Policy Areas Archives

Business Groups Voice Concern Over Restrictive Chinese Innovation Rules

Published on December 10, 2009

USCIB joined a number of other leading global business associations in submitting a letter to the Chinese government in response to new rules requiring vendors to gain accreditation for their products before they can be included in a government catalog of products containing “indigenous innovation.”

These requirements could effectively close off China from innovation and technology developed overseas and does not uphold the G20’s leaders’ commitment to refrain from introducing new protectionist measures.

In other USCIB China committee news, please save the date of January 26 for the next meeting, in Paris, of the BIAC China Task Force, which will include an afternoon consultation with the OECD Informal Reflection Group on China.  Please contact Justine Bareford (jbareford@uscib.org) if you would like more information or are interested in attending these meetings.

Staff contact: Justine Bareford

Joint industry letter on Chinese innovation rules (click here for Chinese version)

More on USCIB’s China Committee

US Business Submits Detailed Recommendations on Climate Financing

Published on December 9, 2009

3952_image002Copenhagen and New York, N.Y., December 9, 2009 – With some $10 trillion needed to fund improvements in global energy infrastructure by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency, financial measures to spur action on global warming are among the most contentious topics at the UN climate talks.  Against this backdrop, a leading U.S. industry group has put forward recommendations to leverage public and private funds for climate adaptation and mitigation.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents top American multinationals, this week submitted a paper on public and private finance for climate change to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.  In a cover letter, USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson said that available funding mechanisms for climate change “have been slow, narrow in scope and difficult to access.”

USCIB said the role of public finance should be to leverage private-sector investment in developing nations.  “In many cases, the most effective use of public finance will be to leverage and enable action by the private sector,” stated Ann Condon, director of environmental health and safety with General Electric and chair of USCIB’s Environment Committee.  “It should also seek to lower some of the risks associated with business activities and investments, particularly in developing countries or in connection with new technologies.”

USCIB’s global affiliate, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is coordinating business and industry representation at the Copenhagen climate conference.  ICC is putting forward its own recommendations to UN negotiators on improving the global financial framework to more effectively tackle climate change.  These will be explored at a side event in Copenhagen today.  Mr. Robinson and a number of executives from USCIB member companies are attending the climate conference under the ICC umbrella.

“The private sector responds to specific signals,” noted Mr. Robinson.  “The goal should be to mobilize financial and technological resources in developed nations for deployment in the developing world, primarily through private investment.  This means that both home and host countries must implement the appropriate policies and incentives to spur innovation and investment.”

Mr. Robinson said the recent global economic crisis highlighted the need for cooperative international action to develop appropriate policy and financial incentives.  “We need to apply those lessons to the climate challenge,” he stated.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, 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.

Contact:

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

USCIB statement on effective public and private finance for international cooperative action on climate change

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Multinationals Applaud US Effort to Secure Global Participation on Climate

Published on December 4, 2009

In letter to president, USCIB urges ambitious agreement, support for innovation

President Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Participation by countries like India is crucial for a global climate agreement to succeed. (White House Photo)
President Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Participation by countries like India is crucial for a global climate agreement to succeed. (White House Photo)

New York, N.Y., December 4, 2009 – As nations prepare to gather in Copenhagen for crucial global climate talks, a leading U.S. industry group said the Obama administration’s leadership has put an ambitious and workable agreement within reach.

In a letter to President Obama, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s top global companies, said it believes the administration’s leadership over the past year “has made a difference.“

USCIB’s president and CEO, Peter M. Robinson, wrote: “The innovative and collaborative approaches of the United States have been instrumental in progress made” since the 2007 climate conference in Bali, which set the stage for the final push toward a post-2012 global framework on climate change.

Mr. Robinson wrote that U.S. leadership had moved the UN climate talks forward in areas that are central to U.S. business objectives.  These include obtaining an inclusive global agreement with action by all major emitting nations, support for intellectual property rights to speed the development of new technologies, and “robust and ambitious national strategies” to address global warming.

The statement came as business representatives from around the world prepare to converge on the Copenhagen talks.  USCIB’s global affiliate, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is once again coordinating business and industry representation.  Mr. Robinson will lead a delegation of USCIB members attending the conference.

ICC yesterday released the results of a survey indicating upbeat business expectations for a future, greener global economy.  Depending on their region, between 60 and 78 percent of industry experts surveyed around the world agreed that the transition to a low carbon economy would bring new opportunities to businesses in addition to cost reductions.

In its letter to President Obama, USCIB identified financing as a critical element in the negotiations.  “From a business perspective, the available funding mechanisms relevant to climate change have been slow, narrow in scope and difficult to access,” the letter stated.  USCIB said it had offered concrete suggestions to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on how public funding options could be shaped to increase their effectiveness, and to create synergies with private finance.

“In many cases, the most effective use of public finance will be to leverage and enable action by the private sector,” stated Ann Condon, director of environmental health and safety with General Electric and chair of USCIB’s Environment Committee.  “It should also seek to lower some of the risks associated with business activities and investments, particularly in developing countries or in connection with new technologies.”

The pro-trade group also said that post-Copenhagen negotiations “should engage business as much as possible, and far more than in the past.”  USCIB said it hopes to see the creation of more effective ways for UN negotiators to benefit from American business expertise “through opportunities to collaboratively define mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and effective policies to promote them.”

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, 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.

Contact:

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

 

USCIB letter to President Obama

More on the ICC survey

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

 

 

Copenhagen Climate Summit Latest statements and information

Published on December 1, 2009

Latest statements and information from USCIB and our global business network

USCIB and its global business network have actively contributed to international discussions of climate change for many years.  Our unique affiliations with leading worldwide business groups – in particular the International Chamber of Commerce – provide an invaluable channel through which to influence the course of global policies and regulations affecting business, the environment, energy and sustainable development.

At the December 2009 UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson joined members and ICC-affiliated companies from around the world in making the business case for concerted action to combat global warming.

Here are links to the latest statements and actions on climate change from USCIB and our global network. Please contact USCIB Vice President Norine Kennedy (nkennedy@uscib.org) for additional information or to get involved.

USCIB:

International Chamber of Commerce:

Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD:

International Organization of Employers:

Asia-Pacific Business Seeks Greater Transparency to Move Goods

Published on November 13, 2009
L-R: Laurie Goldman of Levi Strauss & Co; Arrow Augerot of USTR and Raymond Yee of DHL
L-R: Laurie Goldman of Levi Strauss & Co; Arrow Augerot of USTR and Raymond Yee of DHL

Initiative to make trade information more widely available in the region discussed during APEC leaders’ meeting in Singapore

New York and Singapore, November 13, 2009 – Leading companies are urging governments throughout Asia and the Pacific to make their tariffs and related rules more transparent, saying this could provide a big boost to the region as trade rebounds from the past year’s severe drop-off.

To help draw attention to the complexity of trade in the region, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) and other members of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition, organized a November 12 business discussion on the APEC Transparency Initiative on Tariffs and Preferential Rules of Origin during the APEC CEO Summit and Leaders Meeting in Singapore.

Failure to take advantage of the current “spaghetti bowl” of regional trade agreements can be costly, attendees agreed. Raymond Yee, vice president for Asia-Pacific customs and regulatory affairs with DHL Express, provided his perspective on sourcing within the region and the possible impact of this initiative on business. Planning related to trade agreements is a crucial yet complex process.  Company representatives recognize the need for the transparency initiative and believe it would facilitate trade by businesses of all sizes across the APEC region.

Proposed by the U.S. and Japan and endorsed by APEC trade ministers in July 2009, the APEC Transparency Initiative aims to help companies take advantage of the significant trade liberalization in the region.  Arrow Augerot, deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for APEC affairs, was on hand to discuss the initiative at the November 12 event.

“This initiative is very timely because the lack of publicly available information on tariffs and preferential rules of origin has made it difficult for companies to take full advantage of the many free trade agreements negotiated in the APEC region,” said Laurie Goldman, senior manager of worldwide government affairs and public policy with Levi Strauss & Co.  “What we are proposing is a central database that would be searchable and up-to-date.  We would like to review the initiative with the broader APEC business community, exploring how to integrate information from all APEC economies.”

APEC trade ministers have pledged to provide the public with up-to-date and accurate tariff and rules of origin information by the time of their next meeting in June 2010, and to develop an APEC-specific website on tariffs and rules of origin by next year’s APEC leaders meeting in November.

The National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council are co-chairs of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition, which encompasses many leading U.S. industry groups.

NCAPEC is the only U.S. business association focused exclusively on facilitating American private sector input to the APEC process. The National Center functions as a conduit for U.S. businesses into APEC by serving as the Secretariat for the three U.S. executives who are appointed members of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

The US-ASEAN Business Council is the premier advocacy organization for U.S. Businesses operating in Southeast Asia. The Council serves a select membership of companies, including 7 of the Fortune 10 and 20 of the Dow Jones 30 companies, from its headquarters in D.C. and its five regional offices.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  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.

Contact:

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

More on the APEC Transparency Initiative and USCIB Involvement:
https://uscib.org/apectitrprofile-ud-3933

APEC CEO Summit Website:
http://www.apec2009.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&catid=38

Co-Chairs of the U.S. APEC Business Coalition:
NCAPEC: http://www.ncapec.org
US-ASEAN Business Council: http://www.us-asean.org

CEO Roundtable on APEC

Published on October 27, 2009

As part of the APEC Business Coalition, USCIB has the pleasure to extend an invitation for nominations of a member company CEO for the forthcoming State Department CEO Roundtable on APEC, which is scheduled for January 14, 2010.

The roundtable, to be hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, presents an excellent opportunity to interface with 30 top U.S. company CEOs doing business in the APEC area, as well as top-level U.S. government officials.  The secretaries of the treasury, commerce, transportation, energy, and the U.S. trade representative have attended this roundtable in the past.

Please contact Justine Bareford (jbareford@uscib.org) if you would like to put forward your company’s CEO for consideration for this high-level APEC event.  Nominations must be received no later than November 20.

In other APEC news, this year’s APEC CEO Summit will be held November 12-14 in Singapore.  This event will be attended by the world’s top business leaders as well as leaders from many APEC countries.  President Barack Obama is expected to address delegates at the summit as part of his inaugural visit to Asia.  The two-day summit will focus on addressing the economic crisis and key global issues.

USCIB will be represented at the APEC CEO Summit by our consulting director for APEC affairs, Kimberly McLaughlin.

Staff contact: Justine Bareford

 

On to Copenhagen: Major Business Groups Set Priorities for Climate Action

Published on September 28, 2009
While building owners in Copenhagen find many ways to “go green,” governments face major challenges in crafting a global climate pact.
While building owners in Copenhagen find many ways to “go green,” governments face major challenges in crafting a global climate pact.

As the world enters the final stretch leading up to December’s UN Copenhagen summit meeting on climate change, representatives of major business groups from around the world met in Washington on September 21 and 22 to frame recommendations on long-term climate action and the role of business in curbing greenhouse gases.  Representatives of ten top leading business groups from six continents took part – including BusinessEurope, the Japan’s Nikkei Keidanren, the Confederation of Indian Industry, USCIB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event.

Following on an earlier February roundtable in Copenhagen, where business groups from diverse countries reached a degree of consensus that surprised even themselves, representatives exchanged views on the shape of a new international agreement on climate change, agreed on a number of shared fundamental objectives and sought to contribute to ongoing negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on energy and climate.

The business groups emphasized the critical role of open trade to both economic recovery and dissemination of environmentally advanced technology.  The group also stressed the importance of economic development and competitiveness, financing, energy security and energy efficiency.  These will be conveyed to the MEF and developed further in future meetings.

According to Brian Flannery (ExxonMobil), co-chair of USCIB’s international energy policy working group, it is likely that, as the result of the Copenhagen summit, business will be charged with making major contributions to economic and technological capacity-building.  For that reason, a clearer and more formal role for business in the UNFCCC process is needed.  “The realities of the global marketplace and supply-chains will require economy-wide, multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary evaluation of proposed policies,” he said.

Between now and the Copenhagen summit, governments are struggling to reach consensus on post-2012 commitments to greenhouse gas reductions, adaptation to the likely impact of climate change, and necessary technological and financing measures.   Some progress was made at the recent UN high-level meetings and a global leadership forum held in New York around the opening of the UN General Assembly (see USCIB statement).

USCIB, working with the International Chamber of Commerce as the main business and industry focal-point for the UNFCCC negotiations, has represented its members’ interests in the process since 1993, and attended the UN leadership forum in New York.

According to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for environment and energy, the UN meeting in Copenhagen “should be viewed not as a finish line, but as a starting point,” the beginning of what she said will likely be a “long discussion about the details of post-2012 action.” USCIB will be covering the remaining negotiations in Bangkok and Barcelona, as well as in Copenhagen.

MEF business statement on climate

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Investment Treaty Talks With China Move Forward

Published on September 24, 2009
L-R: Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop), Wesley Scholz (State Dept.) and Daniel Bahar (USTR).
L-R: Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop), Wesley Scholz (State Dept.) and Daniel Bahar (USTR).

On September 15, USCIB joined with the Emergency Committee for American Trade, the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to co-host a briefing by U.S. negotiators on the status of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations with China.  The United States currently has BITs with some 40 other countries, and their provisions are included in many U.S. free trade agreements.  The treaties help protect private investment, develop market-oriented policies in partner countries and promote U.S. exports.

Wesley Scholz, director of the State Department’s Office of Investment Affairs, and Daniel Bahar with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that, while negotiations with China were initiated under the Bush Administration, at last July’s bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue meetings in Washington, the two governments reaffirmed that the BIT negotiations were ongoing and could contribute to the implementation of G-20 commitments to an open global economy.

Comments on China’s WTO Commitments

USCIB recently provided comments to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in response to an annual request for information on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments. We received valuable comments and updates to the document this year from engaged USCIB members highlighting industry concerns in a number of different industries on China’s progress toward the market liberalization benchmarks it agreed to in joining the WTO in 2001. USCIB’s submission can be found on the China Committee webpage.

Several rounds of negotiations have been held, focusing on a detailed explanation by each side of their model text (see related story).  The next step will be to attempt to produce a consolidated and bracketed text from which the hard negotiations will ensue. Importantly, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Bahar stated that the tone of the discussions is positive and constructive.  The next round of negotiations is expected to take place in November.

USCIB member Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) hosted the meeting, and USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Chair Scott Milller, (Procter & Gamble) guided the discussion.

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s China Committee

Bilateral Investment Treaties: Reviewing the U.S. Model

Published on August 28, 2009

yellow_network_usaUSCIB is participating in a review of the model U.S. bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The United States currently has BITs with some 40 other countries, and their provisions are included in many U.S. free trade agreements. The treaties help protect private investment, develop market-oriented policies in partner countries and promote U.S. exports.

Scott Miller (Procter & Gamble), who chairs USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee, Ted Posner (Crowell & Moring) and USCIB Vice President Stephen Canner are participating in a review of the model treaty.  The review is taking place under the auspices of a sub-group of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, chaired by Alan Larson (Covington & Burling) and Thea Lee (AFL-CIO).  Others participating in the review are drawn from business, labor and the NGO community.

From a USCIB perspective, our objectives are to correct the shortcomings of the model BIT revised in 2004 and to establish a new model that sets the highest standards of market access, investor protection and dispute resolution.  The sub-group’s report will be Advisory Committee in late September.  USCIB’s Mr. Canner made a statement at a public hearing on the matter that is available on USCIB’s website at www.uscib.org/docs/2009_07_29_model_bit.pdf.

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Global Jobs Pact a Highlight of 2009 ILO Conference

Published on July 22, 2009
USCIB’s Ronnie Goldberg and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at the International Labor Conference.
USCIB’s Ronnie Goldberg and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at the International Labor Conference.

At the ILO’s 2009 International Labor Conference, which took place in Geneva June 2 to 19, governments, employers and trade unions adopted a Global Jobs Pact outlining the role of the ILO in economic recovery worldwide.  This came on the heels of a “Global Jobs Summit,” where 17 heads of state shared their perspectives on the global jobs crisis.

“The Global Jobs Pact is a resource of practical policies that will enable each country to formulate a package specific to its situation and priorities,” according to USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who serves as the American employer member of the ILO’s governing body.   She said delegates also began work on an ILO recommendation to governments on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, and held a discussion on gender issues.

The International Organization of Employers, which coordinates business participation in the ILO, has released an employers’ guide to the Global Jobs Pact.

In keeping with the tripartite structure of the ILO, representatives of governments, business and labor participated in all of these discussions.  The U.S. employers delegation, organized by USCIB and led by Ed Potter (Coca-Cola), also included Ms. Goldberg, Paurvi Baht (Levi Strauss), Margaret Hart Edwards (Littler Mendelson), and John Raudabaugh (Baker & McKenzie).

During the discussion on HIV/AIDS, employers stressed the primary responsibility of the health sector in this area of policy making and allocation of resources.  Workplace policies and responses must be in support of national responses to HIV/AIDS, business representatives said, and ILO work in this field must take place in the context of international cooperation, in particular with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.  The ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS, which has the support of both employers and workers, remains an essential reference document.  The debate will continue at the 2010 ILO conference.

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

Employers’ Guide to the Global Jobs Pact

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

ILO website