Information Communications and Technology Archives

USCIB Gathers Stakeholders to Discuss OECD Digital Project 

Published on March 26, 2019
USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson at the 2019 Going Digital Conference

The OECD Summit on Going Digital, held March 11-12 in Paris, presented the main findings and policy messages of the OECD’s two-year Going Digital Project. In light of this milestone, USCIB teamed up with the OECD and Business at OECD to organize an event in Washington DC on March 25 bringing together over fifty representatives from U.S. government, the private sector and press to discuss outcomes and next steps.

The March 25 Conference, hosted by the AT&T Forum for Technology, Entertainment and Policy, introduced the Going Digital Toolkit and included in-depth discussions on indicators, experiences and innovative policy practices, particularly as they relate to economic growth and societal well-being, privacy, security against cyber-threats, as well as harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for economic and social prosperity.

Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft and Co-Chair of the Business at OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy Julie Brill gave opening remarks, praising the OECD project. “The global digital project will serve as a foundation for policymakers around the world to ensure that the technological revolution is a catalyst for inclusive growth that benefits all,” said Brill. “The timing couldn’t be more appropriate or more important.”

Common themes that emerged among panelists and participants included emphasis on economies to invest in people through increased access to STEM training, innovative use of apprenticeships and skills-based training and retraining programs to ensure that the work force is adaptable and is prepared for the challenges of the future. There was also consensus on the need to reduce barriers to promote AI innovation and application to realize more of the potential of AI in providing new opportunities and even creating new sectors of industries. At the same time, governments need to establish principles to ensure public trust and confidence in AI technologies.

“The OECD undertook the Going Digital Project at a time when other multilateral organizations and individual countries were responding to the digital transformation of the economy in a way that undermined the potential economy and societal benefits,” said Barbara Wanner, USCIB vice president for ICT policy. “USCIB members appreciate how the OECD has navigated the plethora of conflicting views and developed sound, evidence-based recommendations that can guide countries and organizations to benefits of digital innovation. We look forward to shaping the all-important Phase 2 of the project, which will focus on practical steps.”

OECD’s Andy Wyckoff

Other speakers at the conference included OECD Director for Science Technology and Innovation Andy Wyckoff, Director for International Communications, Information, and Emerging Technologies from the U.S. Department of State Adam Lusin as well as The White House Assistant Director for Artificial Intelligence, Office of Science and Technology Lynne Parker.

The day-long event titled, Going Digital: OECD Insights for a Changing World, was dedicated to the late Joseph Alhadeff and commemorated his decades-long leadership and contribution to the ICT space both domestically and globally. Alhadeff was a long-time USCIB supporter, colleague and mentor who served on the USCIB Board and was a Vice Chair of the USCIB ICT Policy Committee for over 15 years.

Wanner Shares Perspectives on OECD Going Digital Summit

Published on March 18, 2019

USCIB and nearly 20 member company representatives, under the aegis of Business at OECD (BIAC), joined 600+ OECD members and stakeholders at the Going Digital Summit, March 11-12 in Paris, which showcased a two-year project to examine digital transformation across all sectors of the economy. This ambitious horizontal endeavor, involving 14 OECD committees, undertook a largely evidence-based and holistic approach to considering both the economic and societal benefits and challenges of the evolving digital ecosystem.

The Summit presented the main findings and policy messages included in the final synthesis report, Going Digital: Shaping Policies, Improving Lives, an accompanying measurement report, Measuring the Digital Transformation: A Roadmap for the Future, and offered a first look at the Going Digital Toolkit web portal. The latter is designed “for policy and diagnosis,” in the words of OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, to help countries assess their state of digital economic development and formulate appropriate policy responses.

The event was organized to reflect the seven pillars of the OECD’s Going Digital integrated policy framework, i.e., enhancing access, increasing effective use, unleashing innovation, ensuring jobs, promoting social prosperity, strengthening trust, and fostering market openness.

“During the past year, USCIB members and BIAC colleagues played an influential role shaping development and refinement of this integrated policy framework, which highlights the inter-related nature of the policy dimensions and underscores the need for coordination to make digital transformation work for prosperity,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner who attended the meetings in Paris.

The Global Trade Talks Nobody’s Talking About

Published on March 16, 2019
Nick Ashton Hart

This column is written by Nick Ashton Hart, Geneva representative of the Digital Trade Network, which is supported by USCIB, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) amongst others. Nick has helped forge new paths forward at the WTO on digital trade rules, and works directly with the 76 WTO Members who have just begun negotiation of a digital trade agreement at the World Trade Organization.

At the December 2017 WTO ministerial in Buenos Aires, 71 countries made a political declaration to begin discussing new global rules to facilitate the expansion of the digital economy beneficial to both developed and developing countries. Thanks to intensive work by those countries in 2018, on January 29, on the margins of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, 76 countries (notably including the US, EU, and China) announced the launch of formal negotiations.

All the major economies, most of the G20, and many smaller states are all taking part, including some of the world’s poorest countries. In total the vast majority of the world’s economy is at the table. Since it is estimated that the digital economy underpins approximately one-third of global GDP – and rising – this is a negotiation that will impact industry everywhere – and people everywhere.

You would think that so important a negotiation would have created a very large increase in the level of engagement by the private sector across the board – in capitals and in Geneva. If you think that, you would be wrong: many delegations are surprised that entire economic sectors are not engaged despite the potential ramifications on their businesses. The Ambassadors of some of the world’s largest economies tell me that their ministry is not hearing from the private sector in the capital, or they are hearing only generalities and not the specifics necessary to create negotiating positions. The intensity of activity by the private sector in Geneva is also not much different now than it was in 2017, or 2016 or 2015. To give you an example of how serious the problem is, almost half of the written submissions to the talks during 2018 reference financial services – yet many Ambassadors say they cannot remember the last time a representative from a bank came to see them.

The private sector’s limited engagement could be explained by the fact that their limited pool of experts are busy elsewhere trying to prevent a trade war or keep their companies out of escalating tariffs. The relative newness of the talks could also explain it.  Whatever the reason, for me to hear increasingly frustrated ambassadors across countries at all levels of development asking me ‘where is business and when will they tell us in specific what they need and why’ when a negotiation has already started is, frankly, worrying, especially given that the participating 76 states have agreed to table proposals by mid-April of this year with the objective of having a draft agreement by the end of July. While in my view that timeline is likely to slip, clearly time is of the essence.

WTO delegations are looking at some of the world’s most important economic questions, such as:

  • What can trade policy do to help narrow the “digital divide” (connecting the half of humanity not yet online)
  • Will data flows be protected from trade distorting interference – interference which is presently growing globally – and how will the need to ensure other public policy priorities like the protection of personal information be factored in?
  • Should the moratorium on applying customs duties to digital goods be made permanent?
  • How can trade rules help the spread of mobile financial services to close the financial inclusion gap? (almost two billion people do not have access to financial services)
  • What can trade policy do to foster consumer and business trust in purchasing goods and services across borders?
  • How can trade rules promote use of digital contracts, adoption of digital signatures and customs and logistics processes, and make trade finance easier to get and use, all to help SMEs trade more?

The trade policy community needs and deserves the best advice both in Geneva and in national capitals as they work to answer these big questions. The answers could profoundly benefit not just commerce but everyone. But as I have so often heard from delegations – and I have often said it myself – if countries don’t understand what’s in it for their economies in adopting new rules to promote digital trade, they won’t. The private sector has a critical role to play in making that case. So far, frankly, it is failing to do that effectively enough.

Meanwhile non-governmental organisations that are skeptical, or opposed, to any new rules for the digital economy are both well-organised and very active in Geneva and international capitals. This statement will be released on April 1, signed by a very large number of NGOs, on the first day of the biggest digital-trade event of the year in Geneva, UNCTAD’s Ecommerce Week. You can find a large collection of NGOs have been active for many years on-the-ground and there are several people employed in Geneva just on trade policy advocacy generally opposed to any new trade rules related to the digital economy. Meanwhile, the only dedicated industry person in Geneva on digital trade is myself.

Opportunities like these negotiations don’t come by very often in international affairs: time is short. The private sector has been asking for new rules for online trade for years. Now is the time for it to make clear what it needs and why in enough detail and invest in helping countries at all levels of development understand why it matters to them … or watch the opportunity slip away.

Nick Ashton-Hart is the Geneva representative of the Digital Trade Network.

You can follow him at @nashtonhart.

An earlier version of this column appeared on the Council of Foreign Relations website at: 

https://www.cfr.org/blog/global-trade-talks-digital-economy-nobodys-talking-about.

At B20, Robinson Stresses Need for International Cooperation

Published on March 15, 2019
Peter Robinson at the B20 in Japan

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson was in Japan the week of March 11 for the B20 Summit, alongside other business leaders such as John Denton, secretary general and Paul Polman, chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, Phil O’Reilly, chair and Russell Mills, secretary general of Business at OECD, as well as Erol Kiresepi, chairman of the International Organization of Employers.

Robinson spoke on a panel titled, “Global Economy for All: International Cooperation for Global Governance.” In his remarks, Robinson proposed looking at international cooperation from two perspectives: strengthening global institutions and rules, while also encouraging bottom-up approaches and a general spirit of cooperation, rather than confrontation, in international economic relations.

“For the foreseeable future, we will need to accept that many electorates and governments view the world through a more nationalistic, mercantilist lens,” said Robinson. “We need to demonstrate the value in international cooperation, not just through new binding rules and official structures, but through voluntary, bottom-up initiatives. Efforts such as the Paris Climate Agreement, or the plurilateral agreements being pursued by WTO members on several issues including digital trade, should be welcomed and encouraged.”

Throughout the course of the panel, Robinson also touched upon trade conflicts with China, WTO modernization, and the need to radically reform education, job training and retraining approaches around the world.

Robinson also called out climate change as being a crucial long-term global challenge. “Climate impacts everything – economic growth, jobs, health care, where people live,” stressed Robinson. “We therefore need to view climate and energy policy in a more holistic manner.”

The Japan Times covered the B20 and quoted Robinson in their piece, “At B20 in Tokyo, World Business Leaders Urge Stronger Cooperation on Looming Challenges.” The Japan Times quoted Robinson emphasizing that “The American business community still believes in open trade, globalization and multilateralism.”

Robinson also applauded the B20’s prioritization of adoption and dissemination of artificial intelligence to ensure that AI development deployment remains “human-centric”. This issue will be a big focus of the digital economy conference that USCIB is organizing with Business at OECD (BIAC) and the OECD on March 25 in Washington, DC.

Conference to Help Policymakers Navigate Fast-Evolving Digital Economy

Published on February 26, 2019

Washington, D.C., February 26, 2019 – With the digital economy delivering innovations at breakneck speed, how can policymakers maximize the beneficial impacts of new technologies and business models, while also addressing challenges they may create? This is the fundamental question to be tackled at a March 25 conference in Washington, D.C.: “Going Digital: OECD Insights for a Changing World.”

The conference, a joint program of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), Business at OECD (BIAC) and the 36-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will bring together an array of experts from business, government, the technical community and civil society.

“Since the OECD launched its Going Digital project two years ago, it has sought to help policymakers foster an environment that enables national economies and societies to prosper in a world that is increasingly digital and data-driven,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “This conference will provide a first readout of discussions at the OECD’s pivotal Going Digital Summit, which takes place March 11-12 in Paris, while also serving as a platform for discussion of developments in the digital economy from an American perspective.”

Topics for discussion include:

  • Making the Digital Transformation Work for Growth and Well-Being
  • The OECD’s “Going Digital” Policy Recommendations: From Paper to Practice
  • Securing the Digital Economy rom Cyber-Threats
  • Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Economic and Social Prosperity

Confirmed speakers for the conference include:

  • Andrew Wyckoff, director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation
  • Robert Strayer, deputy assistant secretary for cyber and international communications and information policy, U.S. Department of State
  • David Redl, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Gail Slater, special assistant to the president for technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity policy, National Economic Council, The White House
  • Lynne Parker, assistant director for artificial intelligence, Office of Science and Technology, The White House

Held at the AT&T Forum for Technology, Entertainment and Policy, this event is the latest in the Joseph H. Alhadeff Digital Economy Conference Series, named in honor of the late Oracle Corp. executive who provided crucial business leadership on digital economy topics at the OECD and in many other forums.

More information is available on the conference website.

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 several leading international business organizations, including BIAC, 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

jhuneke@uscib.org, +1 212.703.5043

 

CEO of ICC Finland Talks US-Europe With USCIB Washington Team

Published on February 20, 2019
L-R: Meghan Giblin, Barbara Wanner, Eva Hampl, Timo Vuori, Rob Mulligan, and Shaun Donnelly

ICC Finland’s Executive Director/CEO and Executive Vice President of the Finland Chamber of Commerce Timo Vuori met with USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan and key staff members of USCIB’s Washington office on February 13.  Vuori, a longtime and influential ICC insider and a good friend of USCIB, is also a key board member of the influential “Eurochambres” continental business leadership group.

The wide-ranging discussion with USCIB staff touched on the challenging U.S.-European Union trade agenda including “232” steel and aluminum tariffs, possibly to be expanded to the automotive sector, as well as digital economy, data and tax issues, and the prospects for some sort of U.S.-EU trade negotiations. The underlying political developments on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Brexit developments were also of interest to all. The group discussed the global trade issues including China and WTO reform while touching on challenges in global customs, regulatory and investment policies. The group compared notes on developments inside the global ICC network and possibilities for promoting U.S.-Finnish trade and investment relationships.

“As usual, our USCIB assessments, priorities and concerns often closely aligned with Timo’s,” noted USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly.  “We very much value our close relationships with key partners in USCIB’s unique global network. ICC Finland has long been one of our closest and most reliable partners.  It was a great meeting and we very much appreciate Timo making time to meet with us.”

Vuori was in Washington as part of a Finnish business delegation to meet with the Hill, U.S. agencies and U.S. businesses like USCIB. Vuori also attended an Embassy of Finland dinner, along with USCIB Senior Director Eva Hampl. The theme of the February 12th dinner was “Competitiveness in a Globalized World” and provided an opportunity for a discussion on the impact that trade policies, global companies, technological revolution and politics have on competitiveness. The event was organized on the occasion of the Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade Anne-Mari Virolainen‘s visit to Washington DC.

USCIB Foundation and OECD Partner on ICT Conference

Published on February 19, 2019

The USCIB Foundation, Inc., USCIB’s educational arm, is teaming up once again with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Business at OECD (BIAC), to host the 1st inaugural event of The Joseph H. Alhadeff Digital Economy Conference Series on March 25, 2019 at the AT&T Forum For Technology, Entertainment & Policy in Washington, D.C.

The digital transformation of the global economy has revealed exciting potential for a more prosperous, productive, inclusive, and socially beneficial world. We need an enabling policy environment for investment and innovation, however, in order to make the most of the potential for digital transformation to improve people’s lives and generate prosperity. At the same time, we must be prepared to address how the fruits of digital innovation can create challenges to privacy, security, and the future of work.

This conference – the fourth such collaboration between USCIB, BIAC, and the OECD – will explore the findings of the OECD’s Going Digital Project, an ambitious two-year examination of how digital transformation affects policymaking across a large spectrum of policy areas. We will draw upon the expertise of the OECD Secretariat on Science, Technology, and Innovation, senior U.S. government officials, and business experts from USCIB and BIAC member companies. In particular, speakers will consider how best to secure the digital economy from ever-more sophisticated cybersecurity threats. In addition, experts will delve into both the promise and challenges of tapping the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

Featured Speakers

  • David Redl
    Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Robert Strayer
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State
  • Gail Slater
    Special Assistant to the President for Technology, Telecommunications and Cybersecurity Policy, National Economic Council, The White House
  • Andrew Wyckoff
    Director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)
  • Russel Mills
    Secretary General, Business at OECD
  • Anne Carblanc
    Head of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Division (CDEP)
  • Julie Brill
    Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation and Co-Chair, Business at OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP)
  • Laurent Bernat
    OECD Secretariat, OECD Global Forum on Digital Security for Prosperity
  • Molly Lesher
    OECD Secretariat, Going Digital Project

Sponsored by:

AT&T
Facebook
The Walt Disney Company
Verizon Communications
CenturyLink
Computer & Communications Industry Association

For more information, please visit the event website.

Business at OECD Committed to OECD Digital Tax Project

Published on February 5, 2019

Business at OECD welcomed the OECD/G20 policy note on January 31 titled, Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digitalization of the Economy, which was approved by the Inclusive Framework (IF) on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), reaffirming commitment to a multilateral solution to addressing the tax challenges of the digitization of the economy.

According to Business at OECD, this initiative will impact all businesses and is of critical importance to the integrity of the international tax system. The OECD Inclusive Framework can reach international consensus in this area, and Business at OECD is committed to engaging a diverse and effective business network in the consultative process going forward.

“Broad consensus on measures for taxation of the digitizing economy is crucial to ensure innovation, growth, and stem instances of double taxation,” stated Will Morris, chair, Business at OECD Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Policy. “In this context, measures should also enable tax administrations to collect revenue needed for essential and efficient governmental functions.”

“The OECD is the appropriate forum to have a discussion about changes to the international tax system,” emphasized USCIB Vice President for Tax Policy Carol Doran Klein. “Countries should forego unilateral changes while that consensus develops.”

On January 21 Business at OECD released 11 foundational principles for international tax measures in the digital age.

Hampl Gives Testimony on US-UK Trade Agreement

Published on January 29, 2019
Eva Hampl provided testimony before the Trade Policy Staff Committee, chaired by USTR, on January 29.
USCIB supports negotiation of a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK as part of a broader strategy to open international markets for U.S. companies and remove barriers and unfair trade practices in support of U.S. jobs.

 

Following USCIB’s submission on January 16 to USTR regarding negotiating objectives for a U.S.-UK Trade Agreement, USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl provided testimony before the Trade Policy Staff Committee, chaired by USTR, on January 29.

“USCIB supports negotiation of a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK as part of a broader strategy to open international markets for U.S. companies and remove barriers and unfair trade practices in support of U.S. jobs,” said Hampl in her testimony. “We strongly believe that continued U.S.-UK free trade is overwhelmingly in the interests of both countries and their global trading partners, provided that the agreement is a high standard and comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement. A successful trade agreement with the UK should cover not just market access for goods, but also address important services issues.”

Hampl’s testimony also emphasized the importance of regulatory cohesion across the United States, the UK and the European market as a key component in further liberalizing trade. Regulatory discrimination and differentiation between trade partners can be an obstacle to trade, investment and the ability to conduct business. Affected sectors include pharmaceuticals, chemicals and fintech.

Hampl also raised the issue of digital trade. “U.S. companies rely on cross-border data flows as part of their day-to-day operations,” said Hampl. “A U.S.-UK agreement should include requirements that data can flow unimpeded across borders except for limited and well-defined public policy exceptions, ensuring that they are not used as disguised barriers to trade.”

Regarding intellectual property (IP) protection, Hampl noted that at a minimum, a U.S.-UK agreement should enshrine existing protections and enforcement mechanisms. It should also address sectoral IP issues, such as in the pharmaceutical space.

To read Hampl’s testimony, please click here.