Growth, Jobs and Open Markets Archives

WTO Deal in Bali Would Unleash Benefits For All Business Tells Ministers

Published on December 3, 2013
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical.

The business community is putting pressure on World Trade Organization members to seal a trade facilitation deal at this week’s WTO ministerial in Bali, Indonesia.

Speaking to a high-level meeting today between business and ministers in Bali, Victor K. Fung, chairman of the ICC World Trade Agenda initiative, urged business to continue pressing their governments to conclude an agreement on trade facilitation in the next three days.

At the same time, ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, who also serves as USCIB’s chairman, and some 80 other global CEOs issued an open letter to governments, published in the Financial Times, emphasizing that a trade facilitation deal could boost global GDP by upwards of three percent.

Separately, McGraw joined UK Trade Minister Stephen Green in a joint op-ed
published by Reuters spelling out the potential benefits of a trade facilitation deal. “In addition to providing a major stimulus to the global economy, a deal would also reinforce the WTO’s central role in shaping the rules that govern world trade,” they wrote. “The challenges now facing global trade are formidable. Showing that the WTO can help by tackling them one by one — rather than in a mammoth undertaking — would be an important step forward and a model to build on.”

USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan is attending the Bali ministerial as part of the global business delegation to the talks. Last week, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson expressed disappointment that WTO members had failed to wrap up a Bali package before the ministerial. He urged ministers to “pick up the pieces and move forward as quickly as possible.”

At the Bali meeting, Fung said that sealing a deal on trade facilitation at the 9th WTO Ministerial, commencing today would benefit all countries by creating millions of jobs and laying the foundations of a level playing field for all countries to compete in world markets.

Fung and Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia’s trade minister, co-chaired the meeting organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Indonesian trade ministry. Ministers and ambassadors from many key WTO member countries participated in the roundtable discussion.

“A trade facilitation deal would put multilateralism back on centre stage in the global quest for growth and prosperity,” Fung said. “For those of us who rely on the fairness, transparency and non-discriminatory nature of the multilateral system, a deal would be a victory for pragmatism and an important stride forward for creating a trading system that works for all. This is especially important for supporting the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises and growth in the developing world.”

WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told the gathering that a deal was in sight but would require political engagement and will at the highest level: “This is not a North-South divide and it is not a question of needing more time.” he said. “Either we get a deal done here, or we don’t.”

Azevedo described the role of the business community in pushing for a deal as absolutely critical. “In the last few weeks as momentum has picked up, governments began to pay more attention as businesses became more involved and people began to realize the importance of the package we have before us. Businesses saying that they want this deal, both in developed and developing countries, changed the environment in Geneva significantly and it can change the environment here too.”

A recent report commissioned by ICC has shown that the conclusion of a trade facilitation deal in Bali would generate annual world GDP increases of approximately $960 billion (U.S.) and would increase exports of developing countries by $570 billion. It would also create 21 million jobs, 18 million of which would be in developing economies.

Read more on the ICC website.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

From the President: Its Time to Clap with Both Hands on FDI

Published on December 1, 2013

U.S. officials say all the right things about inward investment. They must also support outbound FDI, which is critically important for U.S. exports, competitiveness and jobs.

By Peter M. Robinson

4728_image002We were delighted when, in early November, the U.S. Department of Commerce spearheaded a very successful “Select USA Investment Summit” aimed at wooing overseas investors to our shores. But while it was truly heartening to have the Obama administration fully and publicly on board with a strong message that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is good for the U.S. economy –  for U.S. jobs, for our competitiveness, and for our communities – we could still do a lot more. The FDI glass is really only half-full in terms of administration policies, which seem to stress inward investment to the exclusion of outbound FDI by U.S.-based firms. We and the administration need to take a balanced approach to achieve the best results of this new push for FDI.

The Select USA Summit was a fantastic step in the right direction. It was great to have President Obama, Secretaries Pritzker, Kerry, Lew and Perez, plus U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and National Economic Council NEC ChairGene Sperling, all sounding a consistent pro-investment message. Leaders from USCIB member companies also spoke, including Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical,Bill Simon of Wal-Mart USA, Joe Echevarria of Deloitte, Doug Oberhelman of Caterpillar, Bill Black of Fleishman-Hillard and others. They delivered a strong message, and we agree that the U.S. needs to jump into the fray at both the federal and sub-federal levels and compete to make America the most attractive global destination for FDI.

“Sayonara” to investment xenophobia

We are only eight years removed from  the Dubai Ports World (DPI) debacle of 2005, when congressmen and senators  from both parties sought to out-do each other in demonizing foreign investment in America’s infrastructure.  The Bush administration seemed stuck in neutral, unable or unwilling to articulate coherent pro-investment policies.  Some may even remember the anti-Japanese paranoia of the 1980s, fueled largely by xenophobia. We’ve come a long way from such narrow-minded thinking.

More encouraging, the real story today is outside Washington – in America’s states, cities, and towns, where inward FDI is planting new “greenfield” manufacturing and services enterprises, and reviving established companies, creating good jobs and fueling economic growth as well as tax revenues and new infrastructure.  We are clearly on an FDI roll, and it’s great to have the administration both celebrating it and doubling down to hone America’s investment competitiveness.

But we’re clapping with just one hand. A careful reading of high-level speeches and conference documents from the Select USA Summit suggests an administration still too timid when it comes to outward investment by U.S.-based firms.  In today’s globalized, supply chain-driven economy with competition sharper than ever, the feeling I get is that some in the administration and on Capitol Hill still seem trapped in the old, tired “outsourcing/exporting jobs” mindset.  U.S. firms, large and small, need to have the option of investing abroad to bolster their global competitiveness and grow good jobs here at home.

Outbound FDI drives exports, jobs, R&D at home

Several recent studies (including from USCIB and from the Peterson Institute for International Economics) show that increased FDI abroad by U.S. firms correlates with increased exports, job creation, R&D expenditures, and tax revenues here at home.  Investing abroad is good for the U.S. economy: it’s the only truly viable national strategy for U.S. competitiveness in today’s global economy, in which 90 percent of the world’s consumers and 75 percent of global GDP exist outside U.S. borders.  Our businesses need access to local elements of supply chains, to service outlets close to markets, and to key inputs and natural resources. Not investing abroad would force U.S. companies to compete with one hand tied behind their back.

There are numerous ways in which companies and the administration can utilize and support outward FDI, the most effective being agreeing on high-standard bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Far-reaching and inclusive BITs, including one with China currently under negotiation, will provide the groundwork for strong trade in both directions. Shaking hands with our partners on these high-standard treaties  –  the sooner the better – will give America a big advantage in spurring growth and jobs.

Nostalgia for the “good old days” when U.S. business had no international competitors, when we could make everything in America and ship it to the world, is certainly understandable.  But nostalgia can’t drive U.S. economic policy making.  We need U.S. economic policies, led by the administration, attuned to today’s economic realities, including the growth of global value chains. These have to include strongly pro-FDI policies – for both inward and outward investment.

Let’s get everyone pulling in the same direction, for consistent pro-investment policies to help American companies and American workers compete around the world.  Let’s start clapping with both hands on FDI!
Peter Robinson’s bio and contact information

Other recent postings from Peter Robinson:

Making Sure the Business Voice Is Heard in International Agencies (Fall 2013)

A Trade Policy Renaissance (Summer 2013)

The UN’s Development Agenda: Business Steps Up (Spring 2013)

A Network Like No Other (Winter 2012-2013)

A Business Perspective on Investment Incentives

Published on November 15, 2013
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly, who spoke at a Columbia University conference on international investment, here briefs foreign journalists on the transatlantic trade talks.
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly, who spoke at a Columbia University conference on international investment, here briefs foreign journalists on the transatlantic trade talks.

USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was one of just a few business panelists at the annual conference of the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, which took place November 13-14 in New York. The annual Columbia University conference has become a major gathering place for investment policy experts.

According to Donnelly, the roster of speakers at this year’s conference “was again tilted toward academics, NGOs and government officials – some, unfortunately, with noticeable anti-business biases when it comes to foreign investment policy issues.”

The topic this this year was “Investment Incentives: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Assessing the Costs, Benefits and Options for Policy Reform.” On the opening panel, Donnelly delivered a message on the important role FDI, both inward and outbound, can play in a country’s (or a state’s) strategy for economic development and job creation.

“Well-targeted incentives can help attract sought-after investors and bolster national competitiveness,” Donnelly said. “Not all investment incentives are good or accomplish their objectives but, similarly, not all incentives are somehow, as some critics charge, wasteful or an abuse of scarce taxpayer funds.”

Donnelly’s said investment incentives tend to be overrated as a driver of investment location decisions. “Internationally, major U.S. businesses’ investment decisions are generally driven far more by market realities, location, sound economic policies, rule of law, and political stability than by the size of an incentive package.”

Several business representatives in the audience commended Donnelly afterward for scoring at least a few points for the business team in FDI policy discussions.

State of play in the U.S.-EU negotiations

While in New York, Donnelly also met with a number of foreign journalists on the business community’s outlook on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, in a program organized with the State Department’s New York Foreign Press Center. Click here to read a transcript.

With tariffs between the United States and the European Union already relatively low, discussion centered on non-tariff barriers, regulatory cooperation and conditions for investment. Donnelly said American business hoped that trade and investment liberalization via the TTIP, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, would provide a much-needed spur to liberalization at the global level via the World Trade Organization.

Donnelly also called out regulatory cooperation as an area of potentially large gains for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, identifying auto safety standards and chemicals regulation as examples of areas where commonly agreed or mutually recognized standards could significantly ease cross-border business between the world’s two largest economies.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Business Gives Last Push to Seal Bali Deal and Salvage Doha Round

Published on November 12, 2013
(Click here to enlarge this infographic)
(Click here to enlarge this infographic)

A prime opportunity to further liberalize multilateral trade presents itself next month when ministers from 159 countries converge at the 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Bali.

In the home stretch to the crucial negotiations, the International Chamber of Commerce is urging all WTO members to seal a trade facilitation deal that would contribute to economic growth and job creation by simplifying administrative procedures and standards that dictate how goods cross borders or how they are handled in customs.

The conclusion of a WTO agreement on trade facilitation at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali is one of five business recommendations put forward by business through the ICC Business World Trade Agenda (WTA) initiative launched in March 2011. The initiative set out to consult CEOs and senior executives in all major regions of the world in a bid to outline priorities for a practical and forward-looking trade policy agenda.

“Moving forward with the WTO’s trade facilitation agreement should be a top priority given the substantial potential benefits,” said ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, chairman of McGraw Hill Financial [now S&P Global] and also chairman of USCIB. “After years of stalemate on the global trade agenda, there is now a real opportunity to achieve a meaningful result that increases market access and creates openings that unleash more opportunities for higher growth throughout the world.”

USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan will be among the ICC and other business representatives attending the Bali ministerial.

ICC has called on WTO members to show political will at the highest levels to reach an agreement on trade facilitation and to make commitments and compromises that recognize the common interest in success and the collective cost of failure.

One ICC study has found that reaching an agreement on trade facilitation could not only boost global gross domestic product by $960 billion (U.S.) but also increase exports of developing countries by $570 billion and of developed countries by $475 billion. A further benefit would be the associated creation of 21 million jobs, 18 million of which would be in developing economies.

Read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

USCIB Joins Business Community Leadership at Launch of Congressional “Friends of TPP” Caucus

Published on October 30, 2013

Bipartisanship may be in short supply in Washington these days, but there are welcome signs of hope on the trade front. As a lead member of the steering committee of the Business Coalition for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), USCIB participated in the October 29 launch of the bipartisan Congressional “Friends of TPP” Caucus.

The caucus’s four House co-chairs – Reps. Dave Reichert (R-WA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Greg Meeks (D-NY) – joined Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri (speaking on behalf of the 11 TPP country ambassadors in attendance) and business representatives at the launch event in the Rayburn House Office Building.

The Business Coalition for the TPP issued a press release supporting the new caucus and committing itself to working closely with its leaders, in order to build Congressional understanding of, and support for, a TPP agreement that is ambitious, comprehensive, and high-standard.

“The quicker the better,” observed Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services. “But USCIB and the business community have been very clear that the critical element here is getting a strong, comprehensive agreement, not racing to cut a mediocre deal in order to meet an arbitrary deadline.”

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and  Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

With Timely European Programs USCIB Advances Trade and Investment Agenda

Published on October 14, 2013
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly (left) makes a point at a well-attended conference in Copenhagen on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly (left) makes a point at a well-attended conference in Copenhagen on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The U.S. government shutdown may have caused the cancellation of planned U.S.-EU trade talks (along with so much else) in the first half of October, but USCIB kept up a high level of activity on key trade and investment priorities, with a number of timely events and meetings in Europe.

Working with the National Foreign Trade Council and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we organized a September 30 program in Geneva on “Localization Barriers to Trade.” The well-attended gathering focused on the importance of global value chains to corporate and national competitiveness (the subject of a recent USCIB-commissioned paper by Dartmouth’s Matthew Slaughter), and how forced localization requirements undercut the ability of global companies to effectively utilize their value chains to generate growth and jobs in those countries that impose them.

Speakers included Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president for policy and government affairs, Hendrik Bourgeois (GE), Jeffrey Schott (Peterson Institute for International Economics) and Rob Atkinson (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation). Afterward, USCIB co-hosted a reception that provided additional opportunity for members to meet with representatives from the WTO delegations of several countries.

While in Geneva, USCIB’s Mulligan attended the WTO’s Public Policy Forum, and met with a number of officials at the WTO, the U.S. mission to the United Nations, and UNCTAD. He also took part in a meeting of the ICC Trade and Investment Commission. He later traveled to Brussels, where he joined other members of the Business Coalition for Transatlantic Trade for meetings with EU negotiators as well as EU business representatives to discuss U.S. business priorities and views for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

According to Mulligan, key takeaways from the meeting included the EU’s emphasis on government procurement in the TTIP, and some concern about a slow response from the U.S. on regulatory cooperation issues, a key aspect of the talks. Mulligan and other business representatives highlighted a number of priorities for American business, including comprehensive coverage of investment issues and investor-state dispute settlement, forced localization, cross-border data flows and a comprehensive approach to services market access, including for financial services.

Not to be outdone, Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, journeyed to Copenhagen to take part in a well-attended conference on TTIP organized by the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). Speaking on a panel with the heads of Business Europe and DI plus the CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, Donnelly emphasized that U.S. business is insisting that a TTIP agreement be ambitious, comprehensive and high-standard.

The Copenhagen program was just one of a planned series of briefings and events Donnelly was scheduled to take part in across Western Europe, organized in cooperation with the State Department. Unfortunately, the government shutdown forced him to cancel the rest of the trip.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

USCIB Paper on Chinas WTO Compliance

Published on October 10, 2013

USCIB worked with members to submit a statement last month on China’s compliance with its WTO commitments, in response to a federal register notice from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The statement discusses the following cross-sectoral and sectoral issues:

Cross-sectoral: Certification, Licensing and Testing Barriers, Government Procurement, Intellectual Property Rights, Market Access, National Treatment and Non-Discrimination, Regulatory Environment, Standards, State-Owned Enterprises, Taxation

Sectoral: Agricultural Biotechnology, Audiovisual, Chemicals, Customs, Express Delivery Services (EDS), Software and Telecommunications (Services and Equipment).

USCIB’s China Committee will continue working on a more detailed response to USTR’s request and will be in contact with members to develop further sections, including an Annex which will address China transparency and regulatory notice and comment issues, as well as sections on chemicals, electronic payments and pharmaceuticals.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

More on USCIB’s China Committee

USCIB Joins Business Delegation to APEC Summit

Published on October 8, 2013

There was plenty of activity at the October 5-7 APEC CEO Summit in Bali, Indonesia – not just as part of the summit agenda but also on the sidelines. APEC leaders released a final declaration restating their commitment to open trade in the region, as well as a special statement in support of the multilateral trading system.

As part of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson participated in several meetings with APEC economy leaders and ministers, including Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, and Koya Nishikawa, Japan’s coordinator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks.

At a meeting with President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam (L-R): Larry Greenwood (MetLife), Peter Sykes (Dow), Kim Taylor (Johnson & Johnson) and Peter Robinson (USCIB).
At a meeting with President Truong Tan Sang of Vietnam (L-R): Larry Greenwood (MetLife), Peter Sykes (Dow), Kim Taylor (Johnson & Johnson) and Peter Robinson (USCIB).

Also included were meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Many USCIB members participated in the meetings and had the chance to raise important trade issues with the officials, according to Justine Badimon, USCIB’s director of regional affairs, who accompanied Robinson to the summit. The TPP trade talks were the focus of much discussion, and leaders of the TPP nations released their own statement saying negotiations are on track toward completion.

“We were pleased to see commitments by APEC member economies in several important areas, including advancement of TPP and working within the WTO to open global markets to trade, and especially in concluding a trade facilitation agreement,” Robinson stated.

Prior to the summit, USCIB issued a statement on priority issues for APEC in 2014, when its rotating host duties passes to China.

Robinson also took part in an event on women’s economic empowerment, hosted by Wal-mart, on the margins of the summit. He provided an overview of a BIAC Survey on gender equality and the work that USCIB is doing on this issue in the OECD.

“This has been a great opportunity to meet with many of our members based here in the Asia-Pacific and to work alongside our coalition partners,” said Robinson. “USCIB is committed to our work in APEC and looks forward to carrying on our member’s priorities into the China year.”

Noted at the summit was the absence of President Obama, who cancelled his Asia visit in light of the U.S. government shutdown, and who was represented by Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry made clear that APEC remains an important forum for the United States and commended APEC for its partnership with the business community to address the economic issues of the region.

Kerry also raised climate change and energy as being major issues to address next year and called on APEC to be a leader in this discussion. The 2013 APEC CEO Summit concluded with Chinese President Xi Jinping inviting all APEC economies to come to Beijing for the 2014 CEO Summit.

 

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

Business Urges APEC to Take Concrete Steps to Expedite Trade

Published on October 2, 2013

4607_image002New York, N.Y., October 2, 2013 – As leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies get set to meet in Bali, Indonesia, a key pro-trade business group urged a number of concrete steps to free up trade and facilitate business in this fast-growing region.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) issued a comprehensive paper with priority issues and recommendations for APEC in 2014, when the group’s rotating host duties pass to China.

“APEC’s importance for U.S. and global business is growing,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, who will be part of the business delegation to the Bali summit, which takes place October 5 to 7. “We are recommending a number of steps leaders can take to help ensure the region remains a center for growth and innovation.”

USCIB said several current or prospective APEC projects offer special promise to smooth trade relations among the economies. These include:

  • the APEC Chemical Dialogue, which USCIB called a useful and important forum to address issues relating to chemicals management
  • discussion of long-term climate change adaptation planning, where USCIB is seeking to inject private-sector know-how
  • launch of the Virtual Customs Business Dialogue, which will look at reducing technical and administrative barriers to trade, during China’s host year

The business group is also urging APEC’s 21 member economies to undertake new work to address localization barriers to trade, and to work toward the elimination of barriers to trade in digital services and products. The USCIB paper, which is issued annually, covers more than 20 separate issue areas. USCIB said its member companies would be closely engaged throughout China’s host year.

Robinson said the business community would push for progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) when trade ministers from the 12 TPP parties meet on the sidelines of the Bali summit. “We want a strong, comprehensive TPP agreement, with no carve-outs of issues or sectors, and which includes key provisions on forced localization and dispute settlement,” he stated.

Looking at the global trading system, Robinson said business would also encourage APEC members to work together in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to open global markets to trade, especially through a potential trade facilitation agreement that will be on the table at the WTO’s own Bali ministerial in December.

 

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

New Study Global Value Chains Paired With Open Markets Offer Path to Sustainable Growth

Published on September 16, 2013
A new study on global value chains from the OECD, WTO and UNCTAD echoes conclusions of a report commissioned by USCIB and the Business Roundtable.
A new study on global value chains from the OECD, WTO and UNCTAD echoes conclusions of a report commissioned by USCIB and the Business Roundtable.

A report launched by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) finds that global value chains (GVCs) have become “a dominant feature of the world economy,” with between 30 and 60 percent of G20 countries’ exports comprised of imported inputs or used as inputs by others, and offer new prospects for sustainable growth, development and jobs.

The report, entitled Implications of Global Value Chains for Trade, Investment, Development and Jobs, concludes that both the cost of trade and investment protectionism and the benefits of multilateral opening are much higher than previously thought, and highlights the urgent necessity of comprehensive policy reforms that enhance trade and investment openness.

These conclusions, which were presented to the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg in response to the G20 leaders’ request at the 2012 Summit to analyze the functioning of GVCs and their relationship with international trade and development, parallel those of a study by Dartmouth’s Matthew Slaughter,  American Companies and Global Supply Networks, published earlier this year by USCIB and the Business Roundtable, which found that the operations of globally engaged U.S. companies benefit American economic growth and job creation.

In our highly interconnected world, participation in GVCs can produce considerable gains: developing economies with the fastest growing GVC participation have per-capita GDP growth rates two percent above the average, according to the report. Likewise, countries that attract more foreign direct investment tend to have higher GVC participation levels and to generate more value added from trade. Thus, the report states that practical trade facilitation reforms are crucial in reducing trade costs and increasing GVC participation, and that policies conducive to open markets will help ensure that development and growth potential is realized and widely inclusive. Sustainable GVC growth also relies on multilateral cooperation so that policies are coordinated between exporters and importers, and host countries and home countries.

“Trade facilitation is about easing access to the global marketplace and doing away with the complicated border crossing procedures and excess red tape that raise costs, which ultimately fall on businesses, consumers and our economies,” said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría. “Reducing global trade costs by just one percent would increase worldwide income by more than $40 billion, 65 percent of which would accrue to developing countries.”

One of the key challenges remaining is to understand and address the obstacles to such access that developing economies experience – access that would help build productive capacity where local firms can capture a significant share of the value added. Significant investment, though, would be required to aid technology dissemination, skill building, education and infrastructure upgrading.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee