USCIB Letter on Environmental Treaty Ratification Priorities for 2004
March 8, 2004
The Hon. John F. Turner
Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Re: USCIB Treaty Ratification Priority List for 2004
Dear Mr. Assistant Secretary:
I am writing to you on behalf of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) to express the support of the U.S. business community for several pending international environmental agreements that warrant prompt ratification by the United States. As you may know, USCIB works on behalf of over 300 leading U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations to promote an open system of global commerce.
We applaud U.S. ratification of a number of environmental treaties, most recently the Beijing Amendments of the Montreal Protocol. However, for a variety of reasons, the U.S. currently finds itself outside a growing number of multilateral environmental agreements that are important to U.S. business. Many of these international agreements establish the basic international legal framework governing international responses to particular environmental problems and all have important implications for key industry sectors in the U.S. For these reasons, we would encourage the Department of State to work with Congress to secure prompt ratification of the following agreements that have been signed by the U.S. but not yet ratified:
· The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (adopted in 1989; entered into force in 1992; Senate gave consent for ratification in August 1992; awaiting legislation authorizing U.S. compliance; currently 159 Parties);
· The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (adopted in 1998; entered into force this February; 58 Parties);
· The Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) to the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Convention (adopted in 1998; entered into force in October 2003; 19 Parties);
· The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (concluded in 2001; expected to enter into force in May 2004; 50 Parties).
Although USCIB does not endorse every single aspect of these treaties, our members fully support U.S. participation in these accords, as U.S. leadership will be critical to ensuring the future success and effectiveness of these environmental agreements. Moreover, U.S. participation will allow the U.S. to better protect our economic interests, which could be unnecessarily and negatively impacted by these multilateral agreements in their current form or under future amendments. We believe it is essential that the U.S. government be allowed to fully exercise its influence as parties to these treaties, to promote U.S. innovative approaches to sustainable development, and to benefit U.S. companies operating in international markets.
We recognize that most of these multilateral agreements will require both Senate advice and consent, as well as congressional action on appropriate implementing legislation, before the U.S. will be in a position to deposit an instrument of ratification. USCIB is prepared to work with the Administration to secure the adoption of narrowly-drawn legislation necessary to allow the U.S. to fulfill its international obligations under these accords, and to secure a seat at the table for the U.S. as U.N deliberations on each of these accords move forward. In addition, we encourage the U.S. government to ensure that ratification and domestic implementation of these treaties maintains U.S. sovereignty over any future amendments.
We also encourage the Administration to develop a process through which a decision on ratification can be reached for other important treaties, notably the U.N. Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), where significant questions regarding the treaties remain unresolved. In the case of the CBD, it is our opinion that a more detailed analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of ratification is necessary prior to the Administration forming a position. We would be willing to offer the insight and expertise of industry to these discussions, should such a process be developed.
We appreciate this opportunity to provide our views on these pending multilateral agreements that are of particular importance to the U.S. business community. We would be pleased to meet with you and your staff to discuss the specifics of these agreements, and the particulars of needed implementing legislation. Please contact me at (212) 354-4480 or Norine Kennedy, our Vice President of Environmental Affairs, at (212) 703-5052 if you have questions or seek additional information.
Sincerely,
Thomas M.T. Niles
More on USCIB’s Environment Committee
