Policy Areas Archives

USCIB Identifies Foreign Telecom and Other Trade Barriers

Published on October 27, 2016

Smartphone_mobile_globeUSCIB has cited numerous countries for maintaining barriers to exports of U.S. telecommunications and other products and services. In an extensive submission to the office of U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, we recommended the following countries (and regions encompassing multiple countries) for inclusion in USTR’s annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report:

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, European Union, Fiji, Germany, Ghana, Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Indonesia, Korea, Latin America Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East and North Africa, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay and Vietnam.

USCIB’s submission was in response to a request from USTR for public comments to assist it in identifying significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services, and U.S. foreign direct investment for inclusion in the Congressionally mandated NTE. Also part of this request, USTR asked for information regarding trade barriers to telecommunications products and services pursuant to Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.

The submission included comments detailing a wide assortment of trade barriers affecting a broad range of industries. Such cross-sectoral barriers include local content requirements, data storage requirements, customs-related issues, and intellectual property protection. The submission also delved into burdensome financial services regulations, problems with food safety laws, problematic tax laws, foreign direct investment restrictions, and foreign telecommunications policies and regulations that have the effect of restricting efficient and economic provision of these services, among others trade barriers.

 

Ensuring a Level Playing Field With State-Owned Enterprises

Published on October 24, 2016
USCIB's Eva Hampl speaks at an OECD meeting on state-owned enterprises.
USCIB’s Eva Hampl speaks at an OECD workshop on state-owned enterprises.

Last week at OECD headquarters in Paris, business representatives highlighted the importance of avoiding market distortions and maintaining a level playing field between public and private companies.

Two OECD workshops on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) focused on the twin challenges of preventing corruption and of SOEs as global competitors. BIAC/Business at OECD, part of USCIB’s global network, arranged for private-sector participation and released key messages for the discussions.

In the workshop on SOEs as competitors, Eva Hampl, USCIB’s director of investment, trade and financial services, discussed where the gaps remain and what can be done about them. She emphasized the importance of addressing the challenges presented by SOEs in a world that is hungry for investment — including foreign direct investment — and economic growth. To the extent that SOEs are now operating on a global scale, they can crowd out private FDI in a way that may hamper competition, including in third markets.

Because SOEs can take on many forms, one important issue is increased transparency on SOE governance structures, as well as any advantages they enjoy which tilt the playing field in their favor versus private companies. Increased transparency alone, however, does not resolve many of the underlying systemic issues of SOEs competing, and does not automatically level the playing field, business representatives said.

Transparency is important since SOEs can be a prime vehicle for corruption. “Many SOEs operate in sectors with high corruption risks,” the BIAC messages note. “The 2014 OECD Foreign Bribery Report identified state-owned or state-controlled enterprises as the single biggest category of foreign officials who were bribed.”

Employers Participate in Forum on Impact of Major Sporting Events

Published on October 24, 2016

A male soccer player kicks a ball and soccer goalie jumping in motion for a ball while defending his gates on wide angle panoramic image of a outdoor soccer stadium or arena full of spectators under a sunny sky. The image has depth of field with the focus on the foreground part of the pitch. With intentional lensflares. Players are wearing unbranded soccer uniform.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE), part of USCIB’s global network, took part in the October 13-14 Sporting Chance Forum on Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights in Washington, D.C.

Convened by the U.S. State Department, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Institute for Human Rights and Business, this high-level gathering convened 100 leaders from a wide variety of relevant stakeholder groups to discuss strategies to prevent, mitigate, and remedy human rights and labor standards abuses associated with the life cycle of major international sporting events such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup.

Read more on the IOE website.

USCIB’s Medina Leads Discussion at ChemCon 2016

Published on October 24, 2016
USCIB Vice President Helen Media
USCIB Vice President Helen Medina

Facing increasing demands around the world to divulge details of their supply chains and production processes, how much information can (and should) companies share regarding the chemicals used in their products?

USCIB Vice President Helen Medina led a discussion of this topic at this week’s ChemCon Americas 2016 conference in Toronto. Chairing a panel on “Global Supply Chain Transparency & Stakeholders,” Medina noted the numerous efforts by governments and international bodies to promote greater disclosure by companies.

“There is increased societal pressure for the ‘right to know’ concept,” Medina stated. “What’s more, companies are facing market and stakeholder pressure to ‘green’ their supply chains as a way to improve their corporate citizenship profile.”

Others speaking on Medina’s panel included Mark Herwig (GE), Sophia Danenberg (Boeing), Wendy Brant (Walmart) and Scott Echols (ZDHC Foundation).

Medina said that policy makers in many countries and regions are expanding their concept of risk in chemicals, to encompass not just the materials in a given product but also how they are used. In addition, they are increasingly requiring information to understand chemical risks throughout a products entire life cycle.

Highlighting numerous inter-governmental efforts to promote transparency on chemicals use, Medina cited the UN Sustainable Development Goals, where Goal 12 sets out to “achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.”

This focus has migrated into various other discussions in the UN system and elsewhere, Media said. She urged companies of all sizes to pay greater attention to these discussions, which she said would influence national laws and rule-making on chemicals for years to come.

ICC Digital Economy Commission Adds New Leaders

Published on October 21, 2016

business people handshaking

The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Commission on Digital Economy has announced the appointment of three new vice chairs, extending regional and sector representation of its current leaders. The appointments enrich the diversity of the leadership by bringing engineering and communications savvy to existing legal expertise, according to ICC.

The three new leaders are:

Virat Bhatia
Chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) ICT and Digital Economy Committee and President, IEA, AT&T, South Asia Region

Bhatia recently joined the commission after years of actively contributing to ICC’s Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) initiative. In this role he represented ICC views at the United Nation’s Commission on Science and Technology for Development and at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), where he serves on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group. Bhatia is leading current ICC work on Information and communication technologies in relation to the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Carolyn Nguyen
Director of Telecommunications and Internet Governance group at Microsoft Corporation

Nguyen joins the commission following active engagement in ICC BASIS, representing members during the UN General Assembly 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10), and promoting ICC work on cybersecurity at the 2015 IGF in Brazil.

Christoph Steck
Director of Public Policy and Internet for Telefonica

Mr Steck has served the commission as a task force co-Chair, most recently leading work on regulatory modernisation. In addition, Mr Steck and Telefonica helped support ICC Brazil’s outreach to local companies and ICC BASIS engagement leading up to the IGF 2015 in Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
New talent

Commenting on these appointments, Commission Chair Joseph Alhadeff, (Oracle) said: “Virat, Carolyn and Christoph each have a record of engagement to ICC policy development and advocacy, so I am confident members will be well served by this expansion and bolstering of the commission leadership. They also share our vision to expand participation and extend sector and geographic representation to ensure the commission itself is inclusive, and that its output is both impactful and of the utmost relevance.”

The ICC Commission on the Digital Economy develops policy positions on topics spanning the Internet and telecoms, privacy and data protection, security and digital trade. It undertakes this work on behalf of users, providers and operators of information technology. USCIB interfaces with the ICC commission through our Information, Communications and Technology Committee.

Business Presents Views on Health and Innovation to OECD

Published on October 21, 2016
USCIB's Helen Medina (center) and other members of the BIAC Health Committee
USCIB’s Helen Medina (center) and other members of the BIAC Health Committee

Ahead of a key OECD health ministerial in January, 10 private-sector health policy experts, including USCIB Vice President Helen Medina, met in Paris last week for the BIAC (Business at OECD) Health Committee, took part in a key OECD meeting on “The Economics of Prevention,” and exchanged views on health and innovation policy with selected permanent delegations to the OECD.

With several governments contemplating heavy-handed labeling and marketing restrictions on foods they deem unhealthy, the industry experts sought to underscore how much industry has done to address the health impacts of its products as well as consumer lifestyle choices.

“The fact is, industry has made robust commitments on marketing and advertising, and has reformulated products in response to public concerns about health,” said Medina. “Our goal is to ensure that industry can continue to innovate and contribute to healthy diets while continuing to provide a range of choices for consumers.”

Other BIAC experts emphasized that industry is not afraid of regulation, but wants governments to support research and innovation policies, which would also help smaller companies. They asked OECD governments to consider ways to improve the base of evidence regarding effective disease prevention tools and other interventions. There is a need, they said, for nutritional data and for an integrative comprehensive approach to foster healthy choices, lifestyles and sustainable diets.

The group held bilateral meetings with OECD missions including the United States, Australia and the Czech Republic.

US Small Business Speaks Up for Global Trade

Published on October 18, 2016

tradematters_world_technologyInternational trade has gotten a bad rap in the U.S. electoral campaign and elsewhere around the world. Pushing back against the misconceptions around global trade is a key focus of the #TradeMatters campaign from the International Chamber of Commerce. A key feature of the campaign are testimonials from entrepreneurs and small business owners around the world explaining why trade matters to them, and how governments could make cross-border trade easier for small business.

World Technology Corporation, a New York-based exporter of environmentally friendly technologies, was recently featured in the campaign. Peter Tierney, the company’s managing director, said in his contribution to the campaign: “Exporting has helped our company stabilize its sales and provided a financial cushion during the last recession. People say what we do – exporting – is risky. We believe that not exporting in today’s global economy is a much riskier position to take.”

You can view World Technology’s posting on the ICC website here.

How Technology Can Catalyze Sustainable Development

Published on October 18, 2016

Global Communications. 3D rendering.

Too often, new technologies are regarded as only benefiting high-tech businesses or improving lifestyles for those in developed countries — a common misconception that could limit the potential benefits of these innovations for developing economies.

A new paper by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on “the Internet of Everything” brings to light how new technology can be leveraged by developing countries to address fundamental sustainable development issues and needs.

To learn how emerging technologies work in practice and the policy conditions needed to realize the societal benefits they have to offer, we sat down with Joseph Alhadeff (Oracle), chair of the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy, on the sidelines of the 4th Africa Information and Communication Technologies Alliance summit, which took place last week in Windhoek, Namibia.

You can read the full interview on ICC’s website. Click here to download the ICC paper.

 

Business for 2030 Website Crosses a Key Threshold

Published on October 14, 2016

Business for 2030 logo

Last month, the Business for 2030 website, which was launched in 2015 as a platform to demonstrate private-sector support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, registered its 20,000th visitor.

“We’re really pleased with the growth thus far, and we know we’ve only uncovered the very tip of the iceberg of corporate activity related to the SDGs,” said USCIB Vice President Ariel Meyerstein, who conceived the website and has developed it in collaboration with numerous USCIB member companies and partner organizations. “It demonstrates the eagerness with which the private and public sectors are looking for ways to work together to achieve these critical global goals.”

The Business for 2030 portal features hundreds of real-world examples of company initiatives and public-private partnerships, organized in relation to over 50 of the business-relevant SDG targets.

The initiative picks up on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon‘s exhortation for the private sector “to take its place at the table and plot a path forward for the next 15 years, reaffirming once again that responsible business is a force for good.”

Business for 2030 now covers 81 of the 169 targets with one or more initiative – for a total of 165 initiatives from 47 companies and organizations, in more than 150 countries. You can track future development of the initiative at www.businessfor2030.org/progress.

Talking Responsibly About Trade and Investment

Published on October 14, 2016

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The recently launched OECD interim Economic Outlook reveals global GDP growth is projected to slow marginally to 2.9 percent in 2016, and acknowledges trade as an important driver of productivity growth — enhancing competitiveness, enabling greater specialization and facilitating knowledge transfer. Against this background, Bernhard Welschke, secretary general of Business at OECD, called on the OECD and member governments to communicate the benefits of trade more responsibly.

Read Welschke’s posting in the OECD Insights blog.