USCIB Organizes Second ‘Moving the Needle’ Business Roundtable at COP15 in Montreal

Published on January 11, 2023
Eric Loeb speaks at the USCIB MTN Roundtable in Montreal

On the margins of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada in December 2022, USCIB held a second Moving the Needle business roundtable. The roundtable focused on the second priority area set out by the President of the 77th Session of the General Assembly: Science. Titled Creating a Safe Space for Collaboration: Enhancing Business-Science-Policy Interface to Accelerate Implementation of the SDGs and OCA Priorities, the roundtable focused on how business innovation and R&D can inform and strengthen implementation of the SDGs to achieve OCA targets, working with and through the multilateral system by identifying opportunities to strengthen the science-policy-business interface with the ambition to accelerate implementation.

Presiding over the session, Chair of USCIB and Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at Salesforce Eric Loeb highlighted the importance of promoting meaningful engagement by the business community across all sectors and the key role this will play in meeting the 2030 commitments working through and with the UN. Furthermore, “USCIB is focused on enabling private sector innovation, R&D, scientific partnerships and investments for nature-based solutions,” added Loeb.

The roundtable included eminent speakers such as OECD Environment Directorate Director Jo Tyndall, Chair of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Ana María Hernández and Head of Sustainability Partnerships, Scouting & Ventures at Novozymes Justin Perrettson, who also co-chairs the USCIB Environment Committee.

The speakers emphasized that science is key to accelerating the pace and effectiveness of government and business actions to deliver on the SDGs and OCA targets. While systems thinking and institutional innovation will be central to mobilizing private sector know-how and concerted efforts from all actors necessary to achieve our shared objectives, it is  critical for business to be part of that conversation.

Left to right: Chris Southworth (ICC UK), Daphne Yong-d’Hervé (ICC), and Prof. Tim Hodges (McGill University)

The main panel sessions included high level business speakers Kate Gibson, llobal head of ESG at Diageo, Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer at Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation, Chris Southworth, secretary general, ICC UK, Timothy Hodges, professor of Practice in Strategic Approaches to Global Affairs at McGill University Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID) and Daphne Yong-d’Hervé, director, global policy, International Chamber of Commerce. As part of the knowledge community, inclusive engagement of business is important to better understand perspectives, priorities and identify the most suitable solutions. While many companies have already been involved in the science-based initiative, more widespread adoption is needed to strengthen the data, tools, and policies to guide assessment and disclosure of genuine corporate progress. The dialogue between business, government and society needs to be grounded in trust, respect and guided by science.

USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Global Strategy Norine Kennedy and USCIB Policy Manager for Environment and Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad worked together to organize this second MTN roundtable with the support of Lea Felluss, project manager for MTN.

BACKGROUND: About the Moving the Needle (MTN) initiative

USCIB launched the Moving the Needle (MTN) initiative during the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2022. MTN focuses on three priorities identified by the President of the UN General Assembly: Solutions for Sustainability, Science, and Solidarity.

MTN explores how business expertise, action and resources in these three areas can be brought to the table via dialogue, partnerships, and resource mobilization, accelerating SDG implementation through Our Common Agenda (OCA), working with and through the multilateral system.

Learnings from the three roundtables will conclude with a Moving the Needle Roadmaps for Results report and provide the foundation for a white paper on Business and the UN 2.0. Further information about USCIB’s Moving the Needle can be found HERE.

USCIB Announces New Tax Committee Chair: John Stowell of Disney

Published on January 5, 2023
John Stowell, Disney

USCIB Member and the Head of Global Tax and International Financial Reporting at Disney John Stowell took over as Chair of the USCIB Taxation Committee and tax leadership team from Tim McDonald, VP for Global Taxes at Procter & Gamble last month, according to USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel Rick Minor.

Stowell has been a member of the tax leadership team since April 2021 and has been directly involved in virtually all the key initiatives of the committee. Stowell has also been active in the U.S. tax policy community for many years now and brings multi-sector experience in tax planning, audit, policy and executive leadership to this role.

“Like his predecessor, John is a collaborative and inclusive leader and highly respected in the global tax community,” said Minor. “I look forward to continuing to work with John now in his elevated USCIB tax committee role.”

At 2022 IGF, USCIB Emphasizes Inclusive, Multistakeholder Approaches to Internet Governance

Published on December 14, 2022
2022 Internet Governance Forum

The 2022 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) informally kicked off on November 28 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, drawing a robust “post-COVID” attendance of stakeholders from around the globe. Notably, many of the participants hailed from African and Middle Eastern countries.

The Forum’s overarching theme was Resilient Internet for a Shared and Sustainable Common Future and revolved around five key issues: connectivity, avoiding Internet fragmentation, data governance and privacy, Internet safety, security and accountability and, finally, addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).

While the IGF was formally opened on November 29, the informal sessions the day prior (“Day Zero”) set the stage for workshops and main sessions for the full duration of the IGF, which ran from November 29 to December 2. The formal launch of the IGF featured remarks by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and ITU Secretary General-Elect Doreen Bogdan-Martin. They all highlighted the IGF’s welcome return to the African continent and the Forum’s critical role as a convenor for inclusive, multistakeholder discussions aimed at sharing policy solutions, best practices and experiences. The speakers noted that these types of inclusive discussions would leverage the power of the Internet and digital technologies to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), economic growth and a wide array of societal benefits.

By the week’s end, USCIB members, led by USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner, made substantive contributions in high-level sessions and workshops, several of which were organized by USCIB and ICC-BASIS, that addressed virtually all these year’s IGF themes.

According to Wanner, USCIB members’ messages amplified USCIB advocacy priorities in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the UN Global Digital Compact and the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy.

Day Zero featured two High Level Sessions: one focused on Universal, Affordable & Meaningful Connectivity and Digital Rights, and another focused on the Global Digital Compact Action areas of applying Human Rights online and protection of data. According to Wanner, the first session featured representatives from virtually all stakeholder groups, who agreed that participation of all stakeholders in Internet-related policy discussions remained critical as the digital ecosystem evolves to safeguard against unintended consequences from under-informed policy and/or regulatory decisions.

The first official day of the IGF featured a workshop co-organized by USCIB, Business at OECD (BIAC), and the OECD, titled Realizing Trustworthy AI through Stakeholder Collaboration. The workshop applied the OECD’s groundbreaking AI Principles as a foundation for considering both technical and operational realities for stakeholders when implementing tools and processes to ensure a human-centric and trustworthy use of AI. While AI is an innovative and evolving technology, it has the potential to revolutionize how we live, work, learn, discover and communicate. However, potential misuse of AI risks undermining personal privacy and online security protections, supporting decision-making biases that exacerbate social inequality and, thereby, causing disruptions in the labor market, among other possible pitfalls.

“Adopted in 2019, the OECD’s framework involves five values-based principles and five recommendations for government policymakers. These principles and recommendations were designed to shape a stable policy environment at the international level to promote a human-centric approach to trustworthy AI and prevent the algorithms from running away from us or out of human oversight,” said Wanner.

“The workshop was timely and the scheduling of it on Day One of the IGF was significant. The workshop distinguished the OECD AI Principles from other approaches aimed at realizing trustworthy deployment of AI, such as the UNESCO AI Ethics recommendations and the Council of Europe’s initiative to develop a binding Convention on AI.”

Distinct focus was placed on the ongoing government efforts in building trustworthy AI in the developing countries and the global South. The challenges posed by the newly evolving generative AI technology were also explored. Speakers from OECD, Meta, the Government of Chile and others offered interesting takeaways, according to Wanner.

One takeaway emphasized that as more and more countries are planning to introduce regulation over AI, all relevant stakeholders should seize the window of opportunity for collaboration to define concepts, identify commonalities and gather evidence to improve the effective implementation and enforcement of future regulations before their launch. Another takeaway included ensuring that all actors, from both technical and non-technical communities, work together transparently to develop general principles that can be applied in various contexts. This would foster trust for the AI systems of today and tomorrow. Finally, capacity-building and upskilling of the workforce remains critical.

USCIB Participates in Principals Meeting of US-EU Trade and Labor Dialogue

Published on December 14, 2022
Alice Slayton Clark and Tom Mackall (right) joined by other representatives from business, labor and government

USCIB Vice President for International Investment and Trade Policy Alice Slayton Clark and USCIB Senior Counsel Tom Mackall participated in the inaugural principles meeting of the US-EU Trade and Labor Dialogue (TALD). The exclusive meeting featured United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Labor Department Undersecretary of International Affairs Thea Lee, and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, along with select representatives of U.S. business and labor unions. Business Europe and European Trade Union Confederation were also present.

An offshoot of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council, the TALD is a trilateral dialogue among business, labor and government to develop policies and transatlantic alignment on key labor concerns, particularly in the area of digital. This first meeting focused on eliminating forced labor in supply chains, a priority trade concern for the Biden Administration. “Our partnership with the European Union, and our collaboration with labor unions and business leaders, is critical to our work to make trade a force for good and transform the way we treat workers…around the world,” said Ambassador Tai.

While USCIB condemns all forms of forced labor, Clark urged policymakers to develop a strategy that targets root causes. “This requires developing a whole of government strategy that includes enhanced capacity-building and technical assistance that helps countries comply with core labor standards, combat corruption, strengthen labor ministries and courts, and safeguard workers from harmful recruitment practices,” she said.

Clark also asserted that “enhanced trade and investment incentives can play an important role, but import restrictions must be a last resort – targeted, proportional and non-discriminatory. Where allegations of forced labor exist, as a general matter, there should be early engagement with the trade community.” USCIB also expressed its opposition to customs serving as lead or only agency managing forced labor issues.

Clark’s advocacy echoed positions taken in USCIB’s 2022 forced labor trade strategy submission and comments on the Uygur Forced Labor Act. They were aligned with messaging from other industry representatives in the room, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Labor representatives on the other hand, extolled the benefits of import bans and called for mandatory corporate human rights due diligence legislation that requires identification, reporting and remediation for cases linked to forced labor.

As a key principal in the TALD, USCIB will continue to press business interests as part of the dialogue on forced labor trade strategy as well efforts to address the impact of digital trade on workers.

USCIB Welcomes Adoption of OECD Principles on Government Access to Personal Data Held by Private Entities

Published on December 14, 2022

Gran Canaria, Spain, December 14, 2022—Ministers of OECD countries responsible for digital economy policy today adopted a ground-breaking Declaration on Government Access to Personal Data Held by Private Entities. This action culminated two years of multilateral and multistakeholder discussions in the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy, which for the first time brought together privacy, national security and law enforcement officials.

The Declaration articulates principles that are common to OECD members with strong democratic traditions of respect for human rights and the rule of law. It offers clarity and transparency around these shared values, which, in turn, increases trust among governments. For businesses and internet users, the Declaration creates greater confidence in the sufficiency of protections that are guaranteed when individuals’ data is being transferred to a third country or accessed by a third country’s government.

This Declaration comes at a time when growing mistrust in data and data flows feeds uncertainty that has discouraged participation of individuals, businesses, and even governments in the global digital economy and undermined economic recovery efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chain disruptions. As the G7 Trade Ministers Digital Trade Principles expressed last year, achieving this consensus among OECD member countries will now help provide greater transparency and legal certainty to cross-border data flows, and will support the transfer of data between jurisdictions by commercial entities and result in positive economic and social impacts.

USCIB members, working under the aegis of Business at OECD (BIAC) and in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), actively contributed evidence and recommendations to inform the TGA process, outlining principles and safeguards for government access to personal data that respect individual rights, promote shared democratic values, and are based on common practices.

“The TGA Principles establish a solid foundation for building trust in the digital ecosystem, similar to the OECD Privacy Guidelines,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner, who was on the ground in Gran Canaria. “Excitement about the TGA Principles and the sense of achievement in the Ministerial plenary were palpable. By creating more confidence in data flows, the Principles ultimately will support USCIB members’ global commercial activities not to mention produce societal benefits for all,” she added.

See this link for further information about the OECD Digital Ministerial.

Business Contributions to the OECD CDEP process:

Joint Business Statement on the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy’s work to develop an instrument setting out high-level principles or policy guidance for trusted government access to personal data held by the private sector

ICC White Paper on Trusted Government Access to Personal Data Held by the Private SectorCenter for International Economic Collaboration

CFIEC Report on Forming Rules for Government Access: Toward Optimizing the International Flow of Personal and Non-Personal Data

CONTACT:
Barbara Wanner
VP, ICT Policy
bwanner@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Deputy Director, Communications and Marketing
kyevtukhova@uscib.org

ABOUT USCIB: USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. USCIB is the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Business at OECD (BIAC). More at www.uscib.org.

Intel Wins Prestigious ACE Award from the State Department

Published on December 13, 2022
Bruce Andrews (center), Corporate Vice President of Intel, alongside Cynthia Telles, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica
Photo via U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica

For the 17th time in 23 years, a leading USCIB member company has won a prestigious State Department Award for Corporate Excellence (“ACE Awards”). Intel of Costa Rica is the 2022 recipient of the ACE Inclusive Economic Growth Award for its “Skills for Life” program, a STEM and English language training service for afro-heritage and indigenous populations in one of Costa Rica’s lowest income regions. The goal of the program is to boost youth employability to fill jobs not only at Intel’s extensive Costa Rican operations but also for other local industries.

U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Cynthia Telles nominated Intel and presented the award to Bruce Andrews, Intel’s vice president and chief corporate affairs officer (a former Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce) at the December 9 ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC. Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Jose Fernandez presided before the large crowd of government officials, business representatives and diplomats. Last year’s ceremony was held virtually.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson congratulated Intel on the award.

“We at USCIB are delighted, but not surprised, to see a leading USCIB member company among the select group of winners of the prestigious ACE Award again this year,” said Robinson. “Intel and other USCIB member companies are great corporate ambassadors for American business practices and American values around the world. In taking care of their employees and communities, in responsible stewardship of the environment, and in responsible business practices, American companies and USCIB members set the gold standard around the world. I congratulate Intel’s corporate leadership, Vice President Bruce Andrews, and the 3800+ members of Intel Costa Rica’s team on the ground for this impressive achievement.”

Intel follows in the heels of other leading USCIB ACE winners including Mastercard in 2021, the Coca-Cola Company in 2020, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble in 2018 and many others. Again this year, other USCIB members were nominated by U.S. ambassadors around the world for ACE Awards in three categories – Inclusive Economic Growth, Climate Resilience, and Responsible Business Operations. USCIB lauds them all, including Chevron Nigeria, which was a strong competitor in the Inclusive Economic Growth category, distinguished for its work on social risk management strategy to address the root causes of instability and insecurity in the Niger Delta.

USCIB Urges More Business Engagement in UN to Address Human Rights Gaps

Published on December 12, 2022

USCIB members discussed issues related to business and human rights with representatives of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Human Rights Council at the 11th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights. This year’s Forum was held in Geneva during the week of November 28 and focused on the topic, Rights Holders at the Center: Strengthening Accountability to Advance Business Respect for People and Planet in the Next Decade.

The Forum provided a platform for historically underrepresented groups to voice their concerns and for business to reiterate its commitment for advancing human rights. However according to USCIB Policy Associate Jose Arroyo, business representation during the formal sessions was unfortunately limited, making the side events and extra meetings, which were organized by USCIB and the International Organization of Employers (IOE), all the more important.

“USCIB and IOE expressed to the UN Working Group the need to engage business in the discussions and highlighted our common goals to address informality, close the gap between labor practice and labor law and encourage more decisive action from States in enforcing existing regulations,” said Arroyo.

“While notable discussions were held during the Forum, the absence of a business perspective across several panels was palpable,” added Arroyo. This message, as well as the fact that business should be regarded as a partner in the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground, was conveyed directly to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a private meeting organized by IOE.

“In our messaging to the High Commissioner, the business community clearly expressed our common goal to promote the Human Rights approach and reiterated our strong commitment to do the right thing,” concluded Arroyo.

In the USCIB-organized meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to the Human Rights Council, members had the opportunity to discuss their concerns regarding the draft UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights and upcoming legislation in Europe, as well as to describe their due diligence efforts in the context of the UN Guiding Principles.

USCIB Submits Amicus Brief Supporting Tech Companies

Published on December 7, 2022

USCIB, along with the Chamber of Commerce, NFTC and Business Roundtable submitted an amicus brief on December 6 in support of Twitter. The Ninth Circuit has determined that Twitter, along with Google and Facebook, were generally aware that some supporters or members of ISIS—an international terrorist organization—were among the billions of users on their social media platforms; therefore, these companies are potentially liable for an ISIS attack that killed 39 people in Istanbul. The amicus brief argues that the Ninth Circuit’s decision should be reversed.

According to USCIB General Counsel Nancy Thevenin, these companies could be subjected to liability for ISIS’s terrorist acts, even though they barred pro-terrorist content from their platforms and regularly removed such content when they become aware of it.

The amicus brief adds: “The court of appeals’ ruling effectively eviscerates Congress’s requirements that defendants must knowingly provide substantial assistance to an injury-causing terrorist attack before they may be held civilly liable under the Act. That dramatic expansion of liability would have significant adverse consequences for the entire business community.”

USCIB Co-Hosts Webinar on Brazil and Peru’s OECD Accession Process

Published on December 7, 2022

USCIB and Baker McKenzie co-hosted an informational webinar on December 6 regarding Brazil and Peru’s accessions to the OECD. Approximately 140 private sector attendees, including USCIB members, participated in the meeting. USCIB Director for Trade, Investment and China Alice Slayton Clark outlined the OECD accession timeline, including roadmaps, initial memorandum, technical review and political assessment.

She also informed industry that the accession process provides a unique opportunity for leveraging business interests.  The OECD will be undertaking a rigorous assessment of the candidate country’s alignment with the relevant OECD instruments, policies and practices as well as with other rules, standards and benchmarks such as WTO agreements and other international conventions.

“This offers an excellent opportunity for companies to resolve a range of current business concerns with these candidate countries,” and USCIB is in an excellent position to help, Clark stressed. “As a member of Business at OECD (BIAC), we’re uniquely able to influence the committees, staff and delegations at the OECD who are undertaking the OECD accession reviews.”

Attorneys from Baker McKenzie Peru and Trench Rossi Watanabe* in Brazil also gave an analysis of the current political landscape in both countries with a focus on the developments or changes that are needed to achieve accession to the OECD, specifically related to trade and tax matters.

A recording of the event is now live.

Be sure to check out USCIB’s new webpage on OECD accession, providing members with latest information, including accession events, background papers and advocacy documents.

USCIB Policy Experts Provided Extensive Input Into the B20

Published on November 30, 2022

This year’s B20 Summit, held November 13-14, embraced the theme of ‘Advancing Innovative, Inclusive and Collaborative Growth’ in support of the G20 theme of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. The B20 Summit brought together world business leaders representing leading multinational corporations. In the lead up to the B20 Summit, USCIB policy experts worked closely with USCIB members through various B20 Task Forces, such as those focused on digitalization, trade and investment, integrity and compliance as well as illicit trade and illicit finance. 

USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner participated on the B20 Indonesia Digitalization Task Force on behalf of USCIB members. Wanner provided inputs to the Digitalization Task Force report aimed at ensuring that the substance aligned with USCIB contributions to the OECD digital work and the UN Global Digital Compact. According to Wanner, the focus of USCIB substantive inputs – which largely were taken on board by B20 Indonesia – were aimed at carrying through the themes of “data free flows with trust,” opposition to data localization requirements, risk-based and interoperable approaches to digital security, and the importance of multistakeholder participation in global digital consultations.  

USCIB Director, Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark served on the B20 Trade and Iinvestment Task Force and provided recommendations on behalf of USCIB members in four key areas: promote open, fair and inclusive post-pandemic global trade and investment policies; facilitate innovation and digitalization that supports international development and avoids future crises; encourage inclusivity in global supply chains; and ensure trade and investment drive greener and more sustainable development. USCIB Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation Megan Giblin also played a key role in advancing inputs and securing inclusion of customs and trade facilitation language to reflect member and Committee priorities.  

Meanwhile, USCIB Senior VP, Innovation, Regulation, and Trade Brian Lowry participated as a Member of the B20 Indonesia Integrity & Compliance Task Force alongside USCIB Policy Manager for Environment and Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad, supporting as a deputy member of the task force. Giblin also served a critical role in coordinating efforts to gather USCIB member inputs, reflecting member and Committee priorities, on the inclusion of language specifically pertaining to illicit trade and illicit finance.  

Working with David M. Luna, chair of the USCIB Anti-Illicit Trade Committee, USCIB submitted comments pertaining to Policy Recommendation 3 to foster agility in counteract measures to combat money laundering/terrorist financing risk and Policy Action 3.1 to refocus on money laundering/terrorist financing risk factors identification. USCIB’s submission on language recognizing the “link between the sustainability agenda, illicit trade/illicit finance, and financial crime” was adopted by the task force and is included in the final policy paper. Additionally, commentary submitted by USCIB to include language on environmental crime and trade-based money laundering is also reflected in the final policy paper.