News Stories Archives

USCIB Urges President Trump: Secure Growth Through Engagement

Published on January 8, 2018
President Trump addressing a joint session of Congress in February 2017

As the annual State of the Union address approaches, USCIB is urging President Trump to use the occasion to commit his administration to pursuing strong U.S. economic growth and improved competitiveness by engaging with our trading partners and key international institutions.

In a letter to the president, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson wrote: “It is essential for our citizens and world markets to hear and understand that the U.S. will be engaged and committed to growing the U.S. and global economies. … In your upcoming State of the Union address you have the chance to press forward in 2018 with an agenda for international engagement that will build on the recent tax reform to drive economic growth by improving U.S. competitiveness.”

USCIB’s letter recommended commitments to U.S. action in the following areas:

  • increasing U.S. trade in goods and services by opening markets
  • continuing to reduce regulatory barriers here and abroad
  • promoting education and skills development for the jobs of the future
  • facilitating innovation
  • increasing international leadership where it matters.

You can read the full USCIB letter to President Trump here.

USCIB Ramps Up Work on Intellectual Property and Innovation

Published on October 25, 2017
L-R: John Sandage (WIPO) and Paul Salmon (USPTO) at the October 18 launch of USCIB’s Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee

Washington, D.C., October 25, 2017 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s most innovative and successful global companies, has redoubled its efforts to promote American competitiveness with the launch of its Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee.

The new committee, chaired by Sharon Reiche, corporate counsel for global patents and policy at Pfizer Inc., builds upon USCIB’s longstanding commitment to improved protection of intellectual property – and the innovation and creativity it underpins – via robust U.S. trade policy and expanded international diplomatic commitments.

The inaugural meeting of the new USCIB committee took place on October 18 in Washington, D.C. Special guests at the meeting included John Sandage, deputy director general for patents and technology at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Paul Salmon, senior counsel for international affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“Broad-based business groups like USCIB sometimes find it difficult to reach consensus on some aspects of innovation and IP policy,” said Michael Michener, USCIB’s vice president for product policy and innovation, who is the lead USCIB staff member supporting the new committee. “We are confident that, with a new structure and a new commitment to working proactively toward the common goal of improving our members’ global competitiveness, we will be able to forge ahead and identify new international initiatives to secure IP rights and promote innovation.”

Michener said the committee will focus its activities via four newly created working groups, covering trademarks, trade secrets, patents and copyrights.

Another guest at the October 18 meeting was Daphne Yong-d’Herve, chief intellectual property officer with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the world business organization for which USCIB serves as the exclusive American affiliate. Yong-d’Herve provided an overview of ICC’s newly elevated status as an observer in the United Nations General Assembly. This is expected to augment ICC’s longstanding work with WIPO and other international agencies, as well as national governments, to promote effective protection of intellectual property around the world.

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, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million people worldwide.

As the U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and Business at OECD, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

 

USCIB’s Statement on China Urges WTO Compliance

Published on September 25, 2017

As China continues to grow in importance in the global economy, it is crucial for the Chinese and U.S. governments to continue to work together to address common challenges and responsibilities. In view of this, USCIB has recently submitted a statement to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, which incorporated a wide array of input from USCIB members across various sectors.

In the statement, which is submitted annually, USCIB commended the U.S. and Chinese governments for important work in on-going bilateral dialogues, as well as in support of working relationships between U.S. and Chinese agencies which provide invaluable opportunities for exchanging information and addressing agency-specific issues. The statement addressed important issues to U.S. business including taxation, customs and trade facilitation, information technology and intellectual property rights. Furthermore, it advocated for continuing negotiations of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the U.S. and China.

“We also urge both countries to utilize the full range of multilateral forums in addition to the WTO, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to work toward improved commercial relations,” said Eva Hampl, who leads USCIB’s work on China.

“While USCIB acknowledges the efforts China has made since joining the WTO in 2001 to meet its obligations under the terms of its accession agreement, there still remain significant WTO obligation compliance concerns,” added Hampl. These concerns include government procurement, trade restrictions in information technology and continued intellectual property violations in audiovisual, software, agriculture biotechnology and chemicals.

The full statement is available here.

NAFTA Briefing Focuses on Importance of Keeping Investor Protections

Published on August 31, 2017

On August 29, USCIB and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) co-hosted a very useful briefing on the challenging investment chapter issues in the just-launched NAFTA updating negotiations with senior officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The USTR lead investment negotiators were joined by other senior USTR officials and a business side of two dozen company and trade association representatives with major concerns about the NAFTA investment chapter, especially the important issue of “Investor-State Dispute Settlement” (ISDS). The business turnout at a short notice meeting in late August is a clear demonstration of the importance that USCIB members and the broader community ascribe to these investment issues. The US negotiating team was heading to Mexico City for the second round in the NAFTA updating negotiations September 1-5.

Most of the meeting consisted of business reps around the table offering their comments, concerns, questions and recommendations regarding USTR’s approach to these investment negotiations. By design, the USTR team did more listening than talking. USCIB and NAM staff led the business comments and were very clear and direct with our concerns and recommendations. We also had broad and strong participation around the table from companies and associations from a wide range of sectors. The key points made by a number of business representatives included:

  • The NAFTA investment chapter has generally worked quite well for U,.S business. We are open to well-crafted proposal to improve the chapter but, as in many other important chapters in NAFTA, our basic watchword will be “first, do no harm.”
  • Business needs a strong investment chapter in NAFTA and in other U.S. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), including high standard core substantive investment protections, broad coverage and definitions to include new forms of foreign direct investment , and, critically, strong ISDS provisions to ensure enforcement.
  • We are quite concerned by recent press report that the Administration might be considering a proposal to make the ISDS enforcement provisions “optional”, whereby each of the three NAFTA government could “opt in” or “opt out” of NAFTA’s ISDS dispute settlement provisions. If a government of governments were to opt out, the only way an aggrieved foreign investor could seek redress would be in the local court system of the host government. USCIB and company and associations reps around the table made clear that such revisions in NAFTA’s investment chapter would be unacceptable.The discussion was, we thought, very useful for all participants and will hopefully provide a model for on-going consultations with USTR on all the key investment issues throughout the negotiations. Members interested in getting more involved in USCIB’s efforts on NAFTA investment issues should contact Shaun Donnelly or Eva Hampl.

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.

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.

New ICC Report Sheds Light on How to Combat Counterfeit Products

Published on March 27, 2015

4989_image002The Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative – a project of the International Chamber of Commerce – released a study outlining the steps that intermediaries can take to help keep fake and pirated products out of the supply chain and off the Internet.

The report, “Roles and responsibilities of intermediaries: Fighting counterfeiting and piracy in the supply chain,” looks at key intermediaries in the physical world and those providing infrastructure and services online, yielding the most comprehensive review to date of the many types of intermediary channels that are being utilized by criminal networks to sell and distribute fakes and pirated content.

“Trade is being revolutionized by the emergence of integrated global value chains and the explosion of online commerce,” said Jeff Hardy, director of BASCAP.

Hardy added: “Intermediaries – from express shipping firms through to online search engines – are now a central part of the global economy. This is an overwhelmingly positive development, but intermediaries must ensure they have adequate systems in place to address growing counterfeiting and piracy risks.”

Read more at the ICC’s website.

Southeast Asia Tanker Hijacks Rose Despite Global Drop in Sea Piracy

Published on January 23, 2015

4944_image002Attacks against small tankers off Southeast Asia’s coasts caused a rise in global ship hijackings, up to 21 in 2014 from 12 in 2013, despite piracy at sea falling to its lowest level in eight years, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed. Pirates took 442 crewmembers hostage, compared with 304 in 2013.

IMB’s annual piracy report shows 245 incidents were recorded worldwide in 2014 – a 44% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011. Somali pirates were responsible for 11 attacks, all of which were thwarted. However, IMB warns shipmasters to follow the industry’s Best Management Practices, as the threat of Somali piracy has not been eliminated.

Worldwide, 21 vessels were hijacked last year, 183 were boarded, and 13 fired upon. Pirates killed four crewmembers, injured 13 and kidnapped nine from their vessels.

“The global increase in hijackings is due to a rise in attacks against coastal tankers in Southeast Asia,” said Pottengal Mukundan, director of IMB whose Piracy Reporting Centre has monitored world piracy since 1991. “Gangs of armed thieves have attacked small tankers in the region for their cargoes, many looking specifically for marine diesel and gas oil to steal and then sell.”

Citing the death of one crewmember shot on his bitumen tanker in December, the IMB report highlights the possibility of the hijackings becoming increasingly violent. Most of the 124 attacks in the region were aimed at low-level theft from vessels using guns and long knives.

IMB offers the latest piracy reports free of charge. To request a PDF version of the report by email, please click here.

More on the ICC website.

 

ICC Unveils 2014 Intellectual Property Roadmap

Published on June 25, 2014

4769_image002The International Chamber of Commerce released its 12th edition of the Intellectual Property Roadmap: Current and Emerging Issues for Business and Policymakers, a report that explains how businesses use intellectual property as an asset that can be used to create value.

The report covers developments with an impact on IP protection as well as creating value from IP, obtaining IP assets, enforcing IP rights and the interaction between IP and other policy areas. There are several new topics, including IP management and licensing, patent quality, harmonization and streamlining of trademark rules, trademark restrictions on packaging, non-traditional marks and innovation.

“The swift pace of change in information and other technologies, and the trend towards more collaboration in innovation, are having a big effect on how IP is used, licensed and protected,” said David Koris, chair of the ICC Commission on Intellectual Property and global head of IP at Shell. “The emergence of new Internet applications and platforms, the increasing use of mobile devices, ever-increasing bandwidth and changing consumer behaviour are making IP owners reconsider how they distribute, commercialize and control their intellectual assets in the electronic environment.”

USCIB is ICC’s American affiliate. Our IP priorities include compulsory licensing, fighting counterfeiting and piracy in global supply chains, and the role IP plays in facilitating technology transfer from country to country, particularly with regard to green technologies.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

 

Business Groups Express Concerns on Senate Effort to Address IP Theft

Published on June 21, 2013

USCIB joined leading U.S. technology and business organizations in urging key senators from both sides of the aisle to take a fresh look at a proposed law on cyber-theft, to avoid any unintended consequences of harming U.S. economic security and competitiveness or hindering trade and commerce.

The groups explained their concerns in a joint letter to Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), John McCain, (R-Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) — the bipartisan sponsors of S. 884, the Deter Cyber Theft Act. They wrote in part:

Theft of America’s valuable intellectual property and trade secrets through cyber espionage, or other means, is a serious economic security problem for U.S. companies and our country.  In today’s dynamic marketplace, a company’s success is highly dependent on its innovations and competitive advantage, both of which are closely tied to the development and protection of intellectual property. Collectively, the U.S. tech sector spent $80 billion in 2011 protecting and securing their networks against threats, including cyber espionage, and we commend the cosponsors for their demonstrated interest in protecting intellectual property (IP) from theft.

However, we have significant concerns with S. 884, the “Deter Cyber Theft Act,” as introduced, particularly the impact the legislation may have on international commerce and trade at a time when cyber policies are of heightened importance for the global technology ecosystem, as well as the long-term impact on U.S. economic security. For that reason, we urge the cosponsors to engage in a thorough review of this and similar legislation through hearings and markup in the Senate Finance Committee, where S. 884 is currently pending.

We applaud the bipartisan interest in protecting our economically vital intellectual property. However, we believe that we can advance intellectual property protection in a way that does not have a negative impact on our nation’s economic security and competitiveness.  For that reason, we look forward to working collaboratively with the cosponsors to ensure that S. 884 and similar legislation will effectively achieve these important shared goals.

Among the concerns expressed in the letter are S. 884’s potential impediment to international relations, its impact on U.S. exports, and its broad importation ban authority. Click here to read the complete letter. Signatories in addition to USCIB were BSA – The Software Alliance, the Information Technology Industry Council, the National Foreign Trade Council, TechAmerica and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee