Many groups represent business in Washington and internationally, but few can match USCIB’s experience, geographic reach and credibility.
By Peter M. Robinson
People often ask me to explain how USCIB can help their company, and what distinguishes us from other business associations. Even our members sometimes ask us how best to articulate USCIB’s value to colleagues who are not as familiar with us.
USCIB does something no other business group does: we represent our members’ business interests around the world. We provide access and influence to regulatory bodies and policy makers at the national and international levels. We work to open markets, foster innovation and fair competition, and secure the free flow of information so our member companies can succeed wherever they do business.
Our role is essential because business is increasingly international. We understand that the success of our member companies increasingly depends on the ability to proactively shape the rules and regulations that will influence the way they do business in the years ahead.
Our approach is built upon our commitment to the core values of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Those values support our key objectives of open trade and investment and job creation, in order to create a better world for our children. We see these values and objectives as best supported through international engagement and prudent regulation.
Many organizations represent U.S. business interests in Washington, D.C., and others do so internationally. But few, if any, can match USCIB’s experience and geographic reach, or the credibility we have earned in successfully advocating on behalf of members from all sectors and industries, in an increasingly complex global regulatory environment.
We could not do this without the global platform provided by our network of business affiliates – including the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers, and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD. These groups open doors overseas, provide a “seat at the table” with key international bodies and allow us to rally foreign business opinion in support of our members’ views. Working through this unmatched network, USCIB is a proven, trusted and credible partner with foreign governments and international regulatory bodies at all levels.
The breadth of issues we cover is remarkable – ranging from climate change to Internet governance, from human rights to the conditions and rules affecting overseas investment, from tax policy to customs and trade facilitation, to name but a few. Our comprehensive policy agenda and our flexible structure give us a unique ability to work on cross-cutting and complex business issues.
Influencing policy and regulatory outcomes on a global scale requires proactivity and sustained commitment. USCIB’s consensus-based approach ensures that our views and positions represent the broadest possible range of companies across all affected industries. And our long-term outlook allows us to “see around corners,” effectively helping our members tackle tomorrow’s business challenges today.
Another thing that sets USCIB apart is our working relationship with organized labor and civil society groups. With the urgent need for job creation high on the international agenda, our work in the tripartite International Labor Organization, as well as in the OECD, where labor also has a voice, gives us a platform for pursuing shared interests in promoting growth and employment.
Finally, when distinguishing USCIB from other U.S. trade associations and business organizations, I emphasize that this not an either/or proposition. As a broad-based, globally engaged, consensus-driven and “outside the beltway” organization, we frequently complement and leverage positions taken by our member companies in their vertically oriented industry associations and other business groups. We also work collaboratively with these groups in numerous coalition efforts.
Think of us an “amplifier.” Where an industry’s policy positions in Washington touch international issues and fit with USCIB’s core values, we can help create a broad international consensus in support of these positions through our global platforms.
In a nutshell, USCIB’s mission is to open the world for American business. We welcome your support, and if you’re not already a member of USCIB, please consider joining. (Call 212.703.5064 or e-mail membership@uscib.org.) Working together, we can ensure business leadership and engagement in building a better, more prosperous world.
Other recent postings from Mr. Robinson:
Dealing With State-Owned Enterprises (Winter 2010-2011)
