Competitiveness and Innovation Archives

Robinson Reinforces USCIB Ties with Chinese Business Groups

Published on May 8, 2018
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson meets with China Enterprise Confederation Director General Zhu Hongren.

While U.S. economic ties with China have been strained of late, the ongoing working relationship between USCIB and our main Chinese counterpart organizations is growing closer. USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson is in Beijing and Xian this week, meeting with top officials from the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and other groups.

Both CEC and CCPIT/CCOIC are part of USCIB’s global network. CEC serves as the Chinese affiliate of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and as such represents Chinese employers in the International Labor Organization. Robinson, who also serves as IOE vice chair for North America, met with CEC Vice Chair and Director General Zhu Hongren and other senior staff. He discussed USCIB’s work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Business for 2030 website, the Future of Work, as well as climate change, trade and the UN Global Compact.

L-R: Anna Zhang (USCIB), USCIB President Peter Robinson, ICC-China Secretary General Yu Jianlong, Yu Min (ICC-China)

CCOIC houses ICC-China, the International Chamber of Commerce national committee in the country. In addition, its partner organization, CCPIT, like USCIB, serves as the national guaranteeing association for ATA Carnets, the “merchandise passports” developed by ICC. They played host to the meeting of WATAC, the World ATA Council, which encompasses all ATA Carnet guaranteeing associations. Robinson met with Yu Jianlong, secretary general of CCOIC and ICC-China, and other officials including Deputy Director Director General Yu Min. In addition to Carnet matters, they discussed emerging policy challenges including the “conflict of interest” discussions at the UN climate talks, where activist groups and some governments are seeking to limit the private sector’s access to the negotiations.

Robinson also met with officials of the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce. USCIB Director of Carnet Claims Administration Anna Zhang is accompanying him on his mission to China.

USCIB Sponsors National Governors Association North American Summit

Published on May 8, 2018
From left to right: CEO of Rassini Eugenio Madero; USCIB VP for Trade and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly; Woodrow Wilson Institute and former US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Wayne; National Restaurant Association Senior VP Steve Danon

USCIB was an organizational sponsor for the National Governor Association (NGA) North American Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, which was held May 4-6. USCIB Vice President for Investment Policy and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly represented USCIB at the weekend event. The NGA welcomed Mexican Governors and Canadian provincial premiers to the North American Summit, which focused on strengthening North American economic integration and competitiveness in today’s and tomorrow’s global economy.

“The good news is that governors, across the three nations of North America, get it!” said Donnelly. “Open trade and investment gets broad bipartisan support across the political spectrum of governors and premiers. They welcome trade and investment and they welcome business comments and recommendations at these sessions. Obviously, NAFTA, and the on-going negotiations to update that key agreement, were key areas of discussion.”

Business speakers from the three countries were united in urging governors across all three countries, particularly in the U.S., to be strong advocates for a strong updated NAFTA with their national governments at this key moment in the negotiations.

USCIB member company representatives were also present and active at the NGA Summit with UPS, Walmart, and Squire Patton Boggs executives among the formal speakers/panelists to the Governors; CenturyLink was another active participant in the corridors. Former Canadian Foreign Minister Perrin Beatty, CEO of USCIB’s Canadian counterpart organization the Canadian Chamber was another clear pro-NAFTA, pro-business panelist in his presentation to the assembled governors.

Donnelly commented, “I come away from this NGA weekend with some key governors from across North America very encouraged that they really understand and support NAFTA and importance of an integrated, competitive North American economy/marketplace going forward. At this trilateral Summit, I saw none of the partisanship and anti-trade grand-standing we see so much of in Washington these days. The coming weeks will be critical for the fate of NAFTA and America’s governors, of wither party, can be important allies in convincing the Administration and, then down the road, the Congress to do the right thing…….and not to do the wrong thing on NAFTA.”

World Trade Week NYC Celebrates Gotham’s Export Champs

Published on May 8, 2018
Cheryl Moore of the New York Genome Center

USCIB is a longtime partner in the annual World Trade Week festivities in New York City. World Trade Week, a celebration of international commerce in cities across the United States, was launched by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and brings together trade champions and companies of all sizes to mark the critical importance of cross-border commerce in promoting American competitiveness and global leadership.

World Trade Week NYC 2018 – despite the name, actually a full month of events and activities – kicked off this week with a high-level awards breakfast hosted by the Weissman Center for International Business at Baruch College, part of the City University of New York. Among the award honorees was the New York Genome Center, whose president and COO Cheryl Moore also served as the breakfast keynote speaker, providing an overview of New York’s efforts to foster growth in the life sciences industries.

Other businesses recognized for export success included Magnetic Analysis Corp., Innodata, Inc. and Classic Rug Collection, Inc. Empire State Development’s Global NY initiative was also honored, as was Irving A. Williamson, a member of the U.S. International Trade Commission, who was presented with a lifetime achievement award.

USCIB Vice President Jonathan Huneke served on the steering committee for World Trade Week NYC 2018. For a full list of World Trade Week events in and around New York City, click here.

Mulligan Joins BIAC to Push for Business Priorities at OECD

Published on May 4, 2018

USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan was in Paris the last week of April attending Business at OECD (BIAC) and OECD Trade Committee meetings, which included dialogues with several OECD officials, including Director of the OECD Trade Directorate Ken Ash, OECD Deputy Secretary General Mari Kiviniemi, Head of the OECD Investment Division Ana Novik, and Head of the OECD Services Trade Division John Drummond, among others.

“BIAC’s meetings were integral in getting the business community on the same page regarding several issues, including possible accession to the OECD by Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, BIAC’s upcoming work with B20 Argentina on joint meetings later this month in Paris, as well as the OECD release of a Trade Facilitation publication this summer,” noted Mulligan.

According to Mulligan, BIAC members also discussed BIAC talking points on the OECD’s draft Program of Work and Budget for 2019-20 (PWB), providing suggestions for inclusion of services trade, de-minimis, overcapacity, digital trade, cybersecurity, customs simplification for SMEs, trade distortions, international regulatory cooperation, and government procurement.  These were in addition to the points based on the BIAC Trade as a Priority for All paper approved by the Committee last year. At a subsequent OECD Trade Committee Meeting later that week, member countries provided feedback to the secretariat about the draft PWB and BIAC, represented by its Chair Cliff Sosnow, noting the areas it would like to see the committee focus on during this cycle, which aligned with many of the areas BIAC had suggested.  However, BIAC noted that the PWB did not seem to include further work on localization requirements and state-owned enterprises that continue to be key areas of concern for its members and encouraged the OECD to include this in their work plans going forward.

Mulligan also had the opportunity to attend the BIAC Roundtable on Data Localization, Digital Trade and Market Openness which enabled a dialogue among the 25 people around the table. Ash, who recently met with the Japanese business group Keidanren, emphasized his desire to understand the realities of business and digital trade issues and noted Keidanren’s plans to make digital trade a focus when they host G20/B20 in 2019.

Mulligan then joined Pat Ivory of the Irish Business Federation Ibec, in their capacities as vice chairs of the BIAC Trade Committee to provide overviews on the BIAC digital trade priorities.

“Members are increasingly voicing concerns about data localization requirements related to the impact on cybersecurity and the conflicts they can cause for highly regulated industries,” stressed Mulligan. “The impact of rapidly changing technology and the need for regulators to take approaches to digital trade that do not end up restricting trade, stifling innovation, and undercutting economic growth.”

BIAC members noted challenges they deal with when assessing where to do business and suggested that localization requirements that can increase security risks in some developing countries and can make it less likely for them to do business there.

USCIB’s Geneva Delegation Supports Innovation at World IP Day

Published on May 4, 2018

As part of USCIB’s Geneva Week, USCIB staff and members had the opportunity to participate in the annual World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 in Geneva to celebrate the role that intellectual property rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. This year’s campaign celebrated women who are driving societal change and shaping “our common future” through innovation and creativity.

The USCIB delegation attended a reception sponsored by Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA), an informal partnership created in 2013 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to support effective global governance.

“USCIB appreciated the opportunity to attend World IP Day and to support the importance causes of promoting intellectual property rights and bridging the gender divide in innovation,” noted Mike Michener, who leads USCIB’s Committee on Innovation and Intellectual Property. “USCIB’s goal within our recently revamped Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee is to improve our members’ global competitiveness as well as identify international initiatives to secure IP rights and promote innovation. World IP Day is an exemplary forum to help endorse our long-standing beliefs that intellectual property protection and innovation go hand-in-hand.”

 

OECD Tax Conference: Global Challenges in the Context of U.S. Tax Reform

Published on May 2, 2018

Washington, D.C., May 2, 2018 – Several months after the passage of the most fundamental U.S. tax reform law in over 30 years, what will the impact be on global companies – and on cross-border trade and investment? This is just one of the many questions to be discussed at a major June 4-5 conference in Washington, D.C.

The 2018 OECD International Tax Conference, which will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel, will provide a unique opportunity for business experts to interact directly with key leadership from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, its Center for Tax Policy and Administration (CTFA), and senior tax officials from the United States and other OECD countries.

The conference is the 13th annual gathering on global tax policy developments convened by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), in cooperation with the 35-nation OECD and its official private-sector advisory body Business at OECD (also known as BIAC). Details on the event are available at www.uscibtax.org.

“U.S. tax reform is but one piece of an increasingly complex puzzle of changing global tax rules that companies must navigate,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “As technology, business models and supply chains have evolved, it is more critical than ever to bring certainty to international tax rules, in order to promote global growth and avoid double taxation. This conference provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn about, and influence, the latest developments in the global taxation system.”

Keynote remarks at this year’s conference will be delivered by U.S. Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Kevin Hassett. Other speakers will include:

  • Pascal Saint-Amans – Director of the Center for Tax Policy & Administration, OECD
  • Grace Perez-Navarro – Deputy Director of the CTPA, OECD
  • Martin Kreisenbaum – Director General, International Taxation, Ministry of Finance, Germany
  • Brian Ernewein – General Director, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance, Canada
  • Mike Williams – Director, Business and International Tax, HM Treasury, UK
  • Lafayette (Chip) Harter – Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs, U.S. Treasury
  • Doug O’Donnell – Commissioner, Large Business and International Division, IRS
  • Mary Baine – Head, International Taxation, African Tax Administrative Forum
  • Will Morris – Chair, BIAC Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Affairs
  • Bill Sample – Chair, USCIB Tax Committee

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, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD, 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.

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

Donnelly Speaks Up for Business at UN Trade Meetings

Published on May 1, 2018
Shaun Donnelly

USCIB Vice President for Investment Policy Shaun Donnelly single-handedly represented the views of the business community at last week’s meetings of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).  The week-long meetings at UN Headquarters in New York were, according to Donnelly, “a painstaking death march through a draft UNCITRAL document on real or perceived problems with the existing ISDS system.” Eighty UN member governments (sixty of whom serve terms as full UNCITRAL members, plus 20 observer governments) were generally critical of the current systems and numerous NGO observers were always happy to chime in to attack ISDS investment arbitration and businesses which use those protections, reported Donnelly.

It fell to a relative handful of government delegations plus Donnelly and one European business representative, as well as fellow observer representatives from leading law and arbitration bodies such as the American Bar Association,  the American Society of International Law, and the American Arbitration Association to defend the well-established ISDS arbitration system.

“Clearly ISDS is under assault from NGOs and many developing countries,” said Donnelly. “The European Union and its member states are pushing hard for early negotiations on a new permanent multilateral investment court to replace the whole ISDS system.” Donnelly and other observers continued to emphasize in formal interventions and in corridor conversations with key delegations the proven strengths of the current ISDS system and, by implication, serious problems with some of the more state-dominated “reform” proposals.

“Frankly, it’s frustrating, “ Donnelly said, “to see UNCITRAL and many of its member governments so intent on rushing hell-bent to replace a proven system of independent, expert arbitrators to resolve complex investment disputes. Ideas from the EU and others to replace ISDS with some sort of state-dominated permanent court seem explicitly designed to be hostile to investors and are not helpful.”

UNCITRAL is scheduled to continue semi-annual WG meetings, alternating between Vienna and New York, and will be turning to debating specific alternative systems. These issues will need more attention from US and international business going forward, both at the sessions and intersessionally with national governments.

USCIB Mission to Geneva Targets UN Agencies

Published on April 30, 2018

In an effort to ensure inclusivity and transparency of international policy deliberations for business at the United Nations, USCIB organized a Geneva “door knock” meeting to UN and multilateral institutions last week, bringing together a USCIB delegation of members and staff to meet with UN agencies, officials in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and other important government representatives in order to highlight American policy priorities and concerns. The topical areas and issues of concern included food and agriculture, healthcare, intellectual property and innovation, sustainability, environment and chemicals, and trade.

USCIB presented itself as a unique business organization, affiliated with ICC, IOE and Business at OECD (BIAC), and constructively involved in an array of UN institutions, with positive examples of the benefits of such engagement. USCIB members spoke to how U.S. business innovation, investment, and partnership deliver global progress advancing economic benefits in the U.S. and globally, with examples found on USCIB’s Businessfor2030 web platform, and argued for enabling frameworks of policy, markets and governance.

The USCIB member delegation met with the World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Trade Organization, and UN Environment, as well as country missions, including the U.S., UK, Japan and Brazil.

The delegation was led by USCIB Vice President for Strategic International Engagement, Environment and Energy Norine Kennedy, Vice President for Product Policy and Innovation Mike Michener, Senior Director for Membership Alison Hoiem, and Policy Assistant Mia Lauter. USCIB members include representatives from Cargill, AbINBev, CropLife, Ferrero, Sidley and GMA.

Watch Michener’s report from the field below!

The Hill: Trump Aiming to Make NAFTA Like a Football Game Without Referees

Published on April 26, 2018

Op-Ed by USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson as appeared on TheHill.com

The business community is broadly supportive of efforts to update and strengthen the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA has been a major success for the United States, as well as our Canadian and Mexican partners.

But it’s now a quarter-century old and lacks rules in important new areas like digital trade, data flows and treatment of state-owned enterprises. A modernization that will bring NAFTA into the 21st century would be a welcome development, provided that it keeps what is already working in the agreement.

Since we are living in an age where the benefits of global economic integration are not well understood or appreciated, it’s worth backing up a bit to ask: What is a free trade agreement (FTA) anyway? Also, why would countries want to enter into an FTA?

The United States currently has FTAs with 20 countries, but other countries around the world have entered into several hundred bilateral and regional FTAs since the end of World War II.

They have done so not to cede sovereignty or export jobs overseas — two of the widely held misconceptions about trade agreements. Rather, they enter into FTAs in order to grow their economies through mutually beneficial cross-border trade and investment.

FTAs historically have provided preferences to the negotiating parties primarily centered around tariff-free trade. More recent trade agreements, including NAFTA, also include provisions on customs and trade facilitation, investment protection, regulatory standards, environment and labor and many other issues.

The key to reaping the benefits of an FTA and ensuring that it benefits U.S. companies, workers and consumers is to enforce the rules of the agreement in the event of a breach. In short, a new NAFTA must be fully enforceable.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Trump administration may want to weaken NAFTA’s core enforcement provisions. Such a change would spell disaster, akin to playing football or any other sport without a referee.

NAFTA currently has three strong chapters that provide for enforcement and redress: Chapter 11, which covers disputes between investors and states; Chapter 19, which covers anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties; and Chapter 20, which covers state-to-state disputes.

The United States has put forth proposals on each of these chapters, ranging from weakening the provision to entirely eliminating the chapter. If all of these proposals were to be included in NAFTA 2.0, there would be no provision available to provide legal recourse to an injured party against the party in breach of any of the substantive provisions.

Simply put, an agreement without enforceability would be bad for business. The Trump administration’s proposal for an “opt-in” approach to NAFTA’s existing dispute resolution mechanisms is no substitute for real, recognized, agreed and enforceable rules in this area.

Without substantive provisions protecting investment, including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), it’s very unlikely that the United States would gain the very tangible benefits it gets from open investment among the three NAFTA partners.

ISDS depoliticizes the enforcement of important investment rules by putting the dispute in the realm of neutral and legal arbitration.

U.S. investors, including the many smaller and medium-sized companies that have expanded sales and operations north and south of the border under NAFTA, would be far less willing to do business in Canada or Mexico if those governments couldn’t be held responsible for poor treatment or abuse of power.

The same goes for Canadian or Mexican investors in the United States, who have created many thousands of jobs here at home since NAFTA came into effect.

More broadly, you have to ask yourself: What good is a free trade agreement without enforcement provisions? The law of the Wild West is not the sort of formula needed to govern international trade and investment in today’s complex globalized international economy.

To extend the sports metaphor, the Trump administration seems to be more focused on playing defense than offense, preoccupied with eliminating tried-and-true principles because they impinge on our unilateral ability to block imports, discriminate against foreign products or projects and simply ignore inconvenient rules and regulations.

Historically, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the United States has played offense. Indeed, we have been the star quarterback of the pro-growth team, leading international efforts to open markets, fight protectionism, promote greater international competition and uphold the rule of law.

A key part of this has been our insistence on strong enforcement provisions, i.e., referees with real whistles and real authority. For the U.S. now to focus on defense while also throwing away the rulebook is truly troubling.

Peter M. Robinson is president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business a business advocacy group that was founded in 1945 to promote free trade and help represent U.S. business in the then-new United Nations.

Donnelly Defends Strong Investment Protections at UNCITRAL Meeting in New York

Published on April 24, 2018

USCIB Vice President for Investment Policy Shaun Donnelly is on the front lines this week defending international investment protections, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) specifically, at the United Nations in New York City.  Donnelly is the only U.S. business representative with formal observer status at the April 23-27 meeting of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on “Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform.”

“Yesterday’s opening session showed that we on the business side are facing real challenges on ISDS with developing countries and NGO activists pushing to overturn 60 years precedent of legal protections for foreign investors with access to expert neutral arbitration to resolve disputes,” said Donnelly. “The European Union’s defection from strong ISDS provisions in their broad networks of investment agreements has given ISDS critics an unfortunate boost. The EU is aggressively and unhelpfully pushing its ‘multilateral investment court system’ in the UNCITRAL meetings this week. And the shift in recent months in the U.S. Administration’s  views on ISDS, also reflected in the on-going NAFTA update negotiations, is a further complication.”

Throughout the week, Donnelly will be reminding government delegates and other participants that investment, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), is the driver of economic growth, competitiveness, exports and jobs. And strong investment agreements with effective enforcement provisions can play a critical role in facilitating private investment flows.

“ISDS has worked well; governments like the U.S. with open investment regimes and strong rule-of- law culture do not lose ISDS cases,” Donnelly added. “But governments which discriminate or abuse foreign investors, tilt or rewrite the rules, need to be disciplined; ISDS offers investors those vital protections.”

Donnelly, a retired U.S. diplomat and trade negotiator before joining USCIB, made similar points in his presentation in a public “Open Form” session at the Grand Hyatt on April 23 hosted by Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Investment for UNCITRAL participants, invited guests and the media.

Donnelly noted, “Now is the time for business representatives to speak up on the importance of strong international investment agreements.  Foreign investment, and especially ISDS, are under orchestrated attacks including a lot of disinformation. USCIB will be taking the lead in getting the facts our about foreign investment issues and ISDS. The best, strongest trade and investment agreements only deliver results when they include strong enforcement provisions to ensure compliance by all parties. ISDS is a proven formula to deliver effective, apolitical, fair enforcement.”