Competitiveness and Innovation Archives

USCIB Statement on USMCA Entry Into Force

Published on July 1, 2020

Washington, D.C., July 1, 2020 – The U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents many of America’s leading global companies, welcomes today’s entry into force of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement, preserving and deepening the economic ties in North America and bolstering the global competitiveness of our companies and workers. The implementation of this agreement comes at a critical time of restoring certainty to U.S. industry in the North American market, as the global market is working toward recovery from the impacts of the current crisis.

The three partner countries must continue to work together to ensure effective implementation of this agreement, so that the benefits of the agreement in its updated and modernized provisions including on digital trade and customs can be realized. Over 12 million American jobs depend on trade with Canada and Mexico, and continuing to build on this economic relationship is important for U.S. industry for future economic growth. USCIB looks forward to a seamless transition to the new agreement.

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 (ICC), the International Organization of Employers, and Business at OECD (known as BIAC), USCIB helps to provide 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.

USCIB Announces Leadership Change in Customs, Trade Facilitation Work

Published on June 29, 2020
Jerry Cook (left) alongside Former Acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and USCIB President & CEO Peter Robinson

USCIB has announced that Vice President for Government Relations at Hanesbrands Jerry Cook is stepping down from the chairmanship of USCIB’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee as of July 1.

For over ten years, Cook has led the multi-sectoral Committee in strengthening USCIB’s content practice in customs and trade facilitation field and helped position the organization with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (including Customs and Border Protection), Treasury, and Commerce, as well as the United States Trade Representative, the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Customs Organization, among others.

After over ten years of chairmanship, Cook noted that it is time for a change.

“While serving as Chair, I have witnessed much growth in this practice and am truly proud of the progress and accomplishments the membership has jointly achieved,” said Cook. “I appreciate the opportunity to have worked with all for achieving many consensus positions and efforts and being a part of such a strong and dedicated team. I will continue to look forward to seeing the continued success of USCIB, and the work I have been proud to lead.”

USCIB expresses its gratitude to Cook for his service and will announce successor leadership in the near future.

Virtual ICANN Focuses on COVID-Related Domain Name System Abuse

Published on June 29, 2020

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its second meeting of the year June 22-25. Due to COVID-19-related safety concerns the meeting, originally planned to take place in Malaysia, was again held virtually. USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner joined the meeting remotely, along with several USCIB members as part of ICANN’s Business Constituency (BC).

As ICANN President and CEO Goran Marby noted, the ability of the ICANN community to adapt to this challenging time represents a “testament to our shared goal of [working to ensure] the continued security, stability and resilience of the DNS [Domain Name System].” Marby also noted that protecting against DNS abuse never has been more critical since “bad actors” have exploited the pandemic.

According to Wanner, the spike in COVID-related DNS abuse was a hot topic at ICANN 68. USCIB reiterated acute concerns expressed at ICANN 66 and ICANN 67 about inaction by ICANN Org and the contracted parties in mitigating domain name system (DNS) abuse that continues to escalate by the day. The BC asserted there should be an agreed approach to implementing tools to combat such abuse that is institutionalized as a process and memorialized in contracts between ICANN and the registries and the registry/registrar agreements.

“ICANN Org continued to insist while it expects registry operators to enforce their agreements with registrars prohibiting DNS abuse, there continues to be a lack of clarity about what constitutes DNS abuse which complicates contractual enforcement,” said Wanner. “The contracted parties, in turn, underscored their commitment to combatting abuse and highlighted voluntary efforts to develop a Guide to Abuse Reporting Best Practices. By the meeting’s conclusion, there was no clear path forward, although several approaches were proposed.”

USCIB Joins With Global Community to Oppose Revision to ISO 26000

Published on June 25, 2020

USCIB joined with several other U.S. business associations in opposing a recent proposal to revise ISO 26000 on Social Responsibility, develop implementation guidelines or standards and create a new Technical Committee (TC) on Social Responsibility.  After a five-year global negotiation, ISO 26000 was released in November of 2010 as a guidance document rather than a management systems for certification purposes and it remains a valuable resource for companies.

USCIB Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Gabriella Rigg Herzog observed that the proposal currently before ISO would, “not only reverse the consensus achieved over the five year negotiation, but would also divert resources and away from ongoing implementation and innovation in the field of social responsibility.”

Global stakeholders who also opposed this proposal included leading human rights NGOs, the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Moreover, and as was expressed by ILO Secretary-General Guy Ryder, adoption of this proposal would divert focus from and undermine universally accepted standards on human rights and labor issues, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ILO Conventions, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

USCIB continues to follow this matter and will be in communication with members and our global affiliates as this matter develops.

USCIB Statement on OECD’s Inclusive Framework

Published on June 23, 2020

USCIB has issued the following statement on June 23 with regards to the OECD Inclusive Framework process:

USCIB remains committed to proactive participation in the current OECD Inclusive Framework process to achieve consensus on acceptable modifications to the international tax system to properly address the tax challenges of the digitalization of the economy.

USCIB and its member companies will continue to work diligently towards a sustainable agreement and will encourage the U.S. government to remain committed to this process.

USCIB, Global Industry Urge WTO to Resume Full Work

Published on June 18, 2020

As international organizations such as the UN Security Council, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are routinely working online, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has yet to fully empower its substantive bodies to meet and take decisions virtually. In light of this, USCIB, along with major industry associations across the world, issued a statement on June 15 urging WTO Members to restart a full, regular schedule of work online. The statement emphasized that the international business community needs the WTO fully engaged across its existing work program, as well as to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath.

The statement noted: “Trade law and policy has an important, indeed integral, role to play in recovery. The replacement of the departing Director-General Roberto Azevêdo makes a return to regular working using virtual tools even more important…We cannot return to where we were, we must move forward, and this will require a whole of society approach at the local, national, and international level.”

The industry groups also reiterated commitment to the WTO and the international rules-based trade architecture for which it is responsible.

For the full statement, click here.

USCIB Concerned Over Reported Administration Changes to US Nonimmigrant Visa Programs

Published on June 17, 2020

June 17, 2020, New York, New York — The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) expressed concern over reports of potentially restrictive changes to the U.S. nonimmigrant work and exchange visa programs under consideration by the U.S. Administration. The confusion caused by these reports creates uncertainty for U.S. businesses at the worst possible time – when companies are working to join with government and labor to secure a successful economic recovery following the negative health and economic impacts that COVID-19 has had on the U.S. and global economies.

As USCIB has long expressed, labor migration contributes to vibrant economies and requires clear, transparent, stable and efficient government migration policies that support U.S. workers and businesses. We support meaningful dialogue to reform U.S. immigration laws through a consultative regulatory process that includes engagement with the U.S. employer community. We join our members in the belief that drastic restrictions to nonimmigrant work visa programs and added burdens on companies seeking to use these programs will only constrain efforts to revive the U.S. economy to the detriment of workers and employers. Such restrictions also pose potential short- and long-term consequences for U.S. competitiveness by disconnecting domestic businesses from vital sources of talent and innovation and risk the loss of critical jobs and investments to foreign competitors.

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 (ICC), the International Organization of Employers, and Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB helps to provide 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:
Kira Yevtukhova, USCIB
+1 202.617.3160, kyevtukhova@uscib.org

USCIB Opposes New IP Protocols at International Telecommunication Union

Published on June 11, 2020

USCIB submitted recommendations on June 7 regarding industry priorities to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) that advance international communications and information policies at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as on matters that will be addressed at the 2020 World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-20). Most notably, USCIB’s comments expressed deep concern over the proposed “New IP protocol system,” which would be composed of a suite of protocols following a top-down design.

“We urge the U.S. government to strongly oppose this proposal,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “The proposal would deploy new protocols that would not be compatible with standards already used by billions of devices, so it would result in fragmentation of the current operation of the internet. In fact, creation of a new protocol and network architecture in the ITU is likely to create the same kinds of interoperability problems that the proposals ostensibly want to avoid.”

Another concern is that use cases envisioned by said protocol are not sufficiently developed to be standardized by the ITU. The proposals aimed at developing a new IP protocol system should remain within the realm of research where they can see experimentation and measurement, rather than moving precipitously to standards that industry is expected to implement. Additional concerns outlined in USCIB’s comments are past failures of similar type of monolithic top-down architectures and the fact that many of the challenges identified in the “New IP protocol system” have been addressed or are currently being addressed.

“In our view, it is not the ITU’s role to impose a single technology or approach on a global scale,” added Wanner. “To reiterate, we urge the U.S. Government to strongly oppose resolutions supporting a New IP. Other parties involved in standardization share our concerns.”

USCIB is committed to working with the U.S. Government to identify opportunities for constructive engagement that helps to advance U.S. policy objectives. In its recommendations, USCIB emphasized that inputs of all stakeholders produce a flexible policy environment critical to empowering the rapidly evolving digital economy; stakeholder inclusion can lower the risk of unintended consequences and increase legitimacy and adoption of policies. The turbulent economic and political backdrop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes such multistakeholder participation even more important to ensure that Internet policy remains grounded in sound commercial, technical, and human rights-related expertise.

Other recommendations outlined by USCIB included the need to ensure a resilient, secure and diverse 5G supply chain.

To view USCIB’s comprehensive comments and recommendations, please click here.

Global Industry Urges G20 to Promote Innovation, Digital Tech, Trade

Published on June 4, 2020

USCIB joined a global group of like-minded industry and trade associations to urge the G20 to work with industry to encourage the open markets and accelerated technology adoption that will drive groundbreaking innovations and creative solutions, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter states: “This will require reaffirmed commitments to reject protectionism, support rules-based multilateral organizations, best practices, processes, and obligations, embrace transparency in legislative and regulatory actions, and invest in the workforce. Such commitments should be taken with a view to prioritizing the enhancement and generation of business opportunities for micro, small, and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) and continued advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a means of ensuring inclusive recovery across economies.

In general, the global industry group welcomes the renewed discussion at the G20 this year on the role of digital technologies in promoting economic growth through cross-border innovation and trade. As such, the group recommended several actions including facilitating a global response to the COVID-19 outbreak, advancing global date free flows with trust (DFFT), promoting cross-border innovation and adoption of new technologies, as well as ensuring the benefits of technology are realized by all.

According to the industry group, G20 2019 was a groundbreaking year for the advancement of global digital policy discussions. Under Japan’s leadership, the G20 launched the Osaka Track to accelerate and support the ongoing digital trade discussions at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and created the concept of Data Free Flows with Trust (DFFT) in recognition of the fact that open cross-border data flows are the lifeblood of all industries, and that strong protections for privacy and cybersecurity go hand-in-hand with the transparent, non-discriminatory transfer of data across borders. G20 2020 offers governments the opportunity to advance this work towards an open, inclusive vision of the modern global economy.

COVID-19 Highlights Deep-Rooted Challenges of Informal Sectors

Published on May 28, 2020

At a recent OECD virtual meeting, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson discussed one of the main, deep-rooted structural challenges underpinning the global economy—informality—the extent of which has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robinson noted during his remarks at the annual OECD Global Forum on COVID-19 and Responsible Business Conduct that in the longer-term, solutions are going to require dialogue, cooperation and partnership – particularly with regards to issues impacting vulnerable economies.

Informality represents approximately 60% of workers and 80% of businesses worldwide. It is at risk of expanding due to the current economic downturn. The informal sector work is characterized by high degrees of poverty and serious decent work deficits.

“If we can find ways of incentivizing informal firms to formalize, we support both a sustainable recovery by mitigating the size of the problem and advance workers’ rights, good governance and responsible business conduct for the SME and larger companies linked to them through business relationships,” said Robinson. “One critical bottom line in creating an environment that incentivizes and promotes the uptake of responsible business conduct is the fundamental importance of rule of law, enforcement, and well-functioning institutions.”

Robinson also reiterated USCIB’s commitment to responsible business conduct.

USCIB has advocated with the U.S. Department of State to mobilize multilateral development bank assistance for vulnerable economies, particularly for social protection systems and rapid access to relief funds to SMEs to prevent closures and provide funding to workers until they can get back to work.