Growth, Jobs and Open Markets Archives

USCIB Event Concludes With Action Plan to Promote Food Security and Nutrition Partnerships

Published on November 13, 2018
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson (center) speaks at the Rome event. USCIB food and agriculture lead Mike Michener (left)
This year’s event concluded with some important outcomes to help deliver results: GAIN and The USCIB Foundation are planning to take the Principles to donors such as developmental agencies, foundations, and companies interested in public-private partnerships.
USCIB will ask its member companies, with existing public-private partnerships to pilot the Principles of Engagement by applying them retroactively to the ongoing PPP.
Michener emphasized the importance of engaging the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

 

With the future of food continuing to be a pressing global challenge and malnutrition profoundly affecting every country, The USCIB Foundation once again teamed up with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to organize a public-private partnerships dialogue to tackle malnutrition. The November 8-9 dialogue in Rome, Italy was a second in a series and was built on last year’s event in New York. USCIB CEO and President Peter Robinson participated in the event alongside Vice President for Product Policy and Innovation Mike Michener. Robinson spoke at the opening session and took part in a fireside chat conversation with GAIN Executive Director Lawrence Haddad, who is the winner of the 2018 World Food Prize.

This year’s event featured the theme of “Together for Nutrition: applying principles for public-private engagement.” The high-level dialogue explored practical and tangible ways to implement and scale coordinated initiatives to put the draft Principles, that were agreed upon last year, into practice. The program focused on both under-nutrition and the rise of overweight and obesity, as well as the associated diet related non-communicable diseases. Leaders of governments, development agencies, and the private sector from a wide range of countries, with a particular focus on developing countries with high burdens of malnutrition, participated in the dialogue.

This year’s event concluded with some important outcomes to help deliver results. GAIN and The USCIB Foundation are planning to take the Principles to donors such as developmental agencies, foundations, and companies interested in public-private partnerships. USCIB will also ask its member companies, with existing public-private partnerships to pilot the Principles of Engagement by applying them retroactively to the ongoing PPP. Michener, who leads USCIB’s work on food and healthcare, also emphasized the importance of engaging the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“We [GAIN and USCIB] will take the Principles to the Rome-based agencies, starting with a briefing for Permanent Representatives early in 2019, followed by the FAO Program Committee and the Executive Boards of WFP and IFAD,” he said. “We also plan to take the Principles to regional meetings, with the first meeting tentatively set for Africa in late 2019.”

Global food and agriculture constitute a US$7.8 trillion industry, employing up to 40 percent of the working population in many countries yet progress towards the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is too slow and the scale and complexity of the problem underscores the need for deepened collaboration and renewed commitment to improving nutrition outcomes for all, especially the most vulnerable,” according to Michener.

“Countries cannot achieve their SDG goals without an aligned, motivated and incentivized private sector as a key partner,” said Michener. “In this context, improved dialogue and collaboration between government, business, civil society and international organizations is crucial for guiding engagement and focusing efforts where they can have the most sustainable impact and long-term success.”

USCIB Urges Free Data Flows to Achieve Economic Growth

Published on November 13, 2018

USCIB filed comments on November 11 in response to a Federal Register notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding a proposed approach to consumer data privacy. NTIA’s proposal is designed to provide high levels of protection for individuals, while giving organizations legal clarity and the flexibility to innovate.

USCIB’s comments highlighted the view that the free flow of data and information is critical for economic development and growth, citing a recent study that the increase in GDP from data flows was an estimated $2.8 trillion.

“Business realizes that the benefits of technology innovation enabled by data flows will only be realized and embraced by consumers, businesses, and governments who trust the online environment and feel confident that the privacy of their personal data will be respected,” stated the letter. “USCIB members are committed to complying with applicable privacy regulations and recognize their responsibility to adopt recognized best practices to ensure that personal data and information is appropriately secured as technology and services evolve.”

However countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Panama and South Korea have proposed restrictive data protection laws that could significantly harm U.S. companies while also undermining efforts to enhance global interoperability.

“These countries’ approaches range from quite onerous data localization requirements to national privacy frameworks that are administratively burdensome and complex, all of which end up imposing economic costs on the country by undermining their attractiveness as destinations for jobs-creating investment and innovation,” warned Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for ICT policy. “They also create an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape, which imposes added compliance costs on business that hampers continued innovation.”

The comments also highlighted an example of a proposal made by India that would establish an alarming global precedent and could significantly impede the growth of innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and industrial growth through strict data localization requirements, restrictions on the cross-border data flows, and extraterritorial application.

“It is vital that the U.S. continue to exercise global leadership in pushing back against this type of protective approach to personal data protection,” said Wanner.

NTIA’s initiative runs parallel to the efforts of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a voluntary privacy framework and the efforts of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration to increase global regulatory harmony.

To read USCIB’s comments, please visit our website.

 

 

USCIB Supports Singapore Convention on Mediation 

Published on November 12, 2018

International businesses now have a powerful tool that will greatly facilitate international trade and commerce. The new Singapore Convention will make enforceable settlement agreements resulting from international mediation.

USCIB joined the US Chamber of Commerce, NFTC, and NAM to co-sign a letter of support for the U.S. signing and ratifying the Singapore Convention on Mediation. The letter was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on November 1. The treaty negotiation was launched by the U.S. with the aim of developing a cost-effective international legal mechanism for resolving cross-border commercial disputes between private parties.

“By encouraging the use of mediation as a viable path to resolving commercial disputes, the Convention reduces cost and eliminates the need for duplicative litigation,” the letter stated.

The Convention also improves the enforcement process by obliging governments to recognize the legal status of any mediated settlement. As a result, the Singapore Convention helps mitigate risk when entering into a commercial relationship with businesses in foreign markets and raises the standards of fair trade globally.

Business Groups Fire Back Against Proposed Tax on Tech Firms

Published on November 6, 2018

Following the United Kingdom’s plan to impose a new tax on sales by many technology companies, U.S. business groups, including USCIB, fired back warning that the proposal would violate tax agreements by targeting U.S. firms. The proposal includes a 2% tax on sales by large social media platforms, internet marketplaces and search engines from April 2020.

BBC reported on this development and highlighted comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who according to BBC, voiced strong concern about different countries’ efforts to develop digital sales tax. “This tax is a proportionate and targeted interim response that reflects the changing global economy, and how digital businesses derive value from users – it’s not targeted at any country and seeks to ensure the tax system is fair,” said Mnuchin.

USCIB submitted a letter to EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in July in response to a proposed EU directive urging the directive not to be adopted.

“The directives reflect a lack of understanding of current and evolving business models and would distort the allocation of revenue or income to functions that do not accurately reflect value creation by the companies earning the revenue or income,” stated USCIB’s letter.

“USCIB supports a consensus-based comprehensive income-tax-based solution applied equally to agreed upon issues in segments of the digitalized economy,” added USCIB Vice President for Tax Policy Carol Doran Klein. “There is agreement that the global economy, businesses and the public sector are digitalizing. Therefore, any solution to agreed upon issues (if any) must apply to the economy broadly, not to narrow segments of the economy. Any solution must also be broadly agreed to by countries to minimize double taxation and controversy, therefore the G20-OECD Inclusive framework is the best forum for this discussion. The EU itself recognizes the importance of a multilateral approach.”

 

Robinson Furthers USCIB Ties with US Mission to Geneva

Published on November 6, 2018
The Palais des Nations, which serves as the UN’s Geneva headquarters

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson was in Geneva the first week of November for high-level meetings of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), for which he serves as vice president for North America. While in the city, Robinson also met with senior officials at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, including Deputy Permanent Representative (and Charge d’Affaires in the absence of an Ambassador) Mark Cassayre. Tom Mackall, USCIB senior counsel and ILO Governing Body representative, accompanied Robinson.

Cassayre was only recently posted to Geneva, but already speaks with keen knowledge about areas of mutual interest, according to Robinson. Key senior staffers from the U.S. Mission also attended the meeting, including Howard Solomon, Bill Lehmberg and Phil Cummings.

“The meeting afforded us the opportunity to underline to the Mission USCIB’s unique positioning with regard to international institutions, and its role on behalf of U.S. business in global regulatory and standard-setting diplomacy, reflecting our parallel and mutually-supportive missions,” said Robinson.

A major issue of discussion was the emergence in recent years of allegations in some UN organizations of “conflict of interest” and “corporate capture” as an attempt to limit, if not exclude, business (industries, companies, and the organizations that represent their interest) from international discussions in areas ranging from health to climate change to labor protections. Robinson also noted The USCIB Foundation’s collaboration with a Geneva-based NGO, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), to develop principles for nutrition-related public private partnerships.

“The U.S. Mission seemed very supportive of an all-inclusive approach to today’s economic challenges, and we will look forward to working with them to help ensure preservation of that principle in international institutions,” noted Robinson.

Specific areas of discussion included current ILO debates within the Governing Body, the worrisome Ecuador-led efforts to secure a treaty on business and human rights, and approaches to other Geneva-based institutions including UNCTAD.

“We also highlighted USCIB’s longtime collaboration with the U.S. Missions in New York and Geneva, and our hope for a second USCIB member company delegation to Geneva, as we had undertaken this past spring with the help of the Mission,” said Robinson. “We ended the meeting feeling confident that this was a solid next step in constructive engagement with the U.S. Mission. On a personal note, I was delighted to learn that Mr. Cassayre, like me, had been an AFS exchange student, he to Lausanne, Switzerland, and I to Graz, Austria, and that both of us had maintained solid connections with those respective countries.”

USCIB Leader Appointed to President’s Trade Advisory Group

Published on November 6, 2018
Business & Climate Summit 2015, USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw.
USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III has been reappointed by President Donald Trump as member of the ACTPN.
The ACTPN is the highest ranking of around 25 private-sector committees that advise the administration on trade.

 

USCIB Chairman Harold McGraw III who serves as chairman emeritus of S&P Global has been reappointed by President Donald Trump on October 30 as member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). McGraw joins two others, including Fred Bergsten, chairman emeritus of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and James Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union,  in being reappointed to the ACTPN.

“We are delighted that Terry will continue to provide insightful and impassioned advocacy of fair and balanced policies to expand American trade as a member of the ACTPN,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson.

Trump also plans to appoint two new members Evan Greenberg, president and CEO of Chubb Limited, and Timothy Smucker, chairman emeritus of the J.M. Smucker Co.

The ACTPN is the highest ranking of around 25 private-sector committees that advise the administration on trade.

 

USCIB Event Concludes With Action Plan to Promote Food Security and Nutrition Partnerships

Published on November 5, 2018
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson (center) speaks at the Rome event. USCIB food and agriculture lead Mike Michener (left)

With the future of food continuing to be a pressing global challenge and malnutrition profoundly affecting every country, The USCIB Foundation once again teamed up with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to organize a public-private partnerships dialogue to tackle malnutrition. The November 8-9 dialogue in Rome, Italy was a second in a series and was built on last year’s event in New York. USCIB CEO and President Peter Robinson participated in the event alongside Vice President for Product Policy and Innovation Mike Michener. Robinson spoke at the opening session and took part in a fireside chat conversation with GAIN Executive Director Lawrence Haddad, who is the winner of the 2018 World Food Prize.

This year’s event featured the theme of “Together for Nutrition: applying principles for public-private engagement.” The high-level dialogue explored practical and tangible ways to implement and scale coordinated initiatives to put the draft Principles, that were agreed upon last year, into practice. The program focused on both under-nutrition and the rise of overweight and obesity, as well as the associated diet related non-communicable diseases. Leaders of governments, development agencies, and the private sector from a wide range of countries, with a particular focus on developing countries with high burdens of malnutrition, participated in the dialogue.

This year’s event concluded with some important outcomes to help deliver results. GAIN and The USCIB Foundation are planning to take the Principles to donors such as developmental agencies, foundations, and companies interested in public-private partnerships. USCIB will also ask its member companies, with existing public-private partnerships to pilot the Principles of Engagement by applying them retroactively to the ongoing PPP. Michener, who leads USCIB’s work on food and healthcare, also emphasized the importance of engaging the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“We [GAIN and USCIB] will take the Principles to the Rome-based agencies, starting with a briefing for Permanent Representatives early in 2019, followed by the FAO Program Committee and the Executive Boards of WFP and IFAD,” he said. “We also plan to take the Principles to regional meetings, with the first meeting tentatively set for Africa in late 2019.”

Global food and agriculture constitute a US$7.8 trillion industry, employing up to 40 percent of the working population in many countries yet progress towards the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is too slow and the scale and complexity of the problem underscores the need for deepened collaboration and renewed commitment to improving nutrition outcomes for all, especially the most vulnerable,” according to Michener.

“Countries cannot achieve their SDG goals without an aligned, motivated and incentivized private sector as a key partner,” said Michener. “In this context, improved dialogue and collaboration between government, business, civil society and international organizations is crucial for guiding engagement and focusing efforts where they can have the most sustainable impact and long-term success.”

Remembering Bruce Wilson, Who Grew USCIB’s ATA Carnet Service

Published on October 30, 2018
Bruce Wilson

USCIB members, friends and staff are mourning the loss of Bruce Wilson, an innovator in international trade, logistics and insurance who headed USCIB’s ATA Carnet department for more than a decade. Wilson passed away on October 17 at age 87.

“Bruce Wilson was a big part of my life and that of the USCIB,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “We learned a lot from his acumen, business sense and creativity.”

ATA Carnets are international customs documents than enable the temporary, duty-free importation of numerous types of products – including goods for trade shows and product demonstrations, as well as professional equipment – to scores of countries and customs territories for up to one year. The worldwide ATA Carnet system is overseen by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Joining USCIB as director of Carnet operations in 1987, Wilson helped to significantly expand and strengthen the organization’s role as the U.S. national guaranteeing association in the worldwide ATA Carnet system. The company he founded, Corporation for International Business, serves as one of two recognized USCIB service providers for ATA Carnets (the other is Roanoke Insurance Group, Inc.).

Wilson traveled extensively, representing USCIB at ICC and WCO gatherings, developing a deep understanding of both North American and international surety markets. One of his many accomplishments at USCIB was the development and implementation of a bilateral agreement between the United States and Taiwan, Province of China that mirrors the ATA Carnet system, thereby opening Taiwan to additional U.S trade and trade promotion.

“Bruce helped and mentored many people around him,” said Glendy Sung, USCIB’s director of Carnet operations. “His impact on others was exceptional.”

Darren Maynard, who has worked for several years with USCIB on the global development of the ATA Carnet system, added: “It is a significant loss to the Carnet world. Bruce helped shape the industry into what it is today.”

Wilson is survived by his wife Kathleen; a son Curt; daughters Leslie August and Moira; his former wife, Kathryn M. Hamann; and grandsons Nikolai, Henry, Chuck and Harrison.

Memorial services will be held on November 10 at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 149 West Main Street in Barrington, IL. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Wilson’s name to The Salvation Army, Chicago Metropolitan Division or to Save the Children.

ICANN Focuses on Policy Priorities for Domain Names

Published on October 30, 2018

ICANN 63’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) wrapped up on October 25 in Barcelona, Spain, marking the 20th anniversary of ICANN. The AGM brought together roughly 3,000 participants from business, government, civil society, and the technical community from across the world to focus on policy priorities for the domain name system (DNS).

The meeting was dominated by ICANN stakeholder efforts to develop a formal policy to replace the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Temp Spec).

“The Temp Spec was designed to ensure that ICANN and the industry of more than 1,000 generic top-level domain (gTLD) registries and registrars meet existing ICANN contractual requirements concerning the collection of registration data, as well as comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),” reflected USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “A special group of ICANN’s policy-making body spent most of the meeting focused on moving forward the ‘expedited policy development process’ (EPDP) that must replace the Temp Spec by May 25, 2019.”

ICANN’s proposed Draft Framework for a Possible Unified Access Model for Continued Access to Full WHOIS Data (UAM) was also in the spotlight. At ICANN 63, the Business Constituency (BC), of which USCIB is a member, continued to press ICANN to undertake work to implement the UAM concurrent with the EPDP. In addition, the BC urged emergency interim measures to enable third-party access to WHOIS data, citing already extraordinary economic and security costs stemming from spikes in cybersecurity attacks, cybercrime, and brand and IP infringement.

Wanner participated in the October 20-25 meetings in her capacity as the BC’s representative to the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), a position that has enabled greater input to policy discussions at the CSG executive committee-level on behalf of USCIB members and facilitated important meetings with senior ICANN officials and other key constituencies. At ICANN 63, in particular, this entailed coordinating with CSG partners to support the election of USCIB member Keith Drazek (VeriSign) to GNSO Council Chair, a position that will be key to shepherding work on the EPDP and third-party data access.

USCIB Defends Pro-Investment Policies at UNCTAD

Published on October 30, 2018

USCIB Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly was in Geneva last week (October 22-26) leading international business advocacy efforts at the annual World Investment Forum (WIF) hosted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Donnelly led a small, but outspoken, group of business representatives, including the European Service Forum and BDI, Germany’s large business organization, and participated in a few sessions, being a constant business presence throughout the course of the week.

According to Donnelly, UNCTAD seems to remain a forum dominated by developing country representatives, academics, and non-government organization activists, often with anti-business orientations. UNCTAD did however include some leading CEOs from Novartis, Nestle, DeBeers and Ethiopian Airlines on opening plenary panels, all of whom provided excellent, candid remarks on why and how major businesses invest abroad. Donnelly and his colleagues followed suit.

“We spoke up forcefully the rest of the week on the important, indeed indispensable, role Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays in financing economic development and providing critical capital for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing economies,” noted Donnelly.

Donnelly was included as one of the kickoff speakers (the only one representing business views) at the annual high-level experts meeting on International Investment Agreements (IIAs). “We all need strong, comprehensive investment agreements, including effective Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) enforcement provisions that are essential to support the required substantial FDI flows,” said Donnelly. “I also had the opportunity to directly challenge some European Union representatives pushing their bureaucratized ‘Multilateral Investment Court’ as an alternative to the proved ISDS systems.”

Donnelly also represented business on a side-event panel, alongside government representatives from Canada and Nigeria, that was organized by the UN Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the World Bank affiliate whose rules and procedures, currently being updated, have long governed most ISDS dispute processes.  Additionally, Donnelly was able to speak privately with senior government officials at, and on, the margins of various plenary sessions, panels and side events.

“We need to be realistic,” said Donnelly, reflecting on his week on the front lines of international investment policy debates. “After all, it’s UNCTAD and there are a lot of pressures out there, helpful or otherwise, pressing for major reforms of established treaties, rules, and procedures for protecting and incentivizing FDI flows.  ISDS is particularly under political attack.  A week on the front lines at UNCTAD, while not always fun, is something we need to do as a business community to be taken seriously in the global debates on investment policies, protections and procedures. I can’t say we carried the day but I hope we were able to give some of the serious, open-minded government representatives a few different perspectives on these important investment and SDG issues.  I emphasized that if the investment rules and procedures don’t work for business or aren’t perceived to fair and balanced, business isn’t going to invest. And no one wins.  If they truly are seeking productive solutions, governments and international organizations need to include business as a true partner in these investment policy debates and decision-making. Frankly, at this point, the jury is still out on whether that will really happen as governments consider moves to revise or replace investment long-established agreements. But we at USCIB intend to continue speaking up assertively on these important issues.”