Competitiveness and Innovation Archives

BIAC Holds Annual Consultation With OECD Ambassadors

Published on February 21, 2017
OECD
BIAC Secretary General Bernhard Welschke and BIAC Chair Phil O’Reilly address Secretary General Angel Gurria and OECD Ambassadors

BIAC held its annual consultation with OECD Ambassadors last month, providing an opportunity for the business community to identify priorities for the OECD agenda that affect both the private sector and governments. Senior business leaders discussed the OECD Secretary General and Ambassadors timely challenges and ways forward in global markets. This annual consultation is part of BIAC’s active advocacy with top OECD officials and governments throughout the year.

The consultation focused on outlining appropriate macro-economic and regulatory policies to strengthen growth, defending and promoting trade and investment for competitiveness, addressing tax uncertainty to boost investment, seizing the benefits of innovation and the digital economy, strengthening human capital to build dynamic inclusive economies, and including business in development and a clean environment.

A full report from the consultations can be found here.

New OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Garment and Footwear Sector

Published on February 21, 2017

The OECD recently released new due diligence guidance for supply chains in the garment and footwear sector. The guide can be found here. The guide is the result of a multi-stakeholder process and aims to help companies identify and prevent potential negative impacts related to human rights, labor, the environment and corruption in garment and footwear supply chains worldwide. The guide is in line with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises – the broader code of conduct for business – are the oldest and most comprehensive set of recommendations for business, covering all areas of business ethics, human rights, labour rights, corruption, and environment degradation, among others. The guidelines were originally adopted in 1976 and have been updated on several occasions since then to ensure their continued relevance. The OECD has also developed tailored guidance to help enterprises build responsible supply chains in other sectors, specifically: extractives, minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, agriculture, and finance.

ICC’s Danilovich Writes in FT on Importance of Services to American Economy

Published on February 21, 2017

The Financial Times has published a letter to the editor from ICC Secretary General John Danilovich on the importance of services to the American economy. Danilovich, who has served as U.S. ambassador to Brazil and Costa Rica, writes that “tit-for-tat trade responses sparked by new border taxes could come at a considerable cost for the U.S. services sector– and the growing number of Americans whose livelihoods depend on it. When it comes to trade policy, nostalgia is no substitute for the realities of today’s global economy.”

To read Danilovich’s letter in the FT, please visit this link (subscriber log-in is required).

NAFTA Renegotiation an Opportunity to Modernize 20 Year-Old Agreement

Published on February 13, 2017

North American Union, NAU concept on a gears, 3D renderingPresident Trump’s promise to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement is already rattling some companies and rippling across the Mexican economy. Growth in the country’s GDP is projected to slow to a crawl in 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal. Exports account for a third of the country’s economic activity, and some 80 percent of these go to the U.S.

Depending on how it is handled, renegotiating NAFTA could provide an opportunity to update the agreement, according to USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan. “There are aspects of NAFTA that could be improved, and provisions that could be added to address important economic changes over the last 20 years,” he observed. “But it would be critical to keep those provisions that have enabled U.S. companies to grow during that time as well.”

Mulligan said USCIB was canvassing several of its committees to see where NAFTA could be improved upon – and what “red lines” exist for companies in terms of rolling back or overturning certain key provisions in the landmark agreement.

NAFTA was the first U.S. trade agreement to include binding rules on labor and environmental protections – although these were included in a side agreement, and they have been incorporated into all U.S. trade agreements negotiated since. In addition, NAFTA included strong investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions – a key factor in gaining American business support for the agreement in light of a legacy of expropriations in Mexico and elsewhere.

A $127 annual boost to the U.S. economy

Eva Hampl, USCIB’s director of trade, investment and financial services, reports that a well-attended program last week hosted by the Washington International Trade Association included presentations on priorities for NAFTA renegotiation from USCIB member companies and others in the business community. Ralph Carter (FedEx), emphasized that Mexico and Canada are the United States’ second- and third-largest trading partners, and he cited a Peterson Institute study indicating that NAFTA brings the US $127 billion per year in additional income.

Carter said that FedEx wants to help modernize cross-border trade. Consider, he said, that it takes an average of 17 hours and three different drivers for a single truck to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Or that the “de minimis” threshold for expedited, duty-free entry of goods stands at $800 for the United States, but  only $50 for Mexico and $15 for Canada — creating barriers for “just-in-time” delivery of many components. A more seamless border, Carter emphasized, does not mean a less secure border – both can be achieved through smart reform efforts.

Looking northward, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today agreed on the broad importance of U.S.-Canada commercial relations. “We recognize our profound shared economic interests, and will work tirelessly to provide growth and jobs for both countries,” the leaders said in a joint statement. “Canada is the most important foreign market for 35 U.S. states, and more than $2 billion in two-way trade flows across our shared border every day. Millions of American and Canadian middle-class jobs, including in the manufacturing sector, depend on our partnership. We affirm the importance of building on this existing strong foundation for trade and investment and further deepening our relationship, with the common goal of strengthening the middle class.”

New Report Warns of High Counterfeiting and Piracy Costs

Published on February 6, 2017

A new report from the International Chamber of Commerce’s BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy) initiative and the International Trademark Association (INTA) details the spiraling cost of global intellectual property rights abuses.

The report, titled The Economic Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy, estimates that the global economic value of counterfeiting and piracy can reach $2.3 trillion by 2022. Additional costs on social and economic impacts of displaced economic activity, investment and public fiscal losses and criminal enforcement is estimated at $1.9 trillion by 2022.

This report builds on a 2016 report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, which estimated the value of international trade in counterfeit and pirated products at $461 billion in 2013, approximately 2.5% of all international trade.

“The Frontier report picks up where the OECD/EUIPO left off,” said BASCAP Director Jeffrey Hardy. “Here we have expanded the scope of the work to examine categories of impacts identified and discussed – but not quantified – by the OECD/EUIPO report. Our objective is to capture the full spectrum of economic harm associated with counterfeiting and piracy.”

The report was launched on February 6 in Hong Kong during INTA’s 2017 Anti-counterfeiting Conference.

Read more on the ICC website.

IOE Update: Future of Work Report, IOE Global Employers’ Summit

Published on February 6, 2017

The Future of Work Report

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) has recently published a report on the Future of Work, which presents perspectives on labor market fluctuations in job creation and transformation, technological change and new skills, changes in business models and ways or working, as well as challenges and opportunities in policy-making.  This Report is one of the IOE work products that will inform the B20 Employment and Education Task Force that is co-chaired by USCIB CEO and President Peter Robinson.

The Report states that “institutions will need to be much more ambitious in providing enhanced access to lifelong learning and educational opportunities. To inform investment decisions on education and skills, as well as to inform individual career choices in an ongoing challenging environment, it will be essential to rely on more real-time, finely-tuned, holistic and dynamic data.”

An Executive Summary is available here.

IOE Global Employers’ Summit

Save the date for the second annual IOE Global Employers’ Summit scheduled to take place on May 17 in Bad Neuenahr, Germany. Please contact Linda Kromjong for additional details.

The Summit is organised back-to-back with the G20 Labor Ministerial on May 18-19 in Bad Neuenahr and will bring together high-level representatives from global companies, international organizations, employers’ organizations and institutions, to explore key areas of interest for business in the G20 process, including the economic implications of Brexit, the 2016 U.S. election result, making global supply chains more sustainable, bringing more women and youth into employment, and much more.

The event will conclude with a joint IOE-BDA-ITUC-TUAC-Deloitte dinner with G20 Labour Ministers, which will allow for an informal exchange with Ministers and key policy actors on policy developments and trends.

USCIB in the News: Joint Letter Seeks Fair Play in India

Published on February 6, 2017

USCIB has recently been cited in two articles, the Economic Times India and the International Business Times India,  both of which featured a multi-industry letter that was sent to Congress regarding the United States’ role in ensuring fair play in India for American companies. USCIB joined a group of over twenty eminent American business organizations and industry groups, many of which are also USCIB members. The letter stated that “businesses in the U.S. continue to face an evolving array of tariff and non-tariff barriers, both longstanding and new, which impede businesses and manufactures in the United States from competing fairly in India and creating jobs here at home.”

The letter urges the U.S. government, including Congress, to use all available channels to ensure fair play and to support Indian efforts that align with U.S. goals. The letter emphasized the need to actively use existing as well as new platforms and tools to raise and resolve longstanding issues, including the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, and the WTO dispute settlement.

The letter is available here.

New Compliance Guide for Trade Transactions Published

Published on January 30, 2017

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission, along with partners, the Wolfsberg Group and the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) recently announced the publication of a revised guidance document on Trade Finance Principles. This broader industry edition now addresses the due diligence required by global and regional financial institutions of all sizes in the financing of international trade.

The document was updated to reflect the growing regulatory expectations, as well as the more stringent application of existing regulations faced by the industry today. The collaborative effort will help standardize the practice of financial crimes compliance for trade transactions.

The publication of this document is the culmination of more than two years of work undertaken by the organizations and their members.

“In keeping with the traditional work of the ICC Banking Commission, this guidance on sound financial crimes risk management for the traditional trade products follows in the steps of the UCP, URC etc. in setting standards by which banks should conduct their trade business and to provide a sound basis for the continuation of the finance of international trade by banks,” said Olivier Paul, head of policy of the ICC Banking Commission.

You can download the paper here.

USCIB in the News: Trump and Global Leadership

Published on January 30, 2017

USCIB was recently cited in a Denver Post opinion piece highlighting President Donald Trump’s signal of “retreat from leading the world.” The op-ed, by Professor Ved Nanda of the University of Denver,  referred to a USCIB statement issued last week regarding Trump’s executive order to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the statement, USCIB observed that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 40 percent of the global economy and is a key market for future growth of U.S. companies, in part due to estimates that two-thirds of all middle-class consumers will be in Asia by 2030.

The op-ed also highlighted the need for continue U.S. leadership and closer cooperation with its allies. Click here to access the op-ed on the Denver Post’s website.

USCIB Urges Administration to Maintain Leadership on Trade

Published on January 23, 2017

Harbor_tradeNew York, N.Y., January 23, 2017 – Peter M. Robinson, president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership:

“While we are disappointed that the United States will not take part in this ambitious and market-opening agreement, we hope this move sets the stage for future trade agreements that build upon the best in the TPP.

“As we noted in USCIB’s American Competitiveness Agenda 2017, which was released earlier today, the Asia-Pacific region is a very important market for U.S. business and the jobs they support. By 2030, two-thirds of all middle-class consumers in the world will be in Asia, so the area continues to be key to the future growth of many U.S. companies and their SME suppliers. We will work with Congress and the Administration to determine the best ways to further open markets in the Asia-Pacific region to U.S. goods and services, including by carrying forward key provisions from TPP.

“Maintaining U.S. leadership in the region should be a strategic priority. Trade relationships provide economic security but also important national security benefits. Letting other nations – including some with very different economic systems and priorities – write the rules in this fast-growing region would be a mistake. Moreover, some of our most important trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region have already ratified TPP or are continuing to undertake reforms consistent with the agreement.

“We encourage the Trump Administration to move quickly in pursuing its plan for the region, both to help American companies and workers compete, and to ensure that regional trade rules are not driven by others. We look forward to working with the Administration in support of these objectives.”

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. As the American affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, 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, USCIB
jhuneke@uscib.org, +1 212.703.5043