Competitiveness and Innovation

Driving Competitiveness and Innovation

Competitiveness is fostered by sensible policies that unleash the power of the private sector to drive innovation in new technologies and processes, and disseminate them throughout the world. Such an approach must rely on open markets, operate in concert with international trade and investment rules, and recognize the highly complex and integrated nature of modern global supply chains. USCIB is working to drive competitiveness and innovation through our work on global Internet and information technology policy, as well as taxation, intellectual property rights and competition policies.

Ensuring an Open and Dynamic Internet

U.S. companies and the broader global business community welcomed adoption in December 2011 of the OECD’s Principles for Internet Policy-Making, which call for a light touch on regulation, saying this is essential to promote economic growth. USCIB was instrumental in providing business input to the development of the OECD principles, and we applauded the OECD Council’s call for member countries to “promote and protect the global free flow of information” online.

Internet governance is expected to be at the forefront of the December 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai, convened by the UN’s International Telecommunications Union. Many have voiced concern at proposals by Russia and some Arab countries to increase the ITU’s authority. As an alternative, USCIB and business organizations around the world pushed hard to maintain and reinforce a vibrant multi-stakeholder model for Internet governance.

We also focused business attention on new privacy proposals from the European Union, which could harmonize rules and increase legal certainty throughout Europe, as well as U.S. efforts to promote online security and innovation. USCIB contributed to the successful adoption of cross-border privacy system among the APEC economies.

The OECD and Global Tax Policy

With tax reform high on the agenda in Washington, USCIB convened its fifth annual tax conference in June 2011 in Washington, D.C., to explore the implications for multinational companies. The event provided a unique opportunity for the U.S. business community to interact with key representatives from the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration, as well as senior tax officials from the U.S. and other OECD countries. The OECD and its Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), part of USCIB’s global network, joined in organizing the conference. USCIB and BIAC also weighed in with the OECD and its member governments on many aspects of global tax policy, including taxation of intangibles, transfer pricing and taxation of emissions trading permits.

Fighting Against Fakes

USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) continued to be in the vanguard of efforts to rein in the spread of product counterfeiting and piracy. New research from ICC predicts that by 2015, the total impact of trade in fake products will exceed $1 trillion annually. ICC’s BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy) initiative launched a consumer awareness campaign to help show that “fakes cost more” in risks to safety and health, while harming workers in legitimate industries.

APEC Action

USCIB attended the November 2011 APEC Summit in Honolulu, and applauded the inauguration of a region-wide system to facilitate commerce through the recognition of corporate privacy practices. The APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules System will reduce barriers to information flows, enhance consumer privacy, and promote interoperability across regional data privacy regimes. USCIB also welcomed Congressional passage of the APEC Business Travel Card Act.

Related USCIB Policy Committees:

Information, Communications & Technology

Intellectual Property

Nanotechnology

Product Policy

Taxation