China Archives

Business Hits Chinese Cybersecurity Rules as Protectionist

Published on November 17, 2016

China - Flag on Button of Black Keyboard.Earlier this month, China adopted broad cybersecurity regulations giving law enforcement enhanced authority to access private data and requiring data to be stored servers located in China. In a letter to Chinese authorities, USCIB and some 40 other industry groups from around the world protested the measure, saying it would wall off China’s internet and unfairly hamper access to the Chinese market.

The letter said Chinese regulators used security as a pretext for enacting protectionist trade policies to benefit Chinese industry, and urged China to to respect its World Trade Organization commitments. “We are concerned that these commitments are undermined by public statements and other forms of high-level guidance that call for indigenous and controllable substitution plans for information technology products and services,” the industry letter stated.

USCIB is organizing a high-level government and business dialogue on US-China cybersecurity, to be held December 16 in Washington, D.C. White House and other government officials will be invited to brief members on the ongoing U.S.-China cyber dialogue and discuss specific member priorities. Please contact Eva Hampl for additional information.

Business Pushes for TFA Ratification at G20 Summit

Published on August 29, 2016

International flagsPromoting robust trade and investment is a key focus of the B20 2016 policy recommendations to the G20 summit, which will take place in Hangzhou, China on September 3 and 4. Business recommendations include improving the global investment environment, strengthening the multilateral system and rolling back protectionist measures. USCIB and several of its members contributed to the recommendations. According to Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president for policy and government affairs, G20 governments can take one easy step to boost growth.

“The upcoming summit is an important opportunity for the G20 to push for the ratification of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of this year,” Mulligan said. Once implemented, the TFA has the potential to increase global exports by up to $1 trillion per year, according to the WTO’s World Trade Report.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) also published a set of business recommendations for sustained economic growth ahead of the G20 summit.

Additionally, President Obama will promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during his upcoming trip to China and Laos in early September, according to a White House statement released on August 18. As part of Obama’s Asia trip, he will attend the G20 summit and use use the visit as an opportunity to discuss a wide range of global and regional issues, including adoption of TPP.

“This visit also will support the President’s efforts to expand opportunities for American businesses and workers to sell their products in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” the White House said in a statement. “Central to this effort is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the high-standards trade agreement that will unlock key markets to American exports and cement America’s economic leadership in the Asia-Pacific.”

Obama’s push for TPP comes at a time of growing skepticism that the trade agreement will be approved before election day in November. Both Republican and Democratic nominees for president oppose the agreement.

Business Urges China to Revise Cybersecurity Laws

Published on August 12, 2016

Cyber security concept with lockUSCIB joined a group of 45 business organizations from around the world warning the Chinese government that it would harm business operations and restrict trade if it implements proposed cybersecurity and insurance rules.

A letter the group sent to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on August 10 urges China to live up to its role as the host of this year’s G-20 leaders summit in September to promote the meeting’s goals of creating an “innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy.”

“[T]he current drafts, if implemented, would weaken security and separate China from the global digital economy,” USCIB and others stated in the letter. “To that end, we urge both The Law and The Provisions be revised to encourage international policy models that will support China’s development as a global hub for technology and services. This will assure a legacy of an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy from China’s G20 presidency.”

Read the letter.

Global Business Encourages China to Lead on Environmental Goods Agreement

Published on July 8, 2016

Solar-workers_3Washington, D.C., July 8, 2016 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) joined dozens of international business organizations in urging the Chinese government to take a leadership role in concluding an ambitious Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) this year. A concluded EGA, which is being negotiated under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization (WTO) among 17 WTO members, including the United States and China, would eliminate tariffs on a wide range of environmental goods and technologies.

“China has taken an increasing interest in playing a global leadership role on energy and environmental issues,” USCIB and other business organizations stated in a letter to Chinese government officials on June 8. “As this year’s host of the G20, China has a golden opportunity to lead the successful conclusion of the EGA by the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit in September.” The G20 Trade Ministers are meeting in Shanghai this weekend.

The letter notes that as the largest producer of green technologies among EGA members, China has much to gain from a concluded agreement. A recent study found that the agreement would increase China’s exports by $27 billion as well as result in substantial economic benefits linked to improved environmental quality.

“We strongly urge China to demonstrate leadership that results in the conclusion of a commercially meaningful EGA this year,” the letter stated. “A concluded agreement would promote economic growth, improve environmental outcomes and advance innovation not only in China, but also around the world.”

Read the entire letter

Read more about USCIB’s China Committee

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@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. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, 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.

US Business Concerned with China’s Cybersecurity Regulations

Published on June 10, 2016

china_flag_large-600x300Ahead of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue which took place in Beijing on June 6-7 convening high-level officials to discuss trade, finance, security and the environment, USCIB and other business organizations sent a letter to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission citing concerns with China’s proposed technology regulations (“Provisions”).

“If adopted as currently drafted, however, the Provisions would create unnecessary obstacles to international trade and likely to constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination against producers and service providers in countries where the same conditions prevail,” USCIB and others stated in the letter. “As a consequence, we have concerns that the Provisions could constitute an unnecessary obstacle to international trade.”

The business community asked China to postpone the adoption of the Provisions to allow for further stakeholder input, and to ensure that China’s cybersecurity regulations avoid unnecessary commercial disruptions.

Additionally, on June 13 the United States and other World Trade Organization members expressed concerns about proposed Chinese insurance regulations that they claim favor home-grown technologies over those of foreign producers.

Read the full letter.

 

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.

Waiting a BIT for China

Published on March 31, 2016

Via Politico Pro Trade

Shaun Donnelly, USCIB vice president for investment and financial services, spoke to Politico about the prospects of a U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty as President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingping are scheduled to meet this afternoon.

Against the backdrop of President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting this afternoon, the window is closing on China’s pledge that it would submit an updated market access offer in its investment talks with the U.S. in March. While an offer might have come overnight, Beijing had still not put forward an updated “negative list” offer for the bilateral investment treaty by late Wednesday.

“I understand that a comprehensive, high-standard U.S.-style negative list is a new and daunting proposition for a country like China, which has a long tradition of controlling investment, both domestic and foreign, quite tightly,” said Shaun Donnelly, vice president for investment and financial services at the U.S. Council for International Business.

But it would be disappointing if the two sides missed the opportunity of Xi’s visit to make progress on the talks, he said, even though the Nuclear Security Summit is largely focused on defense and security issues.

Read the full story

Boao Forum Focuses on G20 Policy Agenda

Published on March 24, 2016

jdboao_sourceWith less than six months to go to the 2016 G20 Summit, a special session of the Boao Forum for Asia brought together leaders from both business and government to discuss policy priorities to support growth and job creation.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Secretary General John Danilovich moderated the high-level roundtable, which featured keynote addresses from Wang Shouwen, China’s vice minister of commerce and Thomas Lembong, Indonesia’s minister for trade. A major theme of the discussions was the importance of public-private partnership and dialogue to address key global challenges ranging from weak global growth to climate change.

Commenting at the roundtable on the strategic importance of this year’s G20 process, Danilovich said: “It’s vital that this year’s G20 process develops a comprehensive and credible strategy to reinvigorate trade and global growth… As business, we also look to the G20 to drive forward implementation of the landmark UN agreements which were forged last year on sustainable development and climate change.”

The roundtable explored recommendations being developed by the five B20 task forces on trade and investment, infrastructure, employment, financing and small business (SME) development. The issue of SME growth remains a particular priority for ICC’s global outreach, building on engagement throughout last year’s B20 process which lead to the creation of the World SME Forum.

 Read more from ICC

U.S., China Offer New Environmental Goods Staging Proposals

Published on March 7, 2016

Bloomberg BNA

“For China, EGA is a part of their climate agenda and certainly something that can move forward for them,” said Eva Hampl, a director of investment, trade and financial services at the U.S. Council for International Business. “Whereas the December WTO ministerial was an action-forcing event, now the G-20 would appear to be the next opportunity to move something forward,” she told Bloomberg BNA in a telephone interview.

Read the full article Bloomberg BNA article. (Paywall)

USCIB Statement on China’s WTO Commitments

Published on September 28, 2015

china_flag_largeThe economic relationship between the United States and China is both vital and complex, and U.S. business holds an important stake in this relationship’s success. Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a yearly report to Congress on China’s compliance and commitments to its WTO accession. As part of this submission, USCIB is invited to provide a statement to USTR on behalf of its members, providing feedback, comments and recommendations on China’s compliance with its WTO commitments.

USCIB appreciates the significant efforts China has made since joining the WTO to meet its obligations under the terms of its accession agreement. However, there still remain general WTO obligation compliance concerns. Broad business concerns are listed below, excerpted from USCIB’s statement:

China’s Antimonopoly Law (AML): Chinese antitrust enforcement authorities continue to use the AML as a tool to advance industrial policies goals and limit competition by U.S. and other foreign companies. While we support China’s efforts to address anti-competitive practices, Chinese regulators have repeatedly used AML enforcement against U.S. companies absent any proof of market power or anti-competitive harm, and often in disregard of basic norms of fairness, due process, and transparency. USCIB members urge the U.S. government to continue to focus on this issue and its effects on U.S. companies.

National Treatment and Non-Discrimination: Chinese authorities continue to use a variety of policy tools and regulatory measures—including AML enforcement (described above), technology standards policies, IPR enforcement practices, and licensing and investment reviews—to compel transfer of U.S. IP or technologies to Chinese entities at below-market rates and to exclude U.S. companies from full and equal participation in the Chinese market. USCIB members continue to call on China to abide by their WTO commitments of national treatment and non-discrimination and ensure a competitive market that allows for foreign business participation on a level playing field with domestic Chinese firms.

IT Security Measures: Chinese policymakers and regulators have recently proposed or enacted a variety of trade-restrictive and discriminatory requirements on information technology (IT) under the guise of protecting security. These measures, many of which require the use of IT products that are “secure and controllable,” disadvantage U.S. firms by requiring Chinese IT users to purchase Chinese products or suppliers, imposing domestic R&D or content requirements, requiring the transfer or disclosure of source code or other IP, restricting cross-border data transfers, and in other ways. USCIB members urge the U.S. government to continue to press for full suspension of all existing and proposed measures involving trade-restrictive requirements in this area.

Read USCIB’s full statement on China’s WTO commitments.