Policy Areas Archives

OECD Forum on Responsible Business Conduct

Published on June 1, 2016

responsibility1On June 8-9, members of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD will participate in the OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, which brings together representatives from governments, businesses, trade unions and civil society to discuss how to achieve actual impacts through responsible business conduct, to explore emerging supply chain issues, and to promote active contribution of the private sector to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Debates will focus on addressing severe human rights impacts in global supply chains, taxation and responsible business conduct, the activities of National Contact Points since their establishment 15 years ago, the benefits of engaging in multi-stakeholder initiatives and the fiduciary duty in institutional investments, as well as responsibility in mega-sporting events and in the pharmaceutical industry.

Back-to-back with the OECD Global Forum, a series of consultations on responsible business conduct will be organized for which BIAC coordinates business input. The first consultation will take place on June 7 on the occasion of the first OECD Policymakers Roundtable on Responsible Business Conduct, to discuss policy coherence for effective implementation of responsible business conduct standards as well as the link between responsible business conduct and investment and development policy. On June 9, a separate consultation on a revised draft of the general OECD due diligence guidance will be organized during the Global Forum. A third consultation will take place on June 10 to contribute to discussions of the National Contact Points for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, to ensure balanced implementation of the MNE Guidelines and a common understanding of the NCP process.

Business Can Help Shape the Future of Global Trade

Published on May 31, 2016

The following op-ed was published in the Wall Street Journal on May 26.

The World Trade Organization is seeking input from the private sector on the next steps for trade liberalization.

By ROBERTO AZEVÊDO And SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL

In the span of two short years, the World Trade Organization has given businesspeople around the world a number of reasons to sit up and take notice. Through a series of negotiated trade agreements, it has demonstrated that its efforts can bring massive, widespread benefits. Now the WTO is looking to work in closer partnership with the private sector to bring further gains to the international trade regime.

In 2013, WTO members delivered the Trade Facilitation Agreement. This was the first global trade deal in 18 years. Once ratified, it promises to slash red tape and reduce border delays. Trade costs will be lowered by an average of nearly 15%. Global trade could be lifted by as much as $1 trillion.

This impact is bigger than if every remaining tariff in the world were reduced to zero. Full implementation could create more than 20 million jobs and lift global gross-domestic-product growth by up to 0.5 percentage points. Businesses around the world will get a significant boost.

Then in 2015, a group of WTO members came together to free up trade on a range of information-technology products, including the latest-generation semiconductors, telecommunications satellites, medical devices and video games.

This deal, expanding the existing Information Technology Agreement, eliminates tariffs on approximately $1.3 trillion in annual exports. That’s more than the value of the global trade in automobiles.

That same year, WTO members agreed on a world-wide ban on export subsidies on agricultural products, the biggest agriculture-trade reform in 20 years. Governments had been spending up to $13 billion on these economically distorting subsidies each year. The private sector supported these deals, and their engagement made a huge difference in the outcome.

Before this recent flurry of breakthroughs at the WTO, businesses had very little interest in trade negotiations. Prolonged lack of progress in global trade negotiations had led many countries to focus elsewhere and pursue bilateral and regional trade initiatives. Such initiatives can deliver significant economic gains, but there’s no question that global agreements can deliver even more benefits to more people.

The private sector recognizes this. A complicated patchwork of overlapping trade regulations and standards is less efficient than global rules. That’s why business leaders want and need a strong WTO.

Shared rules and enhanced market access in 162 countries is something no regional trade agreement can offer. Now that the WTO has showed that it can deliver these results, private-sector interest is rising fast and businesses are asking: What’s next?

The precise shape of the WTO’s future negotiating work remains an open question. All members agree that long-standing differences in agriculture, industrial goods and trade in services must be tackled, and that development should remain a central priority.

But at present there’s no agreement on precisely how to proceed with these negotiations, or what specifically should be on the agenda. Areas for discussion include supporting trade by micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises; promoting and facilitating investments; supporting e-commerce; tackling fisheries subsidies; and lowering nontariff barriers.

In this context, the private sector has asked that its voice to be heard, not to dictate the agenda, but to provide perspective. Two major business organizations, the International Chamber of Commerce and the B-20 (the private-sector arm of the G-20) approached the WTO requesting a platform to discuss current trade issues and present their thoughts to WTO members.

That meeting, the first of its kind, will take place on Monday in Geneva. Business leaders from small and large enterprises, from developed and developing countries, along with other stakeholders, will brainstorm with WTO members. We hope that this interaction will help their governments as they shape the WTO’s future agenda.

In recent years the WTO has shown that, with the support of the private sector and others, it can achieve major, economically significant trade agreements. Strengthening this partnership will ensure that the WTO’s record is maintained and that it keeps delivering for growth, development and job creation around the world.

Mr. Azevêdo is the director-general of the World Trade Organization. Mr. Mittal is the first vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Business Calls for Partnerships at World Health Assembly

Published on May 31, 2016

WHO_hq_full_sizeFollowing several years of negotiations, last week in Geneva the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted updated rules that will govern how the World Health Organization (WHO) manages relationships with non-governmental actors, such as industry, philanthropic organizations, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions. The WHO Framework of Engagement with non-State Actors (FENSA) is intended to prevent conflict of interest and avoid the risk of undue influence of non-state actors on the work of the WHO. A copy of the FENSA resolution and text can be found here.  FENSA will likely impact joint initiatives between WHO and other UN bodies, such as FAO, UNEP, etc. and could create precedents impacting business engagement in other UN forums.

Throughout the negotiations, USCIB has stated that in light of the magnitude and breadth of global health challenges, all stakeholders, including from business, should be involved in following and cooperating with WHO’s mission.

“USCIB has consistently emphasized the need for partnerships between business, governments and other stakeholders to fully implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG3 on Health, and called on WHO to catalyze those partnerships wherever possible,” said Helen Medina, USCIB’s vice president for product policy and innovation. “It is now our hope that the WHO will implement FENSA inclusively so that member states and the secretariat may fully benefit from the private sector’s practical knowledge expertise, experience, resources and research.”

In particular, Medina noted that implementation should encourage and involve large business networks, such as the International Organization of Employers and the International Chamber of Commerce, in observing and furthering WHO’s work.  Like other United Nations bodies, USCIB hopes WHO will seek the best expertise from the business community, and take advantage of broad business networks to further WHO objectives.

As next steps, the WHO secretariat will create a guidance document to facilitate the FENSA implementation, which is likely to be done in phases. Full implementation is to be achieved in a two-year time frame. The WHO secretariat will also establish a register of non-state actors in time for the next WHA in May 2017. The 2017 WHA is also expected to review progress on implementation of the framework at the three levels of the WHO and then take any decisions necessary to enable the full, coherent and consistent implementation of FENSA.

The FENSA resolution agreed on May 28 indicates that the WHO Executive Board will have a standing agenda item for reporting on FENSA implementation. In 2019, the implementation of the framework and its impact on the work of WHO will be evaluated, and the results of this evaluation will submitted together with any proposals for revision at the WHO Executive Board in January 2020.

USCIB will monitor how the WHO will implement FENSA and its impacts and implications for U.S. companies.  USCIB will seek opportunities to inform the development of the WHO FENSA implementation guidance as appropriate, and monitor any precedents that may arise from FENSA in others UN forums.

ICC Welcomes New Dialogue with WTO

Published on May 31, 2016

switzerland-wto-general-councilThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has today welcomed the conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) first ever dialogue with the business community as an important step towards strengthening the global trade agenda.

The dialogue was initiated off the back of the successful outcome of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Nairobi last December, and in response to growing concern within the global business community about faltering global trade growth.

Addressing WTO members, ICC’s First Vice-Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said:”To be clear: business wants predictable, modern and up-to-date multilateral trade rules, negotiated and agreed at the WTO…Trade is expected to grow by less than 3 percent for the fifth consecutive year in 2016. We should not accept this as the new normal and we are ready to work constructively with WTO members to restore trade as a central driver of global growth.”

The first-of-its-kind event identified a broad range of possible WTO initiatives to help boost trade-led inclusive growth. These included:

SME growth

Business leaders encouraged the WTO to explore possible initiatives to make trade easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), going beyond trade facilitation reforms to identify where harmonized rules and end-to-end standards can help small businesses access global markets. Access to financing was also highlighted as a priority to support SME trade growth.

Investment

Many participants in the dialogue expressed an interest in a new WTO dialogue to explore the scope for global standards in the field of investment promotion, protection and facilitation.

Sectoral liberalisation

The dialogue highlighted an interest from a range of sectors in pursuing sector-specific talks as a complement to the ongoing Doha Round.

E-commerce

There was a strong call from business leaders for the WTO to play a central role in underpinning an open, reliable and secure global digital economy. Participants expressed particular interest in possible “e-commerce negotiations” which could encompass a broad range of issues such as customs duties, electronic signatures, data protection and localization requirements.

Speaking on the systemic importance of an e-commerce initiative, Mittal said:”The global nature of e-commerce means that the WTO has a vital role to play in the further development of rules and standards for this area. E-commerce has the potential to revolutionize global trade flows. Today, even the smallest of businesses can go global if they can access the Internet.”

At the conclusion of the dialogue, ICC has called on WTO members to maintain contacts with the business community in taking forward possible new trade talks and initiatives.

ICC Secretary General John Danilovich said: “We have seen a positive discussion today about how we can work together to maximize the contribution of trade and investment to achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development. We hope that today’s initiative can be followed up with concrete steps including further meetings of this kind. ICC stands ready to support this dialogue in any way possible.”

Business Flags Innovation and Investment at UN Environment Assembly

Published on May 27, 2016

unea2-logo.fwThe second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is meeting this week in Nairobi, Kenya to define new priorities on global environmental policy action, based on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This session, which meets as a universal assembly involving all UN member states and including environment ministers from over 100 countries, was also the farewell session for the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) executive director, Achim Steiner, who has led UNEP for ten years. Erik Solheim, executive director of the OECD Development Assistance Committee will succeed Steiner in that post.

Business and industry representatives from the Global Business Alliance for 2030 attended this session, including USCIB’s Norine Kennedy in her capacity as official business focal point for UNEP.  Attendees took part in the Science and Policy Forum and several events at the Sustainable Innovation Expo, including the UNEA2 Business Dialogue.

L-R: Sally Lee, Mayor of Sorsogon City, the Philippines; John Alrichs, Planet Labs; Barrie Bain, International Fertilizer Association; and Daniel Calleja, Director-General, Environment DG, European Commission
L-R: Sally Lee, Mayor of Sorsogon City, the Philippines; John Alrichs, Planet Labs; Barrie Bain, International Fertilizer Association; and Daniel Calleja, Director-General, Environment DG, European Commission

Speaking for the Global Business Alliance for 2030, Barrie Bain of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) stated that “while technological innovation can come in the form of disruptive change, far more important is to enable continuous evolution and improvement of a wide range of technologies to reduce their environmental impacts.”

After several nights of late night negotiations, UNEA reached over 20 policy decisions, including in the areas of:

  • Marine debris and plastics
  • Chemicals and Waste
  • Access to Information
  • Climate Change
  • Reducing Food Waste

Addressing the links between health and environmental policy is an emerging issue that has received considerable attention in Nairobi.  According to UNEP’s new report, Healthy Environment, Healthy People, 23 percent of all global deaths are due to modifiable environmental factors, with air pollution as the leading factor.

In comments to the UNEA2 Plenary, Kennedy highlighted the importance of creating a strong substantive interface for business and industry to inform and strengthen UNEP programs on environmental science and technology, policy and implementation.  She stated that “sustainability and environmental challenges will require new ways of working, through partnership and enhanced cooperation between governments, business and others.”

USCIB members met with the U.S. government delegation attending UNEA2, and took part in side events on women’s economic empowerment, private-sector partnerships with municipal governments, and climate change and chemicals.  The next UNEA will take place in the fall of 2017.

A full report of UNEA2 outcomes on issues and opportunities for business will be provided at the next meeting of USCIB’s Environment Committee, June 8 in NYC.

Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Vital Role in U.S.-Japan relations

Published on May 27, 2016

The following op-ed by USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson and Kunio Ishihara, vice chairman of the Japanese business federation Keidanren, appeared in The Seattle Times yesterday on the economic and geopolitical benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for the United States, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Ishihara led a Japanese business delegation to Seattle and other U.S. cities this week.

You can view the op-ed on The Seattle Times’ website at http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/trans-pacific-partnerships-vital-role-in-us-japan-relations/

North America Trade & Working Capital Conference

Published on May 26, 2016

We would like to invite you to attend the North America Trade & Working Capital Conference, as a guest of USCIB.

Venue: 32 Old Slip, Convene | New York, US
Date: June 16, 2016

Limited amount of complimentary corporate passes available for those who are exporters, importers, manufacturers, distributors, producers and traders of physical goods only. All others can receive a 15% discount with code: USCIB15

Returning to New York on June 16, GTR‘s annual conference incorporates a new twist for 2016. Corporate treasury, procurement, fintech and supply chain finance sectors will gather to discuss, debate and assess the key techniques being utilised to maximise efficiencies across physical and financial supply chains and international trade flows. Just some of the conference highlights are listed below.

Keynote address
Best-selling author on digital banking, Chris Skinner, will discuss the fintech revolution and examine the influence of key disruptive trends such as artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Supplier Financing 2.0 
A selection of today’s leading players from the payable financing sectors will showcase their respective solutions via a 12 minute pitch, followed by an 8 minute Q&A, while an expert panel of supply chain leaders from Trade Advisory Network, Transammonia and Tanzor offer their thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of each solution.

Receivables Finance Afternoon Workshop
The market’s leading receivables financing practitioners from HSBC, Terex, ANZ- America and GE Capital will illustrate how various techniques can benefit sales development, as well as outline practical use challenges / requirements.

Extensive networking opportunities throughout the conference will offer delegates unrivalled access to the market’s leading fintech thought-leaders, treasury and supply chain experts, and corporate decision-makers all under one roof.

Be sure to check out the brochure, available to download via the GTR website.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Speakers will include:

  • Chris Skinner, Chairman, The Financial Services Club
  • Andrea Williamson, Global Relationship Manager, Working Capital Solutions, GE Capital
  • Inwha Huh, Head of Global Trade& Receivable Finance (GTRF), US & Canada, HSBC
  • Gary Schneider, Senior Vice- President, Strategic Alliances, GT Nexus
  • Eric Frankovic, Vice-President, Global Sales, Taulia
  • Terry Peirce, Strategic Account Executive, PrimeRevenue
  • Glenn Kocher, Managing Director, LiquidX
  • Tony Brady, Managing Director and Global Head of Business Strategy & Market Solutions, BNY Mellon
  • Graham Smith, Assistant Treasurer, Terex
  • James Benfield, Senior Vice-President, Finance & Treasury, Transammonia
  • William R. Evans, Executive Director, Head of Transaction Banking, ANZ-America
  • John Monaghan, Global TradeProduct Manager, Citi

Business Supports Internet Transition Proposal

Published on May 26, 2016

Digital GlobeUSCIB signed an open letter to Congress along with 15 other companies and trade associations on May 23. The letter endorsed the transfer of the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a set of core functions necessary for the running of the Internet domain name system, from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to the multi-stakeholder Internet community, with safeguards to enable active involvement in processes designed to hold ICANN accountable as an independent entity.

In March 2014, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a plan to transition its stewardship of the Internet’s domain name system to the global Internet community. This plan represents the final stage of the development of ICANN as a private-sector led, multi-stakeholder organization to coordinate Internet addresses.

USCIB actively contributed comments throughout the two-plus-year development of the transition process, having recently submitted comments on the draft ICANN bylaws that would implement the IANA transition and ICANN Accountability reforms.

“We endorsed the final package, expressing confidence that it will meet [the Commerce Department’s] criteria for the transition of the IANA stewardship role and ensure the continued stability, security and resiliency of the domain name system as well as fundamental openness of the Internet,” USCIB wrote in its comments. “Equally important in USCIB’s view, the March 10 package includes safeguards to enable active involvement by the community in processes designed to hold ICANN accountable as an independent entity.”

USCIB members look forward to ensuring that the transition continues smoothly and in a timely manner.

On March 10, USCIB issued a press release welcoming the ICANN Accountability package and the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance.

USCIB Talks Poverty Reduction at Development Conference

Published on May 23, 2016
SDG Goal 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere
SDG Goal 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Eliminating poverty everywhere is the first goal of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its placement at number one underscores the importance given to poverty reduction by the international community and the urgent need to achieve it with respect to the subsequent goals. Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, spoke at a poverty reduction panel at the 2016 Annual Conference of the Society for International Development on May 23 in Washington D.C..

Meyerstein gave the business perspective on the challenges associated with achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction in low- and middle-income countries. The panel touched on a wide range of topics, including how metrics and indicators help civil society engage with the broader SDG process, which goals play a vital role in poverty reduction, which kinds of partnerships can be the most effective towards achieving the SDGs, and how the international community will fund and implement the UN’s ambitious goals.

Other panelists included Adolfo Lopez-Claros, director of the Global Indicators Group of the World Bank Group and Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development.

USCIB has played a central role in marshaling business support for sustainable development. In September 2015, USCIB officially launched its well-received Business for 2030 web portal, a catalog of business engagement that showcases the private sector’s contributions to the SDGs. Business for 2030 features over 140 initiatives from 35 companies in over 150 countries of how businesses are helping to achieve 72 of the 169 SDG targets.

In addition to educating the business community about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, the website highlights concrete initiatives and public-private partnerships to inspire renewed trust in the private sector, and to catalyze sustained and active business engagement in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through its blog and Twitter presence, the site also targets business perspectives to the UN community to sensitize them to business views on SDG priorities and implementation.

Business for 2030 features hundreds of case studies of business contributions to sustainable development through the filter of the SDGs. Three USCIB members – Dupont, Mastercard and Qualcomm – have contributed case studies under the End Poverty goal.

Business Priorities for UN Climate Agreement Implementation

Published on May 23, 2016
Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.
Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.

Following last year’s landmark conclusion of the United Nations climate negotiations (COP21) culminating in the Paris Agreement, an international treaty designed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, USCIB attended the first meeting of the UN’s Ad Hoc Working Group (APA) on the Paris Accord on May 17 in Bonn, Germany to provide business views on the agreement’s implementation.

Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment, spoke on behalf of the Business and Industry NGOs at the first meeting of the APA on May 17. She noted that COP21 saw an unprecedented level of business support for the Paris Agreement, and that business across all sectors provides solutions for the world’s mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

“Business develops and provides sustainable solutions in energy production and use, industry, building, transport, energy efficiency, smart cities, water and food security, industrial processes, finance and others that will all be needed for the ambitious, effective global strategy we are embarked on together,” Kennedy said at the meeting.

Kennedy said that transparency, innovation, and investment and markets are business priorities for immediate attention as the UN implements the climate agreement:

Transparency

Defining common rules to measure, report and verify commitments will be essential for the long-term success of the Agreement, and will help promote business support.  Credibility and predictability are vital considerations for private sector planning and investments.

Innovation

All countries and business sectors need to support developing new skills to respond to climate change challenges, enabling energy transitions and shaping public policies for sustainable economies.  Enabling frameworks for innovation and its dissemination, including intellectual property rights protection, are essential. Predictable and transparent policy conditions, open trade and investment and a level playing field in global markets are a prerequisite for effective climate protection.

Investment and Markets

Business welcomes Article 6, because in our view, all markets — including for carbon, goods or financial — should be enlisted to support and deliver results for mitigation and adaptation. Market-based approaches should synergize with other existing policies and options such as international standards, voluntary agreements or other regulatory instruments.

Because business has the relevant expertise to contribute to the review and strengthening of countries’ climate pledges, Kennedy said that a recognized channel for business engagement with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is a must.

“In our view, an institutionalized channel within the UNFCCC for private-sector consultation and engagement would provide the necessary institutional infrastructure to support dialogue, partnership and action in short and long term,” she concluded. “This recognized and regular interface should feature not only at high level events, but in all working aspects of the UNFCCC.”