Policy Areas Archives

ICC Sets Out Business Priorities for Long-Term Climate Regime

Published on October 30, 2013

Hand-Gear

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a new paper for the next round international climate negotiations, to be held in Warsaw from November 11 to 22. The statement, “A business perspective on climate change negotiations: Competitiveness – Opportunity – Partnership,” reflects ICC’s long experience in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and its coordinating role for businesses of all sectors and nationalities that are engaging in the climate debate.

ICC emphasizes that the new international agreement must work in synergy with established trade and investment rules. The document outlines business priorities for a balanced and globally effective post-2020 climate agreement:

  • Strengthening competitiveness by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade
  • Creating opportunities for economic growth and energy access
  • Building partnerships for investment and innovation.

According to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for energy, environment and strategic international engagement, in Warsaw USCIB will be working with ICC, as well as the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF), to make the case for meaningful and substantive business engagement in the framing of the new agreement, which is expected to be completed in 2015 in Paris.

Separately, BizMEF, which encompasses business groups from the largest economies, has issued a number of new papers for Warsaw, which address a range of issues including climate investment and finance, and new options for mitigating global warming.

According to Kennedy, the UN deliberations will take place in the context of recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicating stronger certainty about human impacts on the planet’s climate.

“As rapidly developing countries such as China, India and Brazil produce increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the challenge ahead is to involve all countries in commitments under an internationally binding agreement that mobilizes national resources and private sector investment and innovation,” she said.

As part of its outreach for Warsaw, ICC is also showcasing 22 private-sector initiatives for climate solutions. Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment 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

USCIB Members Enrich Discussions at Internet Governance Forum

Published on October 25, 2013

4625_image001USCIB co-organized two workshops at the 8th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which took place October 21-25 in Bali, Indonesia, enabling USCIB members and other stakeholder groups to make important substantive contributions on Internet governance, mobile telephony and use of the cloud in emerging economies, and the economic engine of digital trade.

At the IGF, some 2,000 participants from business, government, civil society and the technical community participated in nearly 250 workshops aimed at exploring such varied topics as the principles of Internet governance and the multi-stakeholder model of governance, the Internet as an engine for growth and sustainable development, and human rights, freedom of expression, and free flow of information on the Internet.

Mobile communications’ expanding reach

On October 22, Jacquelyn Ruff (Verizon Communications), moderated a standing-room-only workshop on “Mobile & Cloud Computing in Emerging Economies.” It featured commentary from speakers representing a broad cross-section of regional and stakeholder interests, including Verena Weber (OECD), Rohan Samarajiva (LIRNEasia) and João Barros (University of Porto, Portugal). The session focused on the developmental promise for emerging economies from mobile telephony and cloud computing capabilities due to their enormous potential in the next five years, when 90 percent of the world population is expected to have access to mobile coverage.

Key points raised at the workshop included:

  • Cloud computing services can be provided in emerging economies at a low cost and an energy-efficient way. However, cloud computing services can only be used if an Internet infrastructure wired or wireless broadband is in place providing a low latency and robust Internet connection to cloud users.
  • Greater efforts have to be made to connect more individuals, businesses, and government agencies to the Internet, so that developing countries can benefit from cloud computing. Another major infrastructure challenge is the lack of electricity or a reliable electricity supply in many regions to move content to the cloud and to run computers.
  • Trust among nations was also underlined as crucial for cloud computing development. Ultimately, though, the customer is key, along with technology, bandwidth, electricity and the need for redundancy or remote location as sources of confidence.

Spotlight on trade barriers

The following day, Richard Beaird (Wiley Rein) moderated another well-attended discussion on “Global Trade, Local Rules, & Internet Governance.” It featured commentary by Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle), vice chair of USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee, as well as Ruff, Samarajiva, and Sam Paltridge (OECD). The panel focused on the importance of supporting internet-enabled economic growth and how the erection of trade and regulatory barriers can impede such developmental benefits.

Workshop highlights included:

  • The proliferation of smart phones has caused an exponential rise in the use of data, but some solutions aimed at upgrading local telecom networks to meet these demands – adaptations of the sending-party-networks pays (SPNP) approach – work at cross-purposes by creating  unnecessary barriers to content-sharing across borders and operators.
  • Market-driven solutions remain the best approach. In an analysis of phone calls (frequency and duration) made from the U.S. to Africa and India, it was found that the traffic to India has increased tremendously over the last 10 years. This is due to the competitive market forces in India that have driven down termination rates, which at the same time have increased in Africa. Such actions create barriers for communication and trade in Africa.
  • The digital ecosystem is complex and overlapping. A change in one element creates a reaction and possibly a constraint on another aspect. While localized strategies may seem beneficial to an economy (or are security- or capacity-driven), they may in fact have negative effects on innovation and contain an underlying constraint.
  • Active multi-stakeholder discussions are of utmost importance to break the silo effect and create necessary agreements and polices from the trade world that support digital products.

NSA surveillance revelations

According to Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president for information, communications and technology policy, the controversy surrounding revelations of unauthorized surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency informed much of the commentary of the IGF, particularly in light of new reports of NSA surveillance of countries such as France and Germany. She said that, in the wake of the NSA revelations, Brazil’s recent proposal to host a meeting in May 2014 to consider new ways of Internet governance dominated formal program discussion at the IGF as well as informal “hallway” consultations.

In an October 24 meeting with members of the International Chamber of Commerce’s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative, which includes USCIB, Brazilian officials said that the conference would include all stakeholders. A goal they would like to see is the development of a set of new principles for governance of cyberspace.

Details concerning the Brazilian initiative changed and evolved throughout the IGF week – and likely will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. ICC-BASIS, USCIB, and other business participants are still assessing what the May conference will mean and how to shape its development. Click here to read more about ICC’s presence in Bali on the ICC website.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

 

USCIB Briefs Senior Executives on Global Product Policy

Published on October 23, 2013

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, was the keynote speaker at a recent meeting of senior product stewardship executives organized by the Conference Board, at the headquarters of PPG Industries in Pittsburgh.

Medina addressed emerging global discussions that will impact product stewardship, highlighting our work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Environment Program’s work on chemicals in products, and OECD discussions of green economy topics.

USCIB is a leader in monitoring and influencing international discussions of chemicals and product policy issues, complementing business advocacy efforts in specific countries.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Product Policy Working Group

USCIB Applauds Better Work Plan on Bangladesh

Published on October 22, 2013

4621_image002New York, N.Y., October 22, 2013 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents American employers in the International Labor Organization (ILO), welcomed the extension of the Better Work program, a joint initiative of the ILO and the International Finance Corporation, to Bangladesh in an effort to improve workplace conditions in the country’s garment industry. (Click here for the ILO announcement.)

“This is a very welcome development,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “It signals a strong commitment by governments, in concert with global employers and trade unions, as well as their counterparts in Bangladesh, to improve working conditions in the country.”

Operational since 2009, the Better Work program brings together governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, global brands and supplier factories to improve both productivity and working conditions those factories.  The program assesses compliance with labor laws, posts reports online and provides targeted capacity building training to improve compliance with labor standards as well as the competitiveness of the factory.

Robinson said USCIB has worked to line up U.S. corporate support for the Better Work program, including financial support. Through its participation in the Better Work program’s advisory committee, USCIB actively supported a recommendation to launch the Bangladesh country program, he noted.

“Better Work is a stellar example of public-private collaboration with measurable benefits,” Robinson stated. “By bringing all stakeholders together in a collaborative framework, it helps bring about sustainable improvements in workplace conditions.”

USCIB represents American business interests internationally, including in the ILO where it is the U.S. employer constituent, serves on the ILO Governing Body, and leads the U.S. employer delegation to the ILO’s annual International Labor Conference.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include top 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 information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contacts:

Adam Greene, VP labor & corporate responsibility, USCIB
+1 212.703.5056, agreene@uscib.org

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

UN Climate Negotiators Set Course for New Agreement

Published on October 15, 2013

4616_image001USCIB is gearing up to represent American business at the next United Nations climate conference in Warsaw next month. The clock is ticking, with governments having committed to forging a new comprehensive climate agreement, to take effect in 2020, by the end of 2015.

Expectations are modest for the 19th conference of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held November 11-22. Yet according to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, the recent release of the first installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th assessment report, along with political and economic pressures on climate negotiators to make progress, will be  major considerations  in the Warsaw discussions.

USCIB has secured recognition as an accredited business organization to the UN Framework Convention, and for the first time will send a USCIB delegation to the talks, led by Ann Condon (GE) chair of USCIB’s Environment Committee, and USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson.

Top USCIB priorities for the negotiations include energy security, access to energy and protection of intellectual property rights, Kennedy said. “We will work closely with the International Chamber of Commerce and the Major Economies Business Forum [known as BizMEF] to make the case for a comprehensive agreement, one that strengthens enabling frameworks for business investment and innovation across all sectors.”

Kennedy said BizMEF will organize a business dialogue in Warsaw to lay out a roadmap for substantive and recognized business input, following the successful event on this topic in Doha last year.

First-ever ministerial meeting with business

USCIB also played a leading role in two important preparatory meetings, advocating for meaningful opportunities for business views and involvement in the new international climate regime.

Earlier this month, private-sector representatives took part in ministerial talks in Warsaw organized by Poland’s environment ministry. It was the first time since the original Rio Earth Summit in 1992 that business groups were invited to play such an active role in shaping a global climate agreement. The Polish business organization, Lewiatan, USCIB and other member business organizations of BizMEF (including BusinessEurope, Business New Zealand, Keidanren and the Brazilian Confederation of Business) were on hand. USCIB member companies also took part, including GE, Boeing and Intel.

Speaking at the ministerial-business consultation, Kennedy stated that the UN Framework Convention should continue this process, since “an effective and recognized dialogue between business and government at both national and international arenas will be critical to the successful design and roll-out of the new international agreement.” The Polish government expressed its intention to encourage the continuation of such business-government consultations over this next phase of negotiations.

Speeding technology deployment

Separately, on September 19 in Washington, D.C., USCIB partnered with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy to convene a U.S. business consultation on the new UN Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN).

UN negotiators have established a “Technology Mechanism” to facilitate the faster uptake of climate-related technologies by developing countries. The CTCN is the Technology Mechanism’s technical arm, created to answer specific technology requests from developing countries.

The dialogue, hosted by the UN Foundation, brought together American business executives with U.S. and Canadian government officials and representatives of the UN Environment Program. Participants addressed:

  • specific barriers to technology cooperation that the CTCN can help address
  • priority areas on which the CTCN should focus
  • specific services  to foster private sector investments in adaptation and mitigation technologies in developing countries
  • links with finance institutions and investors
  • ways to engage with and attract the private sector.

USCIB will work with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the International Chamber of Commerce to identify areas where the business community can inform the work of the CTCN as it gets up and running.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment 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

Pro-Growth Internet Policies Are Essential Says Global Business

Published on October 11, 2013

4625_image001As governments and other stakeholders prepare for the 8th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which takes place October 22-25 in Bali, Indonesia, business is seeking to highlight why greater collaboration between stakeholder groups – and stronger pro-growth international policies – are needed if the Internet is to remain the world’s primary economic enabler.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called for greater efforts to bring about better, more consultative global policy-making, in order to maximize the potential of the Internet to power future economic growth.

“The role the Internet plays today in providing fresh economic opportunity, hope and jobs cannot be underestimated,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier. “The policy-making community has a shared responsibility to support the Internet in this role by working together to create policy that facilitates new business growth and paves the way for new innovation in business models.”

As part of its focus on the role played by the Internet in job creation and economic growth, ICC’s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative will highlight the dangers of not doing enough to advance policy that promotes international trade and investment that helps corporations of all sizes as well as individuals capitalize on the opportunities made possible by globalization.

USCIB has played an important role in organizing two workshops at the IGF, featuring members as moderators and panelists. These include a discussion of mobile and cloud computing featuring Jackie Ruff (Verizon), and a workshop on “Global Trade, Local Rules & Internet Governance,” where Ruff will be joined by Richard Beaird (Wiley Rein), Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle) and Barbara Wanner, USCIB’s vice president of ICT policy.

The IGF is being held in South East Asia for the first time, highlighting the important role that the region will play in the future of the Internet.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

BIAC Survey on Business and Gender Diversity

Published on October 10, 2013

USCIB would appreciate your input for the BIAC Survey on Business and Gender Diversity, which should take just a few minutes to complete.

BIAC (the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) and Deloitte are partnering on this survey to gauge the extent of change in advancing women into more senior positions that may have occurred within companies and within markets. They also wish to assess the development and impact of government and regulatory support to these efforts over the last few years.

The survey comes in follow-up to a 2012 BIAC report, produced in conjunction with the American Chamber of Commerce in France, entitled Putting All Our Minds to Work: Harnessing the Gender Dividend, which presented a business case for promoting female talent, with examples of how businesses in OECD member countries are advancing women’s empowerment.

The BIAC survey will remain open until October 31.

Staff contact: Justine Badimon

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