News Stories Archives

BIAC: Strengthen SME Financing and Global Growth

Published on June 22, 2016

Money_globeIn response to the current low growth trap facing many economies, the newly released publication, “Financing Growth; SMEs in Global Value Chains,” advocates G20 policy consistency for long-term financial stability, investment and economic growth. It shares perspectives from government, international organizations, business and academic thought leaders.

“For SMEs to participate in global value chains and underpin economic recovery, urgent actions are needed at G20 level to better coordinate financial regulations, strengthen access to financing and training and support the sharing of information through digital platforms,” said Bernhard Welschke, BIAC secretary general, commenting ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in July in Chengdu.

The publication builds on a Roundtable event held on May 31 in Paris, co-organized by BIAC, B20 China, OECD, World SME Forum and SME Finance Forum.

The publication Financing Growth; SMEs in Global Value Chains is available online here: http://biac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Financing-Growth-SMEs-in-Global-Value-Chains.pdf

For further details about the Roundtable held on May 31, please see a video summary here: https://youtu.be/nVbwdLuoEMU and webpage here: http://biac.org/?p=13715

Business Mobilizes Support for Sustainable Development at OECD Forum

Published on June 1, 2016
Robinson_OECDforum
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson

The business community is 100 percent on board with United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and wants to contribute meaningfully, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson told the OECD Forum today, but companies need a stable and predictable policy environment in which to operate.

Held in Paris every year to coincide with the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, the theme of which this year is “Enhancing Productivity for Inclusive Growth,” the OECD Forum has emerged as a major international conference. Leaders from all sectors of society, including former and current heads of state, CEOs, leaders of key NGOs and trade unions and prominent members of academia and media, gather to debate the most pressing social and economic challenges confronting society.

Robinson participated in a panel on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spoke about the private sector’s contributions to the global community’s objectives (full program here). The SDG agenda encompasses a wide array of inter-related economic, social and environmental issues. Governments – as well as non-governmental stakeholders – will need to adapt to new challenges and overcome intellectual and institutional silos. The business community, including USCIB, has helped to spearhead the private sector’s input to the development of the SDGs, and is working hard to mobilize and demonstrate business support around specific objectives.

“We have constructed a sophisticated platform, Business for 2030 for companies to learn how to support specific aspects of the Global Goals, and for policy makers and the development community to learn more about company projects and business initiatives in support of the SDGs,” Robinson told the audience.

A catalog of business engagement that showcases the private sector’s contributions to the SDGs, Business for 2030 features over 140 initiatives from 35 companies in over 150 countries of how businesses are helping to achieve 72 of the 169 SDG targets. The website highlights concrete initiatives and public-private partnerships to inspire renewed trust in the private sector, and to catalyze sustained and active business engagement in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Robinson also talked about the importance of adopting the right policy frameworks that make badly-needed investments in the developing world less risky. He said the policy tools and instruments of different international organizations, including those of the OECD, should be promoted among all countries, including the OECD’s Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) – a key checklist for policies that will encourage investment and growth in countries.

“Globally, official development assistance is dwarfed by foreign direct investment,” Robinson said. “We need to provide incentives for investment to flow where it can do the most good.”

Other speakers on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Panel included Martine Durand (OECD), Michael Elliott (ONE), Aart de Geus (Bertelsmann Stiftung), Alenka Smerkloji (Minister for Development, Slovenia), Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Save the Children International) and Peter Turkson (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace).

The OECD Forum runs from May 31 to June 1 in Paris. USCIB is the U.S. affiliate of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD. More information on the forum is available at the OECD’s website.

Read more: “10 Business Recommendations for Productivity, Prosperity and Inclusive Growth,” BIAC Statement to the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2016

40th Anniversary of the OECD Declaration on Multinational Enterprises

Published on June 1, 2016

investment_buildingsOn the occasion of its General Assembly, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), a policy commitment by adhering governments to promote an open and transparent environment for international investment and encourage the positive contribution multinational enterprises can make to economic and social progress.

The Declaration consists of four parts and is intended to balance public policy to promote an open international investment climate with a business commitment to responsible business conduct: the ‘national treatment’ principle, the commitment to minimize conflicting requirements, the commitment to cooperation in the field of international investment incentives and disincentives, and the OECD MNE Guidelines, the most comprehensive government-backed instrument for promoting responsible business conduct. The Declaration commits adhering countries to improve the investment climate, while companies are encouraged to apply the standards of responsible business conduct as set out in the Guidelines.

ICC Welcomes New Dialogue with WTO

Published on May 31, 2016

switzerland-wto-general-councilThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has today welcomed the conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) first ever dialogue with the business community as an important step towards strengthening the global trade agenda.

The dialogue was initiated off the back of the successful outcome of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Nairobi last December, and in response to growing concern within the global business community about faltering global trade growth.

Addressing WTO members, ICC’s First Vice-Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said:”To be clear: business wants predictable, modern and up-to-date multilateral trade rules, negotiated and agreed at the WTO…Trade is expected to grow by less than 3 percent for the fifth consecutive year in 2016. We should not accept this as the new normal and we are ready to work constructively with WTO members to restore trade as a central driver of global growth.”

The first-of-its-kind event identified a broad range of possible WTO initiatives to help boost trade-led inclusive growth. These included:

SME growth

Business leaders encouraged the WTO to explore possible initiatives to make trade easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), going beyond trade facilitation reforms to identify where harmonized rules and end-to-end standards can help small businesses access global markets. Access to financing was also highlighted as a priority to support SME trade growth.

Investment

Many participants in the dialogue expressed an interest in a new WTO dialogue to explore the scope for global standards in the field of investment promotion, protection and facilitation.

Sectoral liberalisation

The dialogue highlighted an interest from a range of sectors in pursuing sector-specific talks as a complement to the ongoing Doha Round.

E-commerce

There was a strong call from business leaders for the WTO to play a central role in underpinning an open, reliable and secure global digital economy. Participants expressed particular interest in possible “e-commerce negotiations” which could encompass a broad range of issues such as customs duties, electronic signatures, data protection and localization requirements.

Speaking on the systemic importance of an e-commerce initiative, Mittal said:”The global nature of e-commerce means that the WTO has a vital role to play in the further development of rules and standards for this area. E-commerce has the potential to revolutionize global trade flows. Today, even the smallest of businesses can go global if they can access the Internet.”

At the conclusion of the dialogue, ICC has called on WTO members to maintain contacts with the business community in taking forward possible new trade talks and initiatives.

ICC Secretary General John Danilovich said: “We have seen a positive discussion today about how we can work together to maximize the contribution of trade and investment to achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development. We hope that today’s initiative can be followed up with concrete steps including further meetings of this kind. ICC stands ready to support this dialogue in any way possible.”

Enhancing Productivity for Inclusive Growth

Published on April 29, 2016
USCIB CEO Peter Robinson, BIAC Secretary General Bernhard Welschke, and BIAC Innovation & Technology Committee Chair Rick Johnson at the MCM Consultation (Santiago)
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, BIAC Secretary General Bernhard Welschke, and BIAC Innovation & Technology Committee Chair Rick Johnson at the MCM Consultation (Santiago)

“Enhancing Productivity for Inclusive Growth” will be the theme of this year’s OECD Ministerial Council meeting chaired by Chile. The Chilean government, led by the Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs, hosted a preparatory meeting with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD on April 25 in Santiago, Chile. Fernando Alvear Artaza, the general manager of the Confederation for Production and Commerce (CPC) in Chile, presented the views of BIAC and his federation on measures to improve productivity and to better use the growth potentials of our economies.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson spoke on the key role of business to realize the Sustainable Development Goals. And the chair of BIAC’s Technology Committee, Rick Johnson, explained the potential of innovation and digital technologies for more growth and well-being.

The BIAC delegation was strongly enhanced by the participation of Martin Pérez Monteverde, president of the National Confederation of Private Entrepreneurial Institutions (CONFIEP), BIAC’s new observer in Peru. Following the meetings in Santiago, Martin hosted the delegation in Lima for talks with the presidents of CONFIEP member federations. The Peruvian economy and cooperation with BIAC on all OECD matters were the focus of discussions.

At the OECD Week General Assembly on May 30, BIAC will present the results of its new economic policy survey and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises.

New Study Details the Impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China

Published on April 22, 2016

Solar-workers_3The Coalition for Green Trade, of which USCIB is a founding member, issued the following press release today about a new study onthe impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China:

New Study Details the Impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China

The Coalition for Green Trade today released the results of a new study detailing the effects that a World Trade Organization (WTO) Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) would have on the economy of China and the country’s ability to meet its environmental goals.

Overall, the study, “Value of an Environmental Goods Agreement: Helping China Meet Its Environmental Goals,” finds that full implementation of an EGA accord to eliminate tariffs on green technologies by China – the largest producer of these technologies participating in the EGA negotiations – would have a positive impact on the Chinese economy and environment.

The study was principally prepared by Dr. Joseph F. Francois and Laura M. Baughman of the Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC.  They find that full implementation by China of an ambitious EGA:

  • Increases China’s GDP and national income by billions of dollars;
  • Increases exports by nearly $27 billion, up by 9.8 percent;
  • Increases real spending of roughly $22 billion annually on environmental goods; and
  • Results in gains of approximately $659 billion annually in economic benefits linked to improved environmental quality, based on the literature assessing cost-benefit ratios for investment in improved environmental conditions.

In July 2014, the United States and a group of other countries launched EGA negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in an effort to improve access to important green and energy efficient technologies, among other objectives. The United States and the 16 other WTO members participating in the EGA talks account for at least 86 percent of global environmental goods trade.

The Coalition for Green Trade is composed of a broad range of associations – including the U.S. China Business Council, which provided advice and outreach in support of this report – and companies doing business in the United States who seek to remove barriers to global trade in environmental technologies.

Business Pushes for U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness

Published on April 22, 2016

U.S. manufacturers face high costs for inputs not produced in the United States. USCIB joined more than 200 trade groups and companies urging Congress to pass the Miscellaneous Tariffs Bill (MTB) overhaul bill quickly, which would eliminate unnecessary taxes on imported goods not available domestically. USCIB and others stated in a letter that U.S. manufacturers have faced annual tariffs of nearly $750 million since the last MTB expired in 2012, “undermining American competitiveness and the ability of these companies to retain and create manufacturing jobs in the United States.”

“This is something that we’ve been trying to get done for years,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters on Friday. “This MTB issue is something that I personally have been involved in, and I’m very excited that we have a solution now that we are moving. It is a jobs bill. It is a transparency bill. And it upholds our earmark ban, first and foremost, which is very important.”

Read the full letter.

USCIB Discusses Future of U.S. Manufacturing at Bloomberg Seminar

Published on April 20, 2016
Rob Ivester, Deputy Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, SelectUSA, U.S. Department of Commerce; Shaun Donnelly, Vice President, Investment and Financial Services, USCIB; Matthew Philips, Associate Editor, Blomberg Businessweek (Moderator)
L-R: Rob Ivester (U.S. Department of Energy), Vinai Thummalapally, (U.S. Department of Commerce), Shaun Donnelly (USCIB), Matthew Philips (Bloomberg Businessweek)

With aging and outdated infrastructure, the U.S. manufacturing industry is stalling. How will the United States regain its place as the global leader in manufacturing, and what will future manufacturing plants look like?

USCIB’s Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly was a lead panelist in Bloomberg Government’s April 19 Washington seminar “The Future of Manufacturing.” Sharing the panel with senior officials from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy, Donnelly offered a private-sector perspective on the role foreign direct investment (FDI) plays in U.S. manufacturing, and on the unique strengths and challenges of the United States as a manufacturing location.  He emphasized the rapid changes in manufacturing around the world that have led to increased competitive pressures.

“In today’s and tomorrow’s global value chain world, FDI drives growth here at home and is also a key tool for U.S.-based manufacturers, large and small, to serve growing international markets,” Donnelly said.

The seminar drew a large audience of Bloomberg subscribers on-line and in-person at Bloomberg Government’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

OECD Chief Economist Discusses Global Economic Trends at USCIB

Published on April 14, 2016
Mann
Catherine Mann

Dr. Catherine Mann, chief economist and head of the Economics Department at the OECD came to USCIB on April 13 for wide-ranging discussion with members and staff.  Mann, one of the most senior U.S. citizens in the OECD secretariat, has extensive experience in Washington from her earlier positions at the Federal Reserve, the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, and at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Her presentation covered global trends in economic growth, productivity, and trade and investment, identifying some challenging issues ahead, and interesting work underway at the OECD in those areas. In that context, she had some particularly interesting observations on the Chinese economy and China’s economic relationships with the world. Mann is very interested in finding ways to strengthen private sector input into OECD’s work on economics and in other important areas.  Her very candid and thought-provoking observations gave members some interesting issues to ponder.

Strong Business Participation at OECD Integrity Week

Published on March 31, 2016

scalesA strong business delegation will participate in the OECD Integrity Forum on April 19-20, which this year will focus on Global Trade Without Corruption. The Forum will bring together different policy communities as well as the private sector, civil society organizations and academia, and will encourage discussion on key issues, such as preventing corruption in customs, protecting supply chains, improving business in emerging markets and countering illicit trade.

The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD policy group leadership and experts will also be represented as speakers at the Forum. The BIAC Task Force on Anti-Bribery/Corruption will organize a preparatory meeting on the evening of April 18. BIAC will furthermore participate in the Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials and in a Symposium on Building integrity for inclusive growth: translating the vision into action which will take place during the OECD Public Governance Committee meeting the same week.

Back-to-back with the Forum, the OECD is organizing a seminar on Enhancing Integrity for Business Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region on April 18 to identify good practices in improving business integrity and actions required to level the playing field for companies, and identify priorities for the OECD MENA work going forward. Please click here for more detailed information.