently provide objective measures and rankings of business regulations for local firms in 185 economies and selected cities around the world. In addition, the reports can serve an important policy function by providing leverage for economic reforms in nations where excessive regulation and hidden costs impede the process of starting and running a business.

China in particular has criticized what it says are the report’s “unfair” rankings. As reported in the Financial Times, China ranked 91st out of 185 economies in the most recent Doing Business report, with especially low scores for its construction bureaucracy and tax system.

The panel review is being conducted amid opposition to the report series from a coalition of NGOs, academics, labor unions, and large borrower countries. Using an open consultation process, the expert panel is soliciting comments and will use them as inputs into the decision-making process for the reports. In response, USCIB is leading an effort within the business community to emphasize the value of the reports as an unbiased and reliable source of information on investment, economic development, job creation, and market conditions in countries around the world.

Hearing for stakeholders

On April 18, ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier delivered comments directly to the independent panel, underscoring the important contribution of the reports to stakeholders spanning business and government entities. USCIB was represented at the hearing by Shaun Donnelly, vice president for investment and financial services, who afterward participated in a Q&A session with panel members. For its part, the IOE submitted comments to the panel and mobilized its worldwide networks of national employers’ bodies to do the same.

The following day, USCIB led a group of business and think-tank representatives in an open discussion session with the panel. According to Donnelly, USCIB is “speaking up aggressively on the value of a rigorous annual Doing Business Report, focused on real-world metrics of direct relevance to local and international business as they make investment and hiring decisions.”

Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor and corporate responsibility, was critical of the World Bank’s process in setting up the independent panel, noting that the panel had no business representatives even though its original terms of reference called for this. He called the consultation process “haphazard and not well communicated.”

Greene submitted a response to four questions solicited for the review process, covering topics such as the value, relevance, impartiality, effectiveness, and decision-making impact of the reports, as well as how they could be improved. His responses underscored that “the value of the report is that it speaks to the relationship between economic development, regulation, and report creation, and suggests ways to reduce the informal economy, where workers have no protections.”

He also noted that the Doing Business project addresses precisely the types of issues that the private sector believes must be included in the UN’s post-2015 development agenda, i.e., fostering a conducive environment for private enterprise and growth that can raise living standards and provide the resources to tackle urgent societal problems. “The fact that a number of countries are seeking to undermine that process indicates that some states aren’t very interested in taking serious steps to foster good governance or economic growth.”

The panel’s final report is expected within the next two weeks.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly and Adam Greene

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s Labor & Employment Committee

At UN Climate Talks Business Urges Support for Investment and Innovation

Published on May 3, 2013
Climate negotiators met at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany.
Climate negotiators met at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany.

“The success of a new UN long-term agreement will depend on stepping up investment and catalyzing innovation in mitigation technologies and adaptation frameworks.” This was the message delivered by Nick Campbell (Arkema), speaking for business and industry groups attending the most recent negotiating meeting of the UN climate agreement, held last week in Bonn, Germany.

According to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, environment and energy, also attending the Bonn talks, these global talks provide an opportunity to frame a new flexible, durable and cost-effective agreement on climate change.

“The world has evolved since the Kyoto Protocol was agreed,” Kennedy said. “The new climate agreement should encompass and reflect new science, technology, energy and economic situations, and it will have to involve all major emitting countries. Business is looking for a regime that protects the planet, works in synergy with international open markets and trade and safeguards investments in research and innovation.”

http://www.iisd.ca/climate/adp/adp2/pix/29april/dsc_8352icc_twn-tn.jpg
Nick Campbell of Arkema spoke on behalf of the business and industry.

USCIB has worked closely with the International Chamber of Commerce, the Major Economies Business Forum and other business groups – representing a wide range of industries, in both developed and developing countries – to advocate the critical importance of creating enabling conditions to mobilize and leverage private-sector investment and innovation to address climate change and advance energy security and access.

Governments have announced their intention to conclude a new agreement for the post-2020 period within the next two years.  A UN climate summit will take place on the sidelines of the 2014 UN General Assembly, and negotiating text is slated to be tabled by March 2015.

In Bonn, governments shared ideas on what might be in the new agreement. Tensions surrounded the challenging goals of gaining universal participation, developing acceptable national targets to achieve very ambitious global outcomes, and mobilizing significant funding to assist developing nations to mitigate their emissions and adapt to climate change.

Besides the implications of emissions mitigation and competitiveness concerns, business issues at stake in the negotiation include new policies to drive technological deployment and investment and potential new market mechanisms.

Under a U.S. government proposal, country-by-country pledges commitments could be submitted six months before the 2015 deadline, giving some time for a non-binding review to strengthen plans. Developing countries continue to call for a “top-down” target for emissions reduction and financial commitments.

USCIB’s Environment Committee, chaired by Ann Condon (GE), will begin preparations for the next round of UN negotiations to be held in June, with a focus on providing U.S business views on key elements of the international regime, and highlighting the need for positive conditions for development, commercialization and deployment of technology and know-how.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Business Hails Supreme Court Ruling on Alien Tort Statute

Published on April 17, 2013

4486_image001New York, N.Y., April 17, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which champions the interests of U.S. global companies, hailed today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court largely insulating companies from lawsuits under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), an 18th-century law used in recent years by activists to lodge numerous suits alleging corporate complicity in human rights abuses overseas.

“After many years of sounding the alarm against abuse of the ATS, we are extremely gratified that the court has handed down such a clear and well reasoned ruling,” stated USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “The justices have essentially shut the door to further use of the Alien Tort Statute to target companies based on alleged activity without any clear connection to the United States.”

The court unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling dismissing a lawsuit accusing two foreign-based units of Royal Dutch Shell Plc of aiding and abetting human rights abuses in Nigeria, although the justices differed in the details of their reasoning. The majority said the ATS generally should not apply to conduct beyond U.S. borders.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that in the case, Kiobel v. Shell Petroleum, “all of the relevant conduct took place outside the United States.” The justices were unanimous on the outcome in the Shell case, but issued differing opinions explaining their reasoning. Roberts’s opinion cited a “presumption against extraterritoriality,” saying that legal principle limits the reach of the Alien Tort Statute when it comes to conduct overseas. Four justices issued a separate opinion saying they would have reached the same result using different reasoning.

For over a decade, USCIB and other business groups have warned against abuse of the ATS as a vehicle to lodge spurious lawsuits against companies over allegations of conduct that often bore little, if any, connection to the United States. In some cases brought under the ATS, there has been little connection to any corporate activity whatsoever, with companies having operations in a country effectively serving as stand-ins for governments alleged to have committed abuses.

More broadly, business has expressed concern over the extraterritorial application of national laws in general, including in the area of human rights, and has called for clearer international human rights standards and better enforcement of national laws as an alternative. USCIB joined in filing an amicus brief in support of Shell in the Kiobel case.

USCIB Vice Chairman Thomas Niles, a retired U.S. ambassador and former president of USCIB, wrote an influential 2002 op-ed in the Financial Times complaining about abuse of the statute and urging U.S. courts to curtail its use.

“Business and legal experts have argued for years that the ATS should not be interpreted as providing grounds for suits against companies, especially where the alleged actions have no connection to the United States,” Niles said. “We are glad that the Supreme Court took the time to review both the specifics of the Kiobel case as well as the broader issue of extraterritoriality, and needless to say we agree with the justices’ ruling.”

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

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