On November 21, USCIB’s Washington, D.C. office was the site of a timely media briefing with leaders of the International Chamber of Commerce, who reviewed progress at the recently concluded G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia as well as the breakthrough on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

ICC Chairman Terry McGraw (who also serves as USCIB’s chairman) and ICC Secretary General John Danilovich spoke about their participation in the Brisbane summit and the process, via the B20 initiative, for ongoing private-sector input to the G20 as its presidency moves to Turkey for 2015.

Joined by USCIB Senior Vice President Rob Mulligan, McGraw and Danilovich also offered business views on the U.S. and global trade agendas, which have newfound wind in their sails in light of recent breakthroughs in the WTO.

As reported by Bloomberg BNA, Danilovich called this period a “timely moment, a pedal to the metal moment,” now that a number of trade-related issues are moving forward, including negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). McGraw predicted that negotiations on the TPP would successfully conclude within two months.

Earlier in the week, McGraw chaired meetings of USCIB’s Board of Directors and ICC’s Executive Board. The meetings were timed to coincide with USCIB’s 2014 International Leadership Award Dinner, which honored WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo for his work to seal the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and advance the multilateral trade agenda.

Staff contact: Jonathan Huneke

USCIB Press Center