Policy Areas Archives

BIAC Consultation on the BEPS Action Plan

Published on September 9, 2013

On October 1, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) will hold an international business consultation on the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) Action Plan together with governments and the OECD Secretariat at the OECD in Paris. The meeting agenda will cover the full BEPS Action Plan, with the aim to provide business input early in the BEPS process. BIAC has launched a BEPS web resource to provide full background information for this important project.

The OECD BEPS Action Plan was endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers on July 19, 2013 in Moscow and subsequently by the G20 governments in Saint Petersburg in September. The Action Plan sets out 15 areas of work to be undertaken across a range of tax issues, including the digital economy, transfer pricing, coherence of corporate income taxation, as well as transparency, certainty and predictability of taxation. The timeline for BEPS is ambitious, aiming for completion by December 2015, and will integrate a number of related on-going OECD projects on fundamental tax issues, among them the definition of permanent establishment, and the transfer pricing of intangibles.

This fall, the BIAC Tax Committee will continue to provide input to the OECD on the entire range of BEPS related issues. BIAC also continues its dialogue on tax with emerging economies, including China, India and Brazil. On October 7-8, BIAC, together with its Brazilian Observer CNI, the National Confederation of Industry of Brazil, will hold a conference on Brazilian and International Tax Issues with the participation of business, the OECD and the Brazilian tax authorities.

Staff contact: Carol Doran Klein

More on USCIB’s Tax Committee

BIAC to Participate in OECD/IEA Global Forum on Climate Change

Published on September 9, 2013

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has for a long-time made a major contribution to international climate discussions, among others by contributing fact-based analysis of least-cost policies and by helping countries identify and implement effective and efficient policy mixes to meet their commitments. The Climate Change Expert Group, for which the OECD and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are providing secretariat support, is playing an important role in promoting dialogue on and enhancing understanding of technical issues in the international climate change negotiations and has contributed detailed analysis on a range of issues relevant to the on-going negotiations (see the flyer of the Climate Change Expert Group for an overview of the Group’s work).

The private sector is closely involved, contributing to a series of expert meetings. The next Global Forum on Climate Change organized by the Expert Group will take place at the OECD Headquarters on September 18-19. The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD will offer the business perspective on key elements needed for an effective 2015 agreement, addressing issues related to effective climate finance, emissions accounting for post-2020 commitments as well as the broader benefits of climate change mitigation.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

US OKs Chinese Acquisition of Smithfield Affirming Open Investment Policy

Published on September 9, 2013

Smithfield Foods (of Smithfield, Virginia) announced on September 6 that the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has approved Smithfield’s acquisition by Shuanghui Holdings, a large Chinese/Hong Kong food company.  CFIUS, a nine-agency committee chaired by the Treasury Department, routinely reviews major acquisitions of U.S. firms by foreign firms for national security concerns.

USCIB welcomed the move. “CFIUS has never been a broad national screening mechanism for foreign direct investment into the U.S.,” noted Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services.  “Nor in our view should CFIUS’s mandate be expanded beyond its present scope. We commend the Obama administration, and the CFIUS agencies in particular, for conducting the Smithfield/Shuanghui review rigorously and in compliance with long-established procedures and criteria laid out in relevant U.S. legislation and regulation.”

After the acquisition was first announced, there were calls from some in Congress and the media to expand the CFIUS mandate beyond clear national security criteria. “Had we succumbed to these siren calls to turn CFIUS into some sort of protectionist tool to deflect foreign acquisitions, especially from China or other ‘controversial’ partners, it could have jeopardized America’s traditional welcome mat for FDI,” Donnelly said. “The U.S. needs to be, and to be seen to be, a strong and consistent voice for open and transparent investment policies and regulations at home and abroad. Both inward and outward FDI are good for the U.S. economy, competitiveness and jobs. “

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

CEOs Meet With G20 Leaders to Urge Progress on Trade and Investment

Published on September 6, 2013
CNBC interview with ICC Chairman Terry McGraw
CNBC interview with ICC Chairman Terry McGraw

G20 heads of state met with CEOs representing the Business-20 or “B20” during a special session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit at Strelna Palace, near Saint Petersburg, Russia today.

The CEOs, including members of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) G20 Advisory Group, presented policy recommendations to the heads of state, urging world leaders to drive economic growth and job creation by liberalizing trade and improving conditions for global investment, particularly in infrastructure.

These recommendations, which covered topics including trade, investment and infrastructure, financial systems, innovation and development, job creation, and transparency and anti-corruption, were the product of intensive collaboration among companies serving on B20 task forces since December 2012. The process was chaired by Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), who had been designated by President Vladimir Putin to organize B20 efforts during the Russian G20 presidency.

ICC Chairman Terry McGraw, who is also chairman of USCIB and CEO of McGraw Hill Financial, took part in the meeting. He underscored that the impasse among members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and an increasingly sluggish global trading system risk reversing significant progress made in global living standards over the past 60 years.

“Collective leadership by the G20 would inject new life into trade agreements that are vital for job creation, particularly the successful conclusion of an agreement on trade facilitation at the WTO Bali Ministerial in December,” said McGraw, citing research commissioned by ICC, which concludes that completion of a WTO trade facilitation agreement would translate into more than $1 trillion in world export gains, increase global GDP by $960 billion and support more than 21 million jobs, most of them in G20 countries.

“The most important thing for growth is trade and investment,” McGraw told CNBC. To view the full interview click here.

For more information on the ICC website, click here.

IOE, BIAC Voice Business Views on Jobs and Taxation

A strong business presence, through the B20 group, delivered recommendations to governments at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in St. Petersburg, pushing for the realization of concrete policy measures that will make a difference.

At a roundtable discussion on September 5, the G20 Task Force on Employment called tackling unemployment and job creation a top priority for the G20 countries. The co-chair of the B20’s own employment task force, Brent Wilton– secretary-general of the International Organization of Employers  – expressed concern over the lack of action taken by governments with regard to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Wilton referred to evidence from the World Bank’s Doing Business Report of 2013 in calling on “G20 states to effectively assess the impact of regulation on business and job creation. Complicated and rigid labor law is a major stumbling block for SMEs, especially when it comes to hiring.” Key to getting more people into work, he added, were education and training programs that provide individuals with skills that match the needs of the labor market, and foster entrepreneurship. Click here to read more.

For its part, BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee
to the OECD, issued two important statements on global taxation.

In response to growing public concern about international corporate taxation in both the developed and developing world, as well as the current focus on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) outlined in the OECD Action Plan on BEPS endorsed by the G20, BIAC has produced two sets of voluntary guidance for business: a Statement of Tax Principles for International Business intended to promote and affirm responsible business tax management generally, and a Statement of Best Practices for Engaging with Tax Authorities in Developing Countries.

Will Morris (GE), chair of the BIAC Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Affairs, stated that: “Business makes a significant contribution to the global economy in terms of taxes paid and collected. However, public confidence in the international tax system has been shaken. In order to help restore that confidence, BIAC is working closely with the OECD to update international tax rules. But businesses also need to tell their own story.”

Morris said in developing countries, “it is in the interests of both taxpayers and governments that the tax authorities are given the information and cooperation they need to act in an efficient and transparent manner.”

Click here for more information.

US Government Official DeBriefs ICT Policy Committee on Latest ICANN Meeting

Published on September 3, 2013

4583_image002On August 7, Suzanne Radell, the U.S. representative to the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and senior policy advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, met with USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee to discuss the outcome of the ICANN 47, which was held in Durban, South Africa on July 14-18, and its implications for ICANN’s management of the evolving domain name system going forward. In particular, Radell discussed the GAC’s decision to file a formal objection to the ICANN Board against Amazon’s application for the .amazon generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) name – and the U.S. government’s decision to abstain from this objection.

The Internet’s domain-name system (DNS) allows users to refer to web sites and other resources using easier-to-remember domain names — such as www.uscib.org — rather than the all-numeric addresses assigned to each computer on the Internet. The right-most label in a domain name is referred to as its “top-level domain” (TLD). Examples include .com, .org, or .edu. In June 2011, ICANN’s board voted to expand the gTLD program “to enhance competition and consumer choice, enabling the benefits to innovation via the introduction of new gTLDs.” Examples of new gTLDs include company brand names (e.g., .microsoft, .google), sectors (.investments, .loan), or professional services (.architect, .attorney), to name a few. Amazon applied for the .amazon new gTLD as a company brand name.

The objection to Amazon’s application was driven primarily by Brazil, with support from Peru, Venezuela and other Latin American countries that share the Amazon region, on grounds that the Amazon “is a very important cultural, traditional, regional and geographical name.” The objection prompted extensive interventions in the Public Forum component of the ICANN meeting—as well as in media commentary—as intellectual property experts argued that there is no basis in international law for countries to claim ownership of geographic terms. They further urged the ICANN Board to seek counsel about the legality of the GAC’s objection to the .amazon gTLD application. The U.S. government’s abstention on this issue appears to suggest that Washington shares these concerns.

Radell also examined other challenging issues that eluded a GAC consensus in Durban, which could potentially affect USCIB members and will likely dominate the ICANN 48 in Buenos Aires, November 17-21. These include: (1) the protection of Inter-governmental Organization (IGO) acronyms in the domain name system; (2) enhanced safeguard advice for new gTLDs for regulated or professional sectors (e.g., .cash, .health, .doctor); and (3) a decision on whether or not to allow the contracting process to move forward for applicants of so-called “closed” gTLDs, a terms that refers to a new gTLD in which the applicant is the sole registrant for the domain name.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s ICT Committee

US Business to Meet With Government and UN Representatives in New York

Published on August 27, 2013

USCIB will hold “UN Door Knock” consultations on September 26 for USCIB members to meet with important government delegations and highlight key business recommendations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Green Growth. As the global community looks to set a new blue print for development, building on the MDGs and Rio outcomes, business is making a strong case to bring forward policies that drive economic growth, environmental stewardship and social development.

USCIB’s UN Door Knock consultations will signal the strong interest of U.S. business in a well-designed UN gameplan for development that involves and incents business. The meetings will also make the case for enhanced business engagement in the UN.

The Door Knock will be hosted by Pfizer and will begin with an orientation breakfast for USCIB Members. The day will consist of a series of consultations with representatives of the UN, the United States, Japan, and the European Union.

USCIB will also convene an International Business Green Economies Dialogue (GED) Luncheon Roundtable. This event will discuss the ways in which the SDGs can contribute to enabling frameworks for development, poverty eradication andgreener economic activity through innovation, investment and partnership
at national and international levels. It will highlight practicality for and the contribution from U.S. companies doing business in globalized marke

The GED luncheon roundtable will feature panel sessions on:

  • SDGs and Enabling Frameworks at the National
    Level—Job Creation and Infrastructure
  • SDGs and Enabling Frameworks at the International Level—Finance, Investment and Technology Deployment

The Roundtable will include invited speakers from government (Brazil, U.S., Kenya, Colombia), academia (Resources for the Future, MIT, UC San Diego) and the private sector (International Organization of Employers, USCIB).

To register for this event, please email Kira Yevtukhova (kyevtukhova@uscib.org). Please note that participation in this event is restricted to USCIB members and invited guests.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

Analysis UN Secretary General Report on the Millennium Development Goals and the Post2015 Development Agenda

Published on August 26, 2013

In preparation for next month’s UN General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Post-2015 Development Agenda, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has released a report, A Life of Dignity for All, containing his updates on the MDGs and vision for the road ahead. The Secretary General’s report, which will form the foundation for post-2015 discussions, highlights critical elements that have driven success in the achievement of the MDGs and which can contribute to the success of a post-2015 development agenda.

  • Emphasizing inclusive growth, decent employment and social protection;
  • Allocating more resources for essential services and ensuring access for all;
  • Strengthening political will and improving the international policy environment;
  • Harnessing the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships.

At its August 22, 2013 meeting, the USCIB SDGs Working Group noted many themes in the SG reports which USCIB has also drawn attention to in its advocacy, such as conducive business environments, the importance of rule of law and well-functioning institutions and the importance of job creation. Julie Kim, ECOSOC Counsellor, US Mission to the United Nations described U.S. perspectives and expectations on the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda and SDGs, indicating that countries are still discussing how formal SDG negotiations will commence in February. USCIB’s SDG Working Group, co-chaired by Tam Nguyen, Chevron, and Brian Lowry, Monsanto, is defining USCIB recommendations and priorities on the SDGs. For more information on USCIB’s SDG Working Group and ongoing involvement in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, click here. Contact Adam Greene (agreene@uscib.org) or Norine Kennedy (nkennedy@uscib.org) to join the working group or for further details.

Secretary General Ban’s report highlights sustainable development — enabled by the integration of economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship — as a global guiding principle and operational standard. According to Ban Ki-Moon, this universal agenda requires profound economic transformations and a new global partnership. It also requires the international community, including the UN, to embrace a more coherent and effective response to support the agenda.

The report calls for a new, broader set of targets beyond 2015 that reflect new global realities and challenges. The goals should be measurable, adaptable to both global and local settings and apply to all countries.

Secretary General Ban believes that a universal development agenda beyond 2015 will require:

  • A robust framework for sustainable development finance including both private and public funding
  • A broadening of the tax base and an improvement of tax administration
  • A commitment by the public and private scientific and research communities to develop new and transformative technologies

On September 25, the General Assembly will convene a special event to review current efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and rally political support for their acceleration. The event will reflect on the broad contours of the development agenda beyond 2015.  The General Assembly could launch the final phase of the intergovernmental consultations on a post-2015 development agenda at its sixty-ninth session [September 2014].

Conclusion/Calls to Action

Secretary General Ban concludes his report by making a series of calls on:

  • Member States and the entire international community to take every step possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goals;
  • Member States to adopt a universal post-2015 development agenda, with sustainable development at its core, and provide clarity on the road map to 2015;
  • The international system to embrace a more coherent and effective response to support this agenda.

Elements of a Post-2015 Agenda

A life of dignity for all: accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and advancing the UN development agenda beyond 2015

The UN SG’s report calls for transformative and mutually reinforcing actions that will apply to all countries. These include:

  • Eradicating poverty in all its forms
  • Tackling exclusion and inequality
  • Empowering women and girls
  • Providing quality education and lifelong learning
  • Improving health
  • Addressing climate change
  • Addressing environmental challenges
  • Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth and decent employment
  • Ending hunger and malnutrition
  • Addressing demographic challenges
  • Enhancing the positive contribution of migrants
  • Meeting the challenges of urbanization
  •  Building peace and effective governance based on the rule of law and sound institutions
  • Fostering a renewed global partnership
  • Strengthening the international development cooperation network

A USCIB comparative matrix of the reports on the SDGs by the UN Secretary General, the Post-2015 High-level Panel, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the UN Global Compact is available here.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

USCIB Weighs in on Nutrition Enhancing Agriculture and Food Systems

Published on August 5, 2013

foodsAccess to high-quality, reliable food supplies is a major challenge for the 21st century. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently announced that the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), a high-level ministerial conference to address the major nutrition challenges of the next decades through proposing a flexible policy framework and identifying priorities for international cooperation, will take place in November 2014 at its Rome headquarters.

A preparatory meeting will be held this coming November to identify themes to be addressed at the ICN2 conference. USCIB has contributed to an online FAO discussion to prepare for this fall’s meeting. The discussion, “Nutrition-enhancing agriculture and food systems,” was created to share evidence and exchange views on ways to improve policies, programs, interventions and methods of evaluation for making agriculture and food systems more responsive to nutrition, especially for the poorest and most nutritionally vulnerable.

From the broadest perspective, USCIB recommended that the FAO create a more targeted, formal approach to engaging with stakeholders, including the private sector. We also emphasized:

  • the importance of developing an effective nutrition policy based on scientific evidence
  • the potential for the private sector to contribute to a more nutrition-enhancing food system by innovating and investing in the food and agriculture sector
  • the role of food systems in focusing on food safety, quality and assurance
  • the necessity of preserving natural resources for continued food growth
  • the importance of empowering women and girls, and
  • coordination across government ministries working with the private sector and civil society to create effective and efficient nutrition policies.

On nutrition policy, USCIB emphasized that scientific evidence is necessary for effective interventions, in order to minimize unintended consequences. In this regard, data on each population’s nutrition and food preferences is essential, as are the appropriate institutional arrangements to best support coordination between government, the private sector and civil society in implementing these strategies. Because the private sector is important in achieving a more nutrition-enhancing food system by innovating and investing in the food and agricultural sector, policies that promote innovation and efficiency across the supply chain are necessary to help address future challenges relating to increased policy coherence, as well as constrained resources and greater demand.

USCIB’s submission recommended that nutrition programs focus on the accessibility of safe food products, and that food companies provide the information to ensure safety. Information regarding nutrition education based on scientific evidence should be outlined by international standards to allow consumers to make healthy choices. Socially and economically empowering women and girls is also important, so that they can make educated, healthy choices for their households

On the preservation of natural resources to ensure continued food growth, USCIB urged the FAO to promote food systems that protect natural resources, as well as careful end-to-end management throughout the supply chain to address population increases, climate change and insufficient water availability. In this area, the private sector plays an important role in research and development, innovation and supply chain management. Nestlé’s Rural Development Framework is an example of how the private sector invests in the development of farmers and their livelihood, while Coca-Cola’s Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principals set expectations for ingredient suppliers to address sustainability challenges specific to agriculture.

On promoting partnership opportunities across sectors, USCIB highlights the work that the food and beverage industry has engaged in with the WHO’s 2004 Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (Global Strategy), and most recently the WHO Global Action Plan on NCDs (2013-2020) and the monitoring framework. Cooperation between governments and the food and beverage industry is necessary to the adoption of a multi-sector approach to addressing nutrition challenges.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Working Group

USCIB Urging Congression Action to Promote Inward Foreign Investment

Published on July 30, 2013

USCIB joined with nine other leading business groups in a July 30 letter to the leadership of the House of Representatives strongly supporting quick floor approval for early adoption of HR 2052, the Global Investment in American Jobs Act.

USCIB has long been a leader in supporting both outward and inward foreign direct invest (FDI) as critical for American competitiveness, growth, and jobs in today’s globalized economy. The bill, which earned rare unanimous support of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 17, highlights the contributions which inward FDI makes to American prosperity and jobs, tasks the Secretary of Commerce to lead the first-ever comprehensive review of the competitiveness of the U.S. as a destination for international FDI, and to develop recommendations to enhance our national investment competitiveness in this key area.

While the United States remains the world’s leading recipient of FDI, our global share of such investment has dropped significantly since the turn of the 21st century, from 41 percent in 1999 to just over 17 percent in 2011. So we as a nation certainly have some work to do to keep ahead in this increasingly competitive global environment. This important piece of investment legislation can be a first step.

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

New UN High Level Political Forum to Focus on Sustainable Development through Head of State Meetings

Published on July 24, 2013

What is the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF)?

The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) agreed to establish the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), a new UN body to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development. In June 2013, Member States concluded several months of political negotiations to define the “Format and Organizational Aspects of the high-level political forum.”  This new body is expected to play a central role in framing the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The new high-level political forum, consistent with its intergovernmental universal character, will:

  • Provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development;
  • Follow up on implementation of all UN activities related to sustainable development, including the SDGs;
  • Enhance the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental);
  • Have a focused, dynamic and action-oriented agenda, ensuring the appropriate consideration of new and emerging sustainable development challenges

When will the HLPF meet?

The date for its first meeting is September 24, 2013 during the opening of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly.  The first meeting will be an inaugural event and substantive sessions will be scheduled later in the year.  The HLPF will conveneannually at the ministerial level under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and it will, every four years, bring together heads of State and Government, under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, to provide political momentum for sustainable development.

How to participate and the role of business:

USCIB, working with the ICC and other business groups, has represented U.S. business in UN sustainability meetings since 1992. The creation of the HLPF offers USCIB an opportunity to provide U.S. business views on economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, and to offer practical private sector experiences relating to the enabling conditions needed for investment, innovation and job creation.

The HLPF will be open to all “Major Groups” and “other stakeholders,” e.g. education and academic entities, volunteer groups, etc., who will be able to:

  • Attend all official meetings of the forum;
  • Have access to all official information and documents;
  • Intervene in official meetings, submit documents and present written and oral contributions, to make recommendations, and to organize side-events and roundtables

Business and industry organizations have submitted recommendations for a dedicated and recognized business channel to the HLPF.

Staff contacts: Norine Kennedy and Adam Greene