From the President: A Network Like No Other (Winter 2012-2013)

Winter 2012-2013

From the President:

A Network Like No Other

USCIB provides members with access to the UN, OECD and other multilateral bodies, in order to advocate and represent business views.

By Peter M. Robinson

In an increasingly interconnected world, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of the network. We network with professional colleagues, maintain networks of suppliers, allies and supporters, and plug into vast information networks, to run our businesses and manage our lives more efficiently.

One of USCIB’s most important assets is our unique global network, our affiliation with leading international business organizations, which provides USCIB members with official access to major multilateral bodies, and allows business to speak with authority in these forums and to national governments.

Much of the most recent issue of International Business is devoted to BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, which we honored with USCIB’s 2012 International Leadership Award on November 28, at a gala dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Over the years – and especially under the leadership of BIAC Chairman Charles P. Heeter, Jr. and Secretary General Tadahiro Asami – BIAC has played an invaluable role in championing the interests of the OECD-area business community in this increasingly important multilateral body, which now groups the world’s 35 most advanced industrial economies. BIAC provides unmatched leadership and expertise within the OECD system on labor and employment, taxation, the future of the Internet, green growth, trade and investment, and many other topics.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson

USCIB’s Global Network

Open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility,

supported by international engagement and prudent regulation

There are two other crucial components to USCIB’s global network that play an important role in enabling USCIB to serve as an effective, vocal champion of American business around the world.

The International Chamber of Commerce, our oldest affiliated body, remains the original voice of business on the world stage, with official standing in the United Nations and many affiliated agencies. ICC’s long record of business advocacy within the UN system will be invaluable as the UN proceeds with an ambitious Development Agenda, the successor to the Millennium Development Goals. ICC’s high-level work with the G20, along with its efforts to restart serious discussion of the future of world trade, also warrant active engagement by USCIB members.

The International Organization of Employers, for which we have long served as the U.S. member federation, plays an increasingly important role on global labor, workplace and social affairs matters. The IOE’s official standing as business interface with the tripartite International Labor Organization (along with governments and labor), enables USCIB members to play a direct role in setting international labor standards. IOE also represents business views to G20 labor ministers, and it works closely with the International Organizations for Standardization and the UN Human Rights Council, among other forums.

USCIB members are already leveraging the power of our global network – BIAC, ICC and IOE – to advance American business interests on trade and investment policy, on tax policies, on the future of the Internet, on climate change and green growth, and in many other areas. Doing so helps promote their interests, and the interests of the broader business community, in securing sustainable growth, job-creation and other important societal goals.

The power of our network to help you grow your business and secure a better future is unmatched, but only if you use it. I urge all USCIB members to take full advantage of the resources and capabilities of these remarkable institutions.

Mr. Robinson’s bio and contact information

Other recent postings from Mr. Robinson:

Lessons From the G20 and Rio+20 Summits (Autumn 2012)

Education for the 21st Century (Summer 2012)

Ensuring a Dynamic and Secure Internet (Spring 2012)

Green Growth: Getting the Policies Right (Winter 2011/2012)