COVID-19 Responses: Our Global Network

USCIB is pleased to share the work being done related to COVID-19 across the world by our global network. For information on what USCIB member companies are doing to curb the impacts of COVID-19, visit our dedicated Member Responses page.

Table of Contents:

-International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
-International Organization of Employers (IOE)
-Business at OECD (BIAC)
-USCIB Partners:

-Intergovernmental Forums:

  • United Nations
  • World Health Organization

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

Visit ICC’s dedicated site on COVID: https://www.covid.iccwbo.org/

Latest ICC News and Statements on COVID-19:

  • ICC Statement of tax measures to Save Our SMEs in response to COVID-19
  • ICC partnered with WHO to launch a comprehensive survey, an unprecedented private sector call to action to tackle Covid-19. One important contribution to the private sector effort is mapping responses by individual businesses; that is, actions taken by you and your teams. This survey – which takes a short time to complete – will not only provide ICC and WHO with new data and insights, but also reinforce key health messages. ICC will use your responses to provide updated information to businesses, and develop solutions that will help your company to tackle the consequences of the pandemic.
  • ICC publishes a COVID-19 Business Continuity Guide
  • ICC launched a new global campaign, #SaveOurSMEs, to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) survive the COVID-19 pandemic. In a co-signed message to the ICC network, ICC Secretary General John Denton and ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) Chair Hamad Buamim called on the ICC network to widely share the‘SOS’ Call to Action and engage with media using these campaign key messages.
  • While recognizing the essential role the private sector can play in minimizing the likelihood of transmission, a joint ICC-WHO statement calls on national governments to adopt a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and underscores the urgency for Heads of State and Government to make preventing the spread of the virus a top priority.

Recordings and presentations of recent virtual sessions:

  • ICC’s educational arm, the ICC Academy, will be hosting a series of livecasts and webinars on COVID-19 in the coming weeks, free of charge. As part of the COVID-19 response, the series will focus on three core areas: healtheconomy, and at a later stage: recovery.

International Organization of Employers (IOE)

IOE is mobilizing its network to provide information on business and employer organizations’ efforts to support members with safety and health measures, preventive actions to minimize disruption to productivity, strategies for mitigation of financial losses, and overview of government initiatives to reduce economic stress on business.

IOE is providing information based on regions (Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia), virtual conferences, and key documents from its global network. For more general information visit IOE’s dedicated page on COVID-19.


Latest IOE News and Statements on COVID-19:

  • The ILO released their third report on the impact of COVID-19 and the world of work.  The report estimates the drop in working hours in the current (second) quarter of 2020 is expected to be significantly worse than previously estimated.  The report recommendations include supporting international coordination on stimulus packages; simplifying and expediting procedures to access benefits, credit and loans; providing income support to businesses and workers; and continuing social dialogue throughout the reopening of economies to ensure safeguards workers and consumers.
  • The IOE and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and their constituents stand in solidarity with governments and underline the critical need for social dialogue at national and multilateral levels to design measures to overcome the impact of COVID-19. The two organizations have released a joint statementwhich contains several call of action points on business continuity, income security, social dialogue, policy coordination and coherence. The statement also notes that the 2019 ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work contains critical elements.

Recordings and presentations of recent virtual sessions:


Business at OECD (BIAC)

Business at OECD (BIAC) believes it is now more important than ever that the OECD delivers the best policy advice both on short-term collective response measures, as well as the longer-term recovery plans that will soon need to be implemented. The extensive experience of the OECD, from its origins emerging from the Marshall Plan implementation to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, makes the organization a unique forum to help governments achieve an effective balance between the health and economic needs of society. Evidence-based analysis, enhanced best practice sharing and improved coordinated collective actions will prove decisive.

NEW! Business at OECD key messages on the impact of COVID-19 international travel restrictions on services-trade costs

Initial OECD analysis on COVID-19:

For more information on what the OECD and Business at OECD (BIAC) are doing related to COVID-19, please visit their website: http://biac.org/coronavirus/.


USCIB Partners

American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU)

On April 23, during AmCham EU’s “American Hour” online series for members, AmCham EU hosted USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson alongside other distinguished U.S. business leaders: Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce; and Nancy McLernon, President and CEO, Global Business Alliance. The panel discussed business view on COVID-19.

During the chat, CEO of AmCham EU Susan Danger moderated and provided opening remarks, noting, “As like-minded powers, the business community counts on the EU and the U.S. to work together, with the international community, in the fight against COVID-19. Now is the time to demonstrate the values we share in Europe, across the Atlantic and with the rest of the global community.”

Discover How GBA Members Are Fighting COVID-19

Global Business Alliance (GBA) is comprised of a diverse coalition of members whose businesses span numerous industries. These companies are utilizing their expertise, resources and dedicated employees to bring aid to the communities in which they operate and help eradicate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit the GBA website. To explore by sector or company, see below.

Medical Innovation


BayerbioMerieuxBoehringer IngelheimCSL BehringGlaxoKlineSmithNovartisNovo NordiskRocheSanofiSiemensTakedaTeva Pharmaceuticals

Manufacturing

Anheuser-BuschBoschDaimlerHitachiLVMHNissanPernod RicardPhilipsToyotaVolkswagen

Technology


EricssonSamsungTata Consultancy Services

U.S. Chamber of Commerce


Intergovernmental Forums (IGOs)

United Nations

  • The United Nations published a report titled “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19“. The report is a call to action, for the immediate health response required to suppress transmission of the virus to end the pandemic and to tackle the many social and economic dimensions of this crisis. It is a call to focus on people – women, youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector and on vulnerable groups who are already at risk. Pages 6-7 of the report features a section on “Businesses and Corporations: Step Up to the Challenge
  • USCIB’s biweekly memo on “Business at the UN” flags events and decision points relevant to members, passes on intelligence and indicates next steps for business-relevant UN workstreams. If you would like to receive the memo, please contact: Claudia Herbert Colfer (ccolfer@uscib.org).

World Health Organization

Staff Contact:   Kira Yevtukhova

Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 202.617.3160

Kira Yevtukhova manages USCIB’s print and online publications, including the website, e-newsletter and quarterly magazine, and serves as the organization’s digital media strategist. Prior to this role, Kira worked for over five years within USCIB’s Policy Department, focusing on climate change, environment, nutrition, health, and chemicals related policy issues. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and has an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
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