Trade and Investment Archives

USCIB Applauds Presidents Pledge to Move Forward on Korea Free Trade Agreement

Published on June 28, 2010

New York, N.Y., June 28, 2010 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s top global companies, released the following statement today:

USCIB applauds the announcement by President Obama, at the G20 Summit in Canada, of the United States’ determination to move forward on the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement currently awaiting submission to Congress.

Korea is already a key U.S. trading partner.  Ratification of the Korea FTA would solidify market access in this important and growing market for U.S. companies, providing a boost to employment at home and to U.S. competitiveness overall.

We hope this decision signals renewed vigor and forward movement in U.S. trade policy.  The Korea agreement and other pending bilateral FTAs deserve prompt attention from Congress.  Other nations have not stood still.  Indeed, the European Union recently agreed to a free trade agreement with Korea.  We must maintain forward momentum in our trade policy or risk being left behind.

USCIB also calls upon the Obama administration to join with the G20 and other trading partners to revive serious negotiation toward completing the stalled Doha Round of trade talks in the WTO.  Through our international affiliates, we have worked to develop a strong worldwide business consensus in favor of a balanced, ambitious and comprehensive Doha Round agreement.

At a time when we are facing the prospect of a double-dip recession along with major public-sector financial difficulties in many nations, such an agreement would provide much-needed stimulus to the global economy, and would help lay the foundation for sustained recovery and growth.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top 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 the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the 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, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

 

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USCIB Champions World Trade Week in New York

Published on May 21, 2010
Awards breakfast keynote speaker Joseph Quinlan (left) is introduced by USCIB President Peter Robinson.
Awards breakfast keynote speaker Joseph Quinlan (left) is introduced by USCIB President Peter Robinson.

World Trade Week, a nationwide celebration of international trade, was observed during, before and after the week of May 17 in many cities across the country.  Building upon our leadership on trade issues in the New York City area, USCIB proudly served as a main organizer of World Trade Week NYC, under whose auspices numerous trade-themed events took place around the city and the region.

This year’s festivities took on extra importance in light of President Obama’s goal, announced during the State of the Union address, of doubling U.S. exports within five years.  USCIB and other business groups applauded this goal, which got a boost from newly released export figures.

At a kickoff awards breakfast held at Baruch College in Manhattan, several New York-area companies and organizations were honored for international achievements and growth.  Joseph P. Quinlan, economist and chief global market strategist with Bank of America, provided keynote remarks emphasizing America’s continuing role as the world’s top exporter and manufacturer, and the importance of pursuing sensible policies to maintain that advantage by expanding opportunities for trade and investment overseas.

Calling himself a “paranoid optimist” on trade, Mr. Quinlan applauded the president’s goal of doubling exports but wondered if America’s political leaders had the will to see it through in terms of concrete policies and new trade agreements.  On this score, he urged the swift ratification of pending U.S. free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama.  Mr. Quinlan also said the United States lagged Europe and Asia in viewing expanded trade and overseas investment as essential public policy objectives.

USCIB’s Amanda Barlow (second from left) and guests at the awards breakfast. (Photo: Marcela Solano)

U.S. exports of goods and services increased by 16 percent during the first quarter of 2010, the Commerce Department announced the day after the awards breakfast.  “This is a great progress report,” said Fred P. Hochberg, head of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.  “What it really says is that there are significant opportunities globally for both large and small U.S. businesses.”

Meanwhile, a new survey by American Express signaled good news for business travel in the months ahead.  The majority of nearly 500 senior finance executives surveyed worldwide said they intend to maintain or increase business travel spending in 2010.

That dovetailed with a recent pickup in USCIB’s ATA Carnet service, which permits temporary export of many goods for trade shows, products demonstrations and other uses.  Carnet usage, which often serves as a leading indicator of exports, took a big hit alongside trade as a whole following the onset of the 2008-2009 recession, but has rebounded lately.

USCIB also organized a seminar on “Managing Your Trade Risk in Today’s Global Economy,” which examined the critical importance of risk mitigation for exporters and importers as we emerge from recession.  Speakers included: Dennis Gates of Roanoke Trade Services, who reviewed the global outlook on trade as well as insurance products to protect international transactions; Andrea Ratay of HSBC, who discussed the bank’s trade confidence index, which has also shown positive signs; and USCIB’s Amanda Barlow, who discussed how ATA Carnets can help exporters avoid costly duties, taxes and currency fluctuations.

As World Trade Week got under way, USCIB issued a call to action , urging members and friends to contact their elected representatives to voice their support for expanded trade and international commerce as essential drivers of U.S. jobs, growth and competitiveness.  In addition, in a podcast on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations, another World Trade Week partner, Jonathan Huneke, USCIB’s vice president for communications and public affairs, addressed the importance of sensible policies to secure the benefits of international trade and investment.

Staff contact: Cynthia Duncan

Interview with USCIB’s Jonathan Huneke (Council on Foreign Relations website)

World Trade Week NYC website

More on USCIB’s ATA Carnet Export Service

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Business Presses for Reform of Agricultural Exports and Travel With Cuba

Published on April 30, 2010
Havana waterfront: Cubans are hungry for American agricultural products, but our government makes it difficult for farmers to export to the island.
Havana waterfront: Cubans are hungry for American agricultural products, but our government makes it difficult for farmers to export to the island.

USCIB has joined other U.S. business associations and the agricultural and agribusiness community in backing legislation in the House of Representatives to ease certain restrictions on agricultural trade with Cuba and travel to that country.

On April 12, 2010, we expressed our strong support for H.R. 874, which would remove restrictions on the travel of U.S. citizens to Cuba.  The letter notes that current policies toward Cuba, including the travel ban, have not achieved their objectives and that the U.S. continues to lose influence in that country by isolating our citizens from traveling their as “Ambassadors of Freedom.”  We also highlight the anomaly that U.S. citizens can travel to North Korea and Iran, but not to Cuba.

On April 28, 2010, USCIB joined a larger group of organizations, most of which represent the U.S. agricultural community, in calling for passage of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act.

The bill has three provisions:

  • It would reverse a Treasury Department interpretation of the term “payment of cash in advance” for agricultural sales to Cuba, which has a strong negative impact on U.S. exports.
  • It would eliminate a costly and discriminatory requirement that payments to U.S. agricultural exporters must pass through banks in third countries.
  • And it would lift restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba.

USCIB has long believed that U.S. policy toward Cuba is antiquated, ineffectual and self-defeating, and sees these bills as a modest step forward in easing existing restrictions on agricultural trade and travel.

Staff contact: Timothy Deal

April 12 business letter on H.R. 874 to allow travel between the United States and Cuba

April 28 letter on H.R. 4645, Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

 

New Report Shows Mixed Outlook for Recovery of Global Trade Finance

Published on April 22, 2010

3977_image001Paris and New York, April 22, 2010 – Prospects for a strong and lasting trade recovery are mixed, with access to affordable trade finance constrained, trade protectionism still a problem, and banks facing tougher capital requirements for their trade assets, a major new survey on trade finance by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) said today.

“The 2010 survey has confirmed that the current global financial crisis has continued to affect financial institutions and markets worldwide,” the report concludes, citing a 12 percent drop in trade in terms of volume last year, the sharpest decline since World War II.

“This is a challenging economic environment, and trade volumes may be further impacted in the coming months. On a global basis, the predictions for 2010-2011 remain cautious; many expect that the economic turmoil will continue to predominate.”

Nevertheless, 84 percent of respondents said they anticipated an increase in demand this year for traditional trade products such as commercial and standby letters of credit and guarantees.

ICC is the largest, most representative business organization in the world.  Its thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as ICC’s American national committee.

The survey report, titled Rethinking Trade Finance 2010, includes the results of specific responses received from 161 banks in 75 countries, a 32 percent increase in the number of respondents compared with the last global survey in March 2009. The surveys, including an interim one published in September, were commissioned by the World Trade Organization’s Expert Group on Trade Finance to track the developments in the industry.

In terms of value, 60 percent of respondents indicated that trade finance activity had decreased between 2008 and last year, while 43 percent of financial institutions reported a decrease in export letters of credit volume, slightly down from 47 percent in the 2009 survey. On imports, 26 percent of respondents said they saw a decrease in import letters of credit, with 51 percent seeing no change from 2008.

ICC said the drop in trade was less marked in some regions, particularly Asia. It said most Chinese partners benefited from that country’s fiscal stimulus package and the rebound in Chinese imports. Worldwide, exports of durable goods were most affected, while trade in non-durable consumer goods including clothing and food declined the least. Trade in services was generally more resilient than merchandise trade.

“The survey is a continuation of ICC’s long series of actions in support of international trade,” ICC Chairman Victor K. Fung wrote in a foreword to the report. “In recent years ICC has emphasized the imperative of concluding the Doha Round of trade talks and on continuing the fight against protectionism.”

The report takes note of the pledges to fight protectionist pressures by G20 countries following the Washington, London, and Pittsburgh summits. “Yet since the onset of the crisis, many countries have veered towards policies that favor domestic products over foreign imports,” the report notes. “Protectionist measures should be resisted, as they curtail trade flows and add to the adverse effects of the global recession on individual country exports, economic activity and unemployment.”

But while demand for trade finance remains strong for traditional trade finance instruments, the costs remain substantially higher than before the global recession. Some 30 percent of respondents said there had been an increase in fees for commercial letters of credit, standbys and guarantees in 2009. The increase was attributed to higher funding costs, increased capital constraints, and greater counterparty risk.

Also worrying is the intense scrutiny of documents by banks, with 34 percent of respondents saying they had seen an increase in the number of refusals for trade finance, up from 30 percent in 2009. The number of doubtful or spurious discrepancies remains high, with 44 percent of respondents indicating that they had experienced such cases compared with 48 percent the previous year, at the height of the financial crisis.

“This trend toward claiming discrepancies that effectively have little or no foundation is worrisome and may prove damaging to the integrity of the documentary credit as a viable means for settlement in international trade,” the report warns.

The report raises concerns that, despite the injection of US$250 billion in aid for trade finance made available following the G20 summit in London in April 2009, evidence is accumulating that the implementation of the capital adequacy regime under Basel II rules is contributing to the drought in trade finance. ICC has expressed concern that the proposal by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to increase the risk weighing of trade finance under a new framework to limit bank leverage would adversely impact the supply of cost-effective trade credit to businesses.

“It appears that low-risk trade finance instruments are being lumped together with higher-risk, off-balance-sheet items, without an appreciation of unintended consequences,” the report adds.

The  ICC trade finance report is being launched simultaneously in Paris led by ICC Secretary General Jean Rozwadowski and in Beijing by ICC Chairman Fung and ICC China Secretary General Zhou Xuehai.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, 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 or jhuneke@uscib.org

ICC report: Rethinking Trade Finance 2010

ICC website

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Top US Official Pledges Support for Overseas Investment

Published on March 12, 2010

USCIB conference looks at benefits and challenges of inward and outbound FDI

The State Department’s Robert Hormats (right) with Deloitte CEO Jim Quigley.
The State Department’s Robert Hormats (right) with Deloitte CEO Jim Quigley.

Washington, D.C. March 12, 2010 – As it emerges from a deep recession, the United States must reject protectionism and economic nationalism, and champion foreign investment as a key driver of U.S. prosperity, according to a top State Department official.

Addressing a conference on cross-border investment on Wednesday organized by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), Robert Hormats, under secretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs, said both inward and outbound FDI contribute to U.S. growth, employment and competitiveness.

“We need to maintain a positive environment for international investment,” stated Mr. Hormats.  “The U.S., along with other governments, needs to resist protectionism and economic nationalism.  We also need to recognize that FDI contributes enormously to our economic success.  And we need to pursue policies that will increase confidence of foreign investors.  This is the key to extending our economic recovery and global economic growth.”

With many speakers at the conference calling for a forceful statement from the Obama administration on the contributions of open investment policies to the American economy, Mr. Hormats said the U.S. will seek to craft policies to support investment both in this country by foreign firms and overseas by U.S. multinationals.

“We know that some overseas investments by American companies can lead to job losses in the United States.  But for many companies, expansion abroad tends to support employment and dynamic opportunities here at home.  For many, foreign affiliate activity has tended to complement, not substitute for, key parent activity in this country, boosting wages, employment and capital investment.”

Later this month, USCIB and the Business Roundtable plan to unveil updated research by Dartmouth Professor Matthew Slaughter that further demonstrates the sizeable domestic returns of overseas investment by U.S. companies, in terms of jobs, exports and R&D.  The two groups published research by Professor Slaughter last year that was directly referenced by Mr. Hormats in his remarks.

At the USCIB conference, a diverse array of speakers from business, government, international organizations, labor and NGOs addressed key challenges for foreign investment in the United States and other major markets.  Most agreed that the terms of public debate over cross-border investment had changed in the wake of the economic crisis, with wariness in many countries over certain aspects of inward FDI largely giving way to skepticism of the value of outbound investment for home countries.

“Jobs and exports are the main issues on the minds of policy makers,” said Jeffrey Shafer, vice chairman of Citigroup, summing up the conference’s lessons.  “We need to get the facts out about how open investment policies benefit ordinary people, while keeping the pressure on governments to resist protectionist impulses.”

Most speakers agreed that bilateral investment treaties are essential to provide foreign investors with safeguards against political risk, while multilateral deliberations of investment policy can provide an important safety valve to avoid a potential protectionist backlash against investment.

“The worst-case scenarios have not been realized – yet,” according to Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, commenting on policies in the G20 countries since the onset of the global recession.  He said the OECD, which coordinates economic policies among the most advanced industrial economies and key emerging markets, planned to undertake a review of bilateral investment treaties worldwide with a view toward developing best practices, or even a model treaty.

Conference panels examined challenges to foreign investors in global markets, investing in green technologies, foreign investment and jobs, and addressing societal problems.  Speakers included David Rubenstein, managing director of The Carlyle Group, Jim Quigley, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro, Professor Ted Moran of Georgetown University, Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff at the AFL-CIO, and Margrete Strand, director of the Sierra Club’s labor, worker rights and trade program.  Executives from Chevron, Fedex, Goldman Sachs, Wal-Mart, Google and Cadbury were also on the program.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing 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, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Mr. Hormats’s remarks

Mr. Gurría’s remarks

Ms. Sapiro’s remarks

Report: “How U.S. Multinational Strengthen the U.S. Economy”

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Conference Looks at New Challenges of Cross-Border Investment

Published on February 25, 2010

New York, N.Y., February 25, 2010 – Cross-border investment is expected to play a critical role as the global economy emerges from the worst downturn in living memory.  What policies are needed to marshal private capital for maximum benefit?  This will be the focus of a conference organized by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), March 10 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.

“Our goal is to initiate a dialogue among business, labor, NGOs and policy makers on responsible international investment policies, and how they impact the United States and countries around the world,” according to Peter M. Robinson, USCIB’s president and CEO.

USCIB, which represents America’s top global companies, has assembled a heavyweight lineup of public officials, business executives and other experts for the conference, “Cross-Border Investment in a Post-Recession World,” including:

  • Robert D. Hormats, under secretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs
  • Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • David M. Rubenstein, managing director of The Carlyle Group
  • James Quigley, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Panel discussions will examine challenges to foreign investors in global markets, investing in green technologies, foreign investment and jobs, and addressing societal problems.

“As policy makers work to secure a healthy recovery, it is important to recognize that international investment, both inbound and outbound, can provide a major boost to growth and competitiveness,” said Stephen J. Canner, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services.  “The bottom line is faster growth at home and abroad, which leads to better, higher-paying jobs.”

Conference sponsors include the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, which officially represents industry views in the 30-nation body, and the Organization for International Investment, which represents the U.S. subsidiaries of companies headquartered abroad.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing 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, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Conference program

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Open Trade Is Essential for Successful Action on Climate

Published on December 16, 2009
Trade can help make a greener world.
Trade can help make a greener world.

Copenhagen and New York, December 16, 2009 – What do the UN climate talks and the stalled Doha Round of trade negotiations have in common, apart from seemingly mind-numbing complexity?  Answer: Success in both will be essential for global sustainable development.  So says the head of an industry group representing top U.S. multinationals.

“International trade is a proven path to economic growth and technological advancement,” according to Peter M. Robinson, president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).  “As countries trade more, they grow richer and have additional resources to devote to environmental protection.  Both industrialized and developing countries have a clear stake in coordinated action to open markets and tackle global warming.”

So do companies, which is one reason USCIB members and other business representatives gathered yesterday with UN negotiators for a key side event in Copenhagen. The invitation-only event, titled “Trade, Investment and Climate Change – Synergies for Economic Growth and Environmental Progress,” sought to underscore the American business community’s strong commitment to positive and mutually reinforcing outcomes in global climate and trade negotiations.

“We want to highlight the positive relationship of open trade and investment with technology and financing for climate solutions,” said Mr. Robinson.  “Reaching a comprehensive WTO agreement that lowers trade barriers would boost investment and innovation in climate-friendly technologies.  On the other hand, if trade and climate are set against each another, the result would be to fuel protectionism and complicate the already difficult task of forging a global consensus on climate.”

Even now, said Mr. Robinson, too many countries are leaning toward using trade as a “hammer” to force countries to follow a specific path on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.  “This temptation must be resisted,” he stated.”  “We need more carrots, and fewer sticks.”

Freeing up trade in environmental goods and services would give a boost to curbing global warming.  A 2007 World Bank study found that removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers in 18 of the high-emitting developing countries for four basic clean energy technologies (wind, solar, clean coal and efficient lighting) could lower the costs of these technologies by 13 percent, which could help reduce emissions significantly.

“What’s more, it is clear that these reductions could be further augmented through better management practices and technical know-how, both of which tend to follow in trade’s wake,” according to Mr. Robinson, who is attending the climate conference under the banner of USCIB’s global affiliate, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which is coordinating business and industry representation in Copenhagen.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, 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, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

ICC website (includes related news from Copenhagen summit)

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

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Investment Treaty Talks With China Move Forward

Published on September 24, 2009
L-R: Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop), Wesley Scholz (State Dept.) and Daniel Bahar (USTR).
L-R: Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop), Wesley Scholz (State Dept.) and Daniel Bahar (USTR).

On September 15, USCIB joined with the Emergency Committee for American Trade, the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to co-host a briefing by U.S. negotiators on the status of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations with China.  The United States currently has BITs with some 40 other countries, and their provisions are included in many U.S. free trade agreements.  The treaties help protect private investment, develop market-oriented policies in partner countries and promote U.S. exports.

Wesley Scholz, director of the State Department’s Office of Investment Affairs, and Daniel Bahar with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that, while negotiations with China were initiated under the Bush Administration, at last July’s bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue meetings in Washington, the two governments reaffirmed that the BIT negotiations were ongoing and could contribute to the implementation of G-20 commitments to an open global economy.

Comments on China’s WTO Commitments

USCIB recently provided comments to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in response to an annual request for information on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments. We received valuable comments and updates to the document this year from engaged USCIB members highlighting industry concerns in a number of different industries on China’s progress toward the market liberalization benchmarks it agreed to in joining the WTO in 2001. USCIB’s submission can be found on the China Committee webpage.

Several rounds of negotiations have been held, focusing on a detailed explanation by each side of their model text (see related story).  The next step will be to attempt to produce a consolidated and bracketed text from which the hard negotiations will ensue. Importantly, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Bahar stated that the tone of the discussions is positive and constructive.  The next round of negotiations is expected to take place in November.

USCIB member Christopher Wall (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) hosted the meeting, and USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Chair Scott Milller, (Procter & Gamble) guided the discussion.

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s China Committee

Bilateral Investment Treaties: Reviewing the U.S. Model

Published on August 28, 2009

yellow_network_usaUSCIB is participating in a review of the model U.S. bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The United States currently has BITs with some 40 other countries, and their provisions are included in many U.S. free trade agreements. The treaties help protect private investment, develop market-oriented policies in partner countries and promote U.S. exports.

Scott Miller (Procter & Gamble), who chairs USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee, Ted Posner (Crowell & Moring) and USCIB Vice President Stephen Canner are participating in a review of the model treaty.  The review is taking place under the auspices of a sub-group of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, chaired by Alan Larson (Covington & Burling) and Thea Lee (AFL-CIO).  Others participating in the review are drawn from business, labor and the NGO community.

From a USCIB perspective, our objectives are to correct the shortcomings of the model BIT revised in 2004 and to establish a new model that sets the highest standards of market access, investor protection and dispute resolution.  The sub-group’s report will be Advisory Committee in late September.  USCIB’s Mr. Canner made a statement at a public hearing on the matter that is available on USCIB’s website at www.uscib.org/docs/2009_07_29_model_bit.pdf.

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Briefing: Are Countries Living Up to Their Open-Market Promises?

Published on June 18, 2009
BIAC Chairman Charles Heeter of Deloitte (right) introduces OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría.
BIAC Chairman Charles Heeter of Deloitte (right) introduces OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría.

On June 2, coincident with USCIB’s latest OECD tax conference, we had the pleasure of hosting a timely and well attended luncheon in Washington, D.C., examining the OECD’s role in helping keep markets open to cross-border investment.

Taking place against the backdrop of ongoing economic turmoil, growing protectionist sentiment and ambitious proposals for regulatory reform, these two events provided important opportunities for USCIB members to interact directly with senior government and international officials making the decisions that will shape the future of the global economy.  They also underlined the importance of USCIB’s affiliation with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD in providing access to the work of the OECD.

The open markets lunch, organized with support from the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, BIAC, Deloitte and several other leading business organizations, was titled “The Global Investment Agenda: Challenges to Global Capital Flows and Foreign Investment.”  The impetus for the session was growing concern that cross-border capital flows have contracted sharply and that governments, while cognizant of the benefits of open investment regimes, are apt to yield to domestic economic and  political pressures and impede cross-border investment.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría set the tone in his opening address, declaring: “It is crucial for the investment policy community to counter such pressures, now and firmly.”  He noted that the OECD is ideally placed to work on investment openness, and that along with the IMF, WTO and UNCTAD, it is monitoring investment activity to ensure that governments refrain from raising new investment barriers.  A report by this group will be sent to the G20.

A panel chaired by Dan Price (Sidley Austin), a top White House aide in the previous administration and including Jeff Shafer (Citigroup), Jose Vinals (International Monetary Fund) and Matthias Sonn (German Embassy), picked up the general theme struck by Mr. Gurría.  They urged business to raise its voice to the Obama Administration on the need for strong leadership to resist investment protectionism and to keep markets open for cross-border investment.

Staff contact: Rob Mulligan

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