Trade and Investment Archives

USCIB Applauds President’s Trade Agenda in SOTU

Published on January 20, 2015

4935_image001New York, N.Y., January 20, 2015 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) welcomed President Obama’s commitment to a pro-trade agenda and specifically to Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in his State of the Union address to Congress this evening. USCIB said its member companies look forward to working with the Administration and the Congress on a bipartisan effort to advance America’s national interests in this key area.

TPA will give the president the necessary authority to negotiate strong U.S. trade agreements, making it easier for the United States to close deals to benefit American workers and companies, and then move trade agreements to Congress for their review and approval.

“Trade is an important tax-free engine for U.S. economic growth and jobs,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “TPA will provide a boost to U.S.-led efforts to open international markets and eliminate trade barriers.”

Robinson continued: “Ambassador Michael Froman and his skilled team of negotiators should not have to negotiate with one hand tied behind their back. The business community is encouraged that the president has committed to move forward on an aggressive trade agenda that will enhance America’s competitiveness, economic growth, and jobs.”

Last week USCIB sent a letter to President Obama urging him to highlight his administration’s trade agenda and to call for passage of TPA. The letter emphasized that a strong, coordinated push from the administration, Congress and the business community is needed to get TPA over the finish line.

USCIB also praised the work being done by the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Froman, leading the charge on TPA and the trade negotiations under way including the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Pacific-Rim countries, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union and the Trade in Services Agreement.

A strong advocate for international trade and investment at home and around the world, USCIB is a member of the Trade Benefits America Coalition steering committee, an organization of American companies and business associations dedicated to getting the facts out about the benefits of TPA and U.S. trade agreements. International trade already supports over 38 million American jobs and TPA can help raise that number even higher.

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 at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

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

USCIB on the TTIP Front Lines

Published on January 20, 2015
4936_image002
USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly addresses a panel with the Styrian regional parliament in Graz, Austria.

Passage of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, would stimulate economic growth and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The agreement has been criticized over the past several months by anti-trade groups, especially over investor protections such as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).

To counter this negative messaging, Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, has been traveling around Europe as an American speaker for TTIP on behalf of U.S. embassies, spreading the word about the benefits of a strong, comprehensive, high-standard TTIP for both the United States and the European Union.

Last week, Donnelly visited Austria and Slovenia and participated in speaking engagements, meetings and interviews with government officials, business leaders, journalists and student groups. Anti-TTIP groups refused to speak with Donnelly.

“Austria and Slovenia are among the more ýTTIP-skeptical of EU member states and anti-ISDS fever runs high,” said Donnelly. “Our U.S. embassies in each capital are working hard to get our side of the story out and I was glad to lend a hand with some key audiences.”

USCIB is working with its member companies to mobilize support for TTIP in Europe and is seeking opportunities to promote and explain the business case for TTIP.

EU Publishes Consultation Report on Investment Protections in U.S.-EU Trade Agreement

Published on January 13, 2015

4931_image002New York, N.Y., January 13, 2015 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) looks forward to a resumption of negotiations on investor protections in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) following today’s publication of the EU’s final report on the online public consultation on investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the U.S.-EU trade agreement. TTIP negotiations were launched in July 2013, but negotiations on the agreement’s investment chapter have been stalled since early 2014.

As an active advocate for strong investment protections, USCIB hopes that with the publication of this report, productive negotiations on an investment chapter in TTIP can resume.

Following a preliminary report providing a statistical overview of responses, this final report provides the opportunity for the EU to resume negotiation of an ambitious investment chapter in TTIP, armed with a wide variety of stakeholder input as guidance. Nearly 150,000 replies to the consultation included specific views on the thirteen questions posed, as well as statements indicating opposition or concern to investment protection, ISDS and TTIP in general. Without providing specific guidance on the contents of an investment chapter in TTIP, the Commission responded to the various views by outlining four areas in which to explore further improvements.

“Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a cornerstone of economic growth and jobs, and an open investment climate requires policies and agreements that are transparent and non-discriminatory,” said USCIB Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl.  “ISDS is an essential component of a predictable and fair system that protects investors against the potentially arbitrary actions of host states. It de-politicizes potential disputes by providing a neutral mechanism of legal dispute resolution.”

The Commission launched the consultation in response to public concerns about whether the EU’s proposed approach for TTIP would achieve the right balance between protecting investors and safeguarding the EU’s right and ability to regulate in the public interest.  USCIB submitted comments in support of an ambitious investment chapter including strong investor protection and ISDS representing the views of the U.S. business community.  USCIB also signed a joint statement with other U.S. and EU business associations upon the release of the report.

A high standard investment chapter including ISDS is crucial to a successful TTIP, and both the EU and the U.S. stand to gain significantly from a concluded agreement.

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 at www.uscib.org.

 

USCIB Letter to President Obama on U.S. Trade Agenda

Published on January 13, 2015

Ahead of President Obama’s State of the Union address, USCIB sent a letter to the president urging him to highlight the U.S trade agenda and call for passage of Trade Promotion Authority. The letter emphasizes that a strong push from the Administration, Congress and the business community is needed to get TPA over the finish line.

“This year will present opportunities for the U.S. to conclude trade and investment agreements that will ensure that the United States grows its economy, creates jobs and opens markets to U.S. goods and services reaching customers around the world,” wrote USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson in the letter to President Obama. “TPA would provide a critical boost to achieving these shared goals among U.S. workers, companies and citizens.”

In addition, the Trade Benefits America Coalition, of which USCIB is a member, also sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to modernize TPA early this year.

The Trade Benefits America Coalition includes a wide range of associations and companies that are dedicated to the pursuit of U.S. international trade agreements that benefit American businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. The Coalition believes that passage of modernized TPA legislation is important to help ensure America continues to benefit from trade.

China Commits to Stronger IPR Protection at US-China Trade Meeting

Published on December 22, 2014

The 25th US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) concluded last week in Chicago after two days of talks and negotiations. The JCCT is the primary forum for addressing bilateral trade and investment issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. At the forum, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and the Chinese delegation met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang to discuss economic relations between the United States and China.

Officials from both countries made progress on agriculture market access. China committed to import American soybeans and dairy products, and announced that it would pursue dialogue with the United States on biotechnology in agriculture.

China made commitments on Intellectual Property Rights protection, agreeing to protect American companies’ trade secrets and to work on new trade secrets law to enhance protection. China also agreed to streamline China’s regulatory processes and cut red tape for American imports of new, innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which should lead to increases in U.S. exports and jobs in these sectors. And on China’s anti-monopoly law, China committed to treat both domestic and foreign companies equally, and to provide increased transparency for companies under investigation.

With regard to the U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty, USCIB joined several other business organizations in signing a letter to Vice Premier Wang Yang in anticipation of his participation in the JCCT to signal to the Chinese government the U.S. business community’s strong support for a high-standard BIT.

Staff contacts: Justine Badimon and Eva Hampl

More on USCIB’s China Committee

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Turkey Gets Ball Rolling on 2015 B20 Summit

Published on December 16, 2014
L-R: Guler Sabanci, Rifat Hisarciklioglu (Chair of B20 Turkey), Ali Babacan (Turkisk Deputy Prime Minister) and Terry McGraw (ICC).
L-R: Guler Sabanci, Rifat Hisarciklioglu (Chair of B20 Turkey), Ali Babacan (Turkisk Deputy Prime Minister) and Terry McGraw (ICC).

USCIB’s global network, including the International Chamber of Commerce, (ICC) the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, joined over 500 Turkish and international business leaders, key international business groups and government officials in Istanbul on Monday to officially launch preparations for the 2015 G20 Business (B20) Summit scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkey on November 14 and 15, 2015.

The B20 group provides global business leaders with a forum for producing policy recommendations to be delivered at the annual G20 meeting, reflecting the key role the private sector plays as a driver of strong, sustainable economic growth.

“2015 will be a year where G20 will focus its efforts on ensuring inclusive and robust growth through collective action,” said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan. “This can be formulated as the three I’s of the Turkish Presidency: Inclusiveness, Implementation, and Investment for Growth.”

Regarding inclusivity, Babacan emphasized the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to economic growth and job creation, and noted that his G20 colleagues believed that the voice of SMEs must be integrated into the work of the G20. Babacan also underscored the essential role the B20 would play in integrating SMEs and announced a partnership with ICC to launch the Global SME Forum.

Warmly accepting Babacan’s joint initiative, ICC Chairman Terry McGraw said: “ICC welcomes the opportunity to partner with Turkey to ensure that the SME initiative is a success this year and becomes an anchor of the B20’s work for years to come.”

Also at the inaugural G20 meeting, IOE President Daniel Funes de Rioja spoke about employment, job creation and human capital development in the context of the G20 agenda. He noted that the G20 had not yet lived up to its commitments to lower global unemployment rates, and he called on G20 leaders to put the spotlight on job creation, SMEs, labor migration and greater inclusion of women in the workplace as key areas for action.

BIAC Secretary General Bernhard Welschke delivered remarks on a high-level panel concerning steps to further improve B20 interactions with the G20. The B20 summit in 2015 will be held in November back-to-back with the G20 summit, providing an opportunity for maximum business impact into the policymaking process at G20 level.

Demonstrating an understanding of the valuable role the business community plays in the G20 process, Babacan said: “The ideas you [B20] develop are valuable to us. Economic growth can only be achieved by private sector investment. No matter what decisions we take, if you don’t have the confidence to undertake investment we are not going to meet our growth objective. This is why the B20 is so important.”

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

USCIB Takes Trade Agenda to Europe

Published on December 11, 2014
Shaun Donnelly talks TTIP at the INSIGNIS business school in Bordeaux, France.
Shaun Donnelly talks TTIP at the INSIGNIS business school in Bordeaux, France.

USCIB Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly, a retired U.S. Ambassador and USTR trade negotiator, was invited by the U.S. Embassy in France and IFRI, the leading French think tank on international relations issues, to present a U.S. business perspective on the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) under negotiations for the past 18 months.

At IFRI’s annual Transatlantic conference in Paris last Friday and in sessions in Bordeaux earlier in the week with university students, city leaders and wine exporters, Donnelly laid out USCIB’s strong support for a “comprehensive, ambitions, and high standard” TTIP with the potential to help drive economic growth, jobs and competitiveness in Europe and the United States.

As in many TTIP events at home in the United States, Donnelly spent much of him time debunking myths fomented by activist opponents of TTIP on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Investment protections including Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions, food safety and environmental regulations and intellectual property protections remain some of the most controversial, and most misunderstood, issues among the public in Europe,” Donnelly said. “But we at USCIB want to do our part to help get the perspectives, priorities, and concerns of U.S. business exposed to European audiences.”

Proving we’re willing to go beyond the bright lights of France, Donnelly has accepted a follow-on invitation from the State Department to brave the winter weather and take the U.S. views on TTIP to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Austria in early January.

Staff contact: Shaun Donnelly

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

USCIB Member Wins State Departments Corporate Excellence Award

Published on December 9, 2014
L-R: Charles Rivkin (U.S. State Dept.), Cathy Novelli (U.S. State Dept.) and Ahmet Bozer (Coca-Cola). Photo Credit: U.S. State Department.
L-R: Charles Rivkin (U.S. State Dept.), Cathy Novelli (U.S. State Dept.) and Ahmet Bozer (Coca-Cola).
Photo Credit: U.S. State Department.

For the fourth time in five years, a USCIB member has won the U.S. State Department’s Award for Corporate Excellence, an honor bestowed on U.S. companies that undertake responsible business activities to improve lives and advance the needs of local communities around the world.

The Coca-Cola Company received the 2014 Corporate Excellence Award for providing disaster relief services to areas in the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Coca-Cola improved water quality through its efforts to support watersheds, increase access to safe water, and educate communities on water conservation.

The company also partnered with the Philippines Department of Education to increase access to primary education for more than 60,000 disadvantaged children.

This year’s other awardees included Wagner Asia Equipment for its commitment to public-private partnerships in Mongolia to protect the environment, and EcoPlanet Bamboo Group for its sustainable development work regenerating degraded pasturelands in Nicaragua. Wagner is one of the largest Caterpillar dealers in the western United States, and Caterpillar is a longtime USCIB member.

Ariel Meyerstein, USCIB vice president for labor affairs, corporate responsibility and corporate governance, reflected that the awardees’ efforts were “perfect examples of the way the private sector can minimize its impacts on the environment and society and also proactively partner with the public sector to respect and promote basic human rights where they operate, which is key to securing and preserving their social license to operate.”

Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, and Eva Hampl, director for investment trade and financial services, attended the Corporate Excellence Award ceremony at the State Department, officiated Cathy Novelli, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, and Ambassador Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary in the bureau of economic and business affairs at the State Department. Novelli presented the Corporate Excellence Award to Ahmet Bozer, Coca-Cola’s executive vice president and president of Coca-Cola International.

Coca-Cola also won the Corporate Excellence Award in 2002 for its work in Egypt. Recent USCIB member winners have included Intel in 2012, Proctor and Gamble in 2011, and Cisco in 2010. Two other USCIB members, General Electric and Chevron were among the other finalists for this year’s award.

Read Ambassador Rivkin’s remarks at the 16th Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence.

For more information on State’s Corporate Excellence Award, please visit: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/ace

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl

New OECD Report Will Help Fight Transnational Bribery

Published on December 2, 2014

scalesToday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development launched its Foreign Bribery Report in Paris. The report presents an analysis of foreign bribery cases that have been concluded since 1999, and it is intended to help combat transnational corruption.

The launch event included an opening address by OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría, an address by French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, and a panel discussion with experts, including, GE Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Brackett B. Denniston, U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, chair of Transparency International José Carlos Ugaz, and Siemens Chief Compliance Officer Klaus Moosmayer, who is also the chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) Task Force on Anti-Corruption/Bribery.

Shaun Donnelly, vice president of investment and financial services at USCIB, as well as Kimberley Claman, senior vice president of international government affairs at Citi, represented USCIB at this event. They were joined by Hanni Rosenbaum, senior policy director at BIAC, who leads their anti-bribery effort.

The report provides an analysis of 427 foreign bribery cases that have been concluded since the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 1999. Key findings include that 53 percent of cases involved corporate management or CEOs, one in three cases were instigated by self-reporting (versus only two percent of cases by whistleblowers), 57 percent of cases involved bribes to obtain public procurement contracts, a staggering 75 percent of cases involved payments through intermediaries, and 69 percent of cases were settled with sanctions.

The various speakers all noted the groundbreaking importance of the report, however also emphasized that understanding the problem is only part of the solution. Addressing this point, the report concludes with Next Steps, including a list of ideas for future work, such as annual updates, a public database, further study of SOEs, or additional study of the demand side of bribery, a point Secretary General Gurria also noted in his comments.

This OECD report presents an important step forward in the OECD’s anti-bribery work surrounding the Convention.

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl

Global Business Urges Take the Emotion Out of the ISDS Debate

Published on November 27, 2014

The Financial Times has published a letter from Winand Quaedvlieg, chair of the Committee on International Investment at the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, expressing concern about the emotionally charged debate over investor-state dispute settlement in international trade agreements.

This issue has attracted attention from activists and politicians in Europe and elsewhere in the context of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks and other negotiations. USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson touched on the backlash against ISDS in a recent column.

The BIAC letter is reproduced below, and can also be read on the Financial Times website.

Sir, The international business community is extremely concerned about the negative tone, and the lack of balance, in the debate on investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Investment protection is indispensable in any investment regime or agreement. And ISDS is a necessary element of investment protection, not only in agreements with developing countries but in every agreement. It is an integral part of the system.

ISDS was created 50 years ago as an instrument to enforce the rule of law: to protect foreign investors against frequent arbitrary behavior of host states and to guarantee them a fair process. Host states have much more power than foreign companies and there is always a risk of biased national courts. But now some in the public debate are turning the issue upside down. Investment protection is framed as a demonic instrument for evil companies to bar innocent states from promoting the public good. This is a caricature. The populist argument against ISDS is totally out of proportion.

According to UNCTAD, the world stock of foreign direct investment is close to $26tn. ISDS has existed for 50 years, during which there have been 568 documented cases. Of these, 274 have been decided upon: 43 per cent were decided in favor of the government, 26 per cent were settled and 31 per cent, about 85 cases, were decided in favor of the company. Only a very few of these led to public debate.

A trade diplomat of a large emerging economy recently said: “If you compare the advantages of the total stock of FDI in my country with the number of ISDS cases we lost, it was a very good bargain.” Seen in this light, ISDS does not justify the current highly emotional debate. This does not mean that the existing system should not be discussed. In the current debate, a number of issues have been raised: transparency of procedures, the compatibility of investment protection and governments’ ability to regulate, introducing an appeal mechanism, a new code of conduct for arbitrators, early discharge of frivolous claims, improvement of timing and enforcement, or alternative dispute resolution. It is the role of governments and organizations such as the OECD and UNCTAD to help de-escalate the discussion and make it rational and fact-based. Business is prepared to participate actively in the debate.

Winand Quaedvlieg

Chair of the Committee on International Investment, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC)

Staff contacts: Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl

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