USCIB Updates Archives

Saudia Arabia and Philippines to Accept ATA Carnets (“Passport for Goods”) This Summer

Published on April 24, 2024

New York, NY, April 24, 2024—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), the national guaranteeing and issuing association for the ATA Carnet in the United States, has announced that both the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia and the Republic of the Philippines have joined the ATA Carnet system. These countries join a growing list of over 80 countries and customs territories that process the ATA Carnet.

ATA Carnets are critical tools of trade facilitation and export promotion. The ATA Carnet is an international customs document that allows duty- and tax-free temporary admission of goods for up to one year.

ATA Carnet operations in Saudia Arabia will begin on June 1, 2024 and include Carnets for use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings, and similar events.

The Philippines will begin accepting Carnets on July 15, 2024. The scope of Carnet acceptance will include exhibitions, fairs, meetings, professional equipment, and commercial samples.

“USCIB is delighted that Saudia Arabia and the Philippines will be joining the ATA Carnet System this summer,” said USCIB Chief Operating Officer Declan Daly. “The Middle East and Southeast Asia are significant markets for USCIB members and we look forward to working with our counterparts—the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry—to expand trade in these regions.”

The global ATA Carnet system is overseen and managed by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation (ICC-WCF). USCIB administers the ATA System in the United States.

About USCIB

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S. based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million workers worldwide. As the U.S. affiliate to several leading international business organizations, including the ICC, IOE, and Business at OECD, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade and development.

USCIB is also the National Guaranteeing and Issuing Association for ATA Carnets in the United States, having been appointed as such by the Department of Treasury, now U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in 1969. More at  www.uscib.org.

Strengthening Transatlantic Business Ties: USCIB Engages with ICC Colleagues in Seville 

Published on April 9, 2024
USCIB’s Jose Arroyo with the group from ICC Europe and ICC Americas

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) facilitated a regional meeting between European and American counterparts in Seville, Spain on April 3. This first-ever joint meeting, organized by ICC Spain and hosted by the Seville Chamber of Commerce, reinforced the historical economic ties between Europe and the Americas. The meeting convened representatives from ICC headquarters in Paris as well as ICC national committees from Europe and the Americas, including USCIB Policy Manager for Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Jose Arroyo.  

Arroyo emphasized the need for more collaborative transatlantic efforts to address key business trends and challenges, as well as opportunities for enhanced cooperation to bolster business development, trade facilitation, responsible business conduct, and economic integration across regions. 

“This meeting provided a valuable platform for strengthening engagement and relationships between USCIB and our European and American counterparts,” said Arroyo. “We recognize the significance of advancing collaboration with our fellow national committees.”  

USCIB’s role in the meeting demonstrated its commitment to deepening its partnership with the ICC Americas Group, while reinforcing the integral commercial relations with European partners. Arroyo emphasized the direct implications of policy developments in Europe on American businesses, emphasizing the need for ongoing dialogue and collaboration to navigate global market dynamics effectively. 

ICC Secretary General John Denton attended the meeting in person and highlighted ICC’s priorities in supporting business growth and addressing challenges across regions. 

“USCIB looks forward to advancing our collaboration with European colleagues and strengthening our ties with the ICC Americas Group in pursuit of shared objectives and mutual benefits,” added Arroyo. 

Clark Contributes to US-EU Trade and Technology Council Meeting, Urges Stronger Trade Focus

Published on April 9, 2024
Alice Slayton Clark at the TTC in Leuven, Belgium

USCIB Senior Vice President Alice Slayton Clark was on the ground in Leuven, Belgium the week of April 1 for the sixth, and potentially final, US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting. Following intergovernmental and stakeholder discussions, Ministers issued a joint statement on AI, 6G, emerging technology, semiconductors, online platforms, and upskilling, among others.

USCIB was one of few industry representatives at the stakeholder events because of its position as a principal on the Trade and Labor Dialogue (TALD), where select social partners discuss the intersection of transatlantic trade and labor concerns. “We advised on the future of the TALD as a useful mechanism for bringing social partners together to discuss common concerns, but underscored the importance of more robust stakeholder engagement in the TTC writ large and a stronger trade focus,” states Clark.

Much of the discussion surrounding the TTC focused on how to preserve the dialogue between the US and EU given the importance of building strong supply chains and closer collaboration on emerging policy questions and existing irritants. With uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the 2024 elections, policymakers are looking at ways to institutionalize TTC workstreams so they can endure a change in Administrations. According to Clark, this is significant given ongoing geostrategic challenges and the TTC’s success in aligning US and EU economic and national security policies vis-à-vis Russia and China.

USCIB Congratulates Sean Patrick Maloney on His Confirmation as Next US Ambassador to OECD 

Published on March 20, 2024
Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc

Washington DC, March 20, 2024—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) congratulates Former Representative of New York Sean Patrick Maloney on his confirmation as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Maloney was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 12. 

As the U.S. representative to Business at OECD, the private sector voice in OECD policymaking, USCIB attests to the positive impact of the OECD across a range of issues that affect the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. These issues include investment, taxation, trade, energy and environment, health, competition, consumer policy, bribery and corporate governance. 

“USCIB is delighted to welcome Representative Maloney as the next OECD Ambassador,” said USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird, who is a former Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the OECD. “The OECD is a critical forum for our members—it is uniquely open and receptive to the views and real-world experiences of the private sector. We look forward to working with Representative Maloney to support the OECD’s mission to promote global economic growth, which benefits American businesses, consumers, workers and taxpayers.”   

For decades, USCIB members have relied on the OECD as an institutional voice of evidence- and data-based policy guidance and assessment, influencing policies and practices in markets important to U.S. business competitiveness and to jobs generated for U.S. taxpayers. 

USCIB Joined Multi-Association Letter Opposing Expansion of WTO TRIPS Waiver 

Published on March 6, 2024

USCIB co-signed a multi-association letter to the Biden Administration at the end of February strongly opposing the proposed expansion of the WTO TRIPS waiver to cover COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. The letter was addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, USTR Katherine Tai, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and White House Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients.  

The letter advanced the same arguments USCIB made in its submission last year to the U.S. International Trade Commission (Investigation No. 332-596) on the TRIPS waiver extension: the extension would undermine innovation, global health security as well as research and development for products that are fundamental to fighting global crises. USCIB was deeply disappointed with the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines announced at the WTO in June 2022. Extending the waiver to diagnostics and therapeutics would further erode international rule of law.

As such, USCIB welcomed the outcome at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi last week to table this proposal.  

“For nearly 30 years, the WTO TRIPS Agreement has served its role well in providing the global legal architecture for supporting and driving innovation,” said USCIB Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment and Digital Policy Alice Slayton Clark. “The waiver extension would have represented a virtual death knell not only for the pharmaceutical industry but also for innovative industry writ large.” 

 

The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference Falls Short But Delivers Some Wins for Industry

Published on March 5, 2024

Renewal of e-commerce moratorium and intellectual property rights secured

New York, N.Y., March 04, 2024—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) welcomes outcomes from the WTO 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi on two key objectives for U.S. industry: a two-year extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and a rejection of efforts to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.

“If the moratorium had expired it would have been an historic setback, representing an unprecedented termination of a multilateral agreement that has allowed the digital economy to take root and grow over the past 25 years,” said President and CEO Whitney Baird who represented USCIB at the ministerial last week. “USCIB is similarly pleased that the WTO failed to extend a TRIPS waiver to diagnostics and therapeutics, a move that would have undermined innovative industries, global health security and international rule of law.”

Another positive outcome, according to Baird, 72 nations officially adopted the Joint Statement Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, simplifying rules for over 90 percent of the world’s trade in services. USCIB joined the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), for which it serves as the U.S. national committee, in welcoming the move. The agreement text had been concluded in December 2021. USCIB also hails progress at the WTO mapping out linkages and exploring best practices in consultation with industry on trade related aspects of circularity, climate, plastics and other policies aimed at advancing sustainability goals.

The outcomes in Abu Dhabi were mixed, however. USCIB is disappointed that MC13 failed to deliver agreements on agriculture, dispute settlement and fisheries, adding uncertainty to a multilateral trading system already under intense strain. “USCIB looks forward to working with the WTO to deliver outcomes in these sectors favorable to U.S. industry,” said Baird. “As the cornerstone for open, fair and reliable global trade, the WTO is too important to industry to fail.”

USCIB was on the ground in Abu Dhabi with a strong showing of member companies and the ICC, promoting robust digital and innovation safeguards, U.S. leadership on disciplines for sustainable trade, and enhanced roles for plurilateral negotiations and stakeholder engagement at the WTO.

About USCIB
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence.  Its members include U.S. based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world, generating $5 trillion in annual revenues and employing over 11 million workers worldwide. As the U.S. affiliate to several leading international business organizations, including the ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade and development. More at  www.uscib.org.

Baird Contributes to Business at OECD’s Consultation With OECD Leadership

Published on February 27, 2024
USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird

USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird joined business leaders from Business at OECD’s (BIAC) expansive global network for BIAC’s Annual Consultation with OECD leadership and ambassadors in Paris. The theme for this year’s consultation was Charting the Course for Competitiveness, urging the OECD to reinforce the competitiveness of market-based democracies.

Baird served as a business speaker on a discussion around inspiring a better future globally.

“In an increasingly geopolitical setting, business looks to the OECD and member governments for meaningful cooperation, pragmatic diplomacy, and effective inclusive multilateralism,” she said.

Rick Johnston

BIAC Chair Rick Johnston (Citigroup), who also serves on the USCIB Board and chairs USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee, led the delegation. Johnston also underscored BIAC priorities for OECD policymaking, stressing the need for the OECD to put a clearer spotlight on the cost and ease of doing business in its member countries.

According to BIAC, this strategic engagement at the outset of the year sets the tone for follow-up business advocacy with the OECD and its 38 Member States; BIAC is now preparing for the annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in May, which will be chaired by Japan.

USCIB Meets with OECD to Share US Industry Accession Priorities 

Published on February 21, 2024

USCIB organized a member briefing on February 14 with OECD officials to discuss the accession process and to share USCIB Members’ market access concerns regarding the five accession candidates: Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania. USCIB also shared with the OECD officials an updated business priorities document, detailing industry concerns for each of the accession candidates. 

Members learned that the candidacies of Croatia, Bulgaria, Peru and Romania are most advance as they consider the accession process a national priority. According to USCIB Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment and Digital Policy Alice Slayton Clark, Brazil is taking a more cautious position, setting up a working group on OECD matters to determine how to approach accession. Interestingly, the new administration of Javier Milei in Argentina seems committed to moving forward with adoption of a roadmap for accession after putting the invitation on pause for the past two years. Finally, Thailand has requested to accede, and the OECD announced this week it is opening accession talks with Indonesia, a process that will take many years.     

It was made clear during this meeting that OECD accession provides powerful leverage for adoption of reforms in candidate countries, an opportunity for industry to resolve market access concerns. It is imperative to act early in this regard and provide detailed input that can be incorporated into market openness reports used to measure candidate country readiness.  

One main area of concern raised during the discussion was candidate country positioning on the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, a question that will be considered at next week’s World Trade Organization (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi. USCIB urged that all OECD members and accession candidates fully support the moratorium to be in alignment with OECD research, principles and best practices. 

Click here to download USCIB’s OECD Accession Priorities document. 

USCIB Adopts a Comprehensive Strategy to Renew the WTO E-Commerce Moratorium   

Published on February 21, 2024

Ahead of the World Trade Organization (WTO) 13th Ministerial Council (MC13) next week, USCIB has been advocating extensively to extend the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.  

Among these efforts, as reported by Inside US Trade, was a multi-association letter signed by USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird, along with the presidents and CEOs of other associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The letter was sent to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, National Security Council’s Jacob J. Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard. 

USCIB also signed a Global Industry Statement urging the WTO to support the continuation of the Moratorium at MC13. The Statement, comprised of nearly 200 groups from more than 20 sectors in 130 countries, was covered by Politico. 

A few WTO members, such as India, Indonesia and South Africa, are threatening to block renewal of the moratorium for policy and political purposes. As such, USCIB joined several industry coalition letters to key government officials in these countries expressing concern about the potential collapse of this longstanding multilateral agreement and how it would negatively impact trade and investment in these economies.   

The letters argue that the moratorium is essential to the interests of millions of local enterprises and workers. The economic studies that analyze the potential impacts of customs duties show that countries hurt themselves by raising barriers and increasing costs for a wide variety of enterprises to access knowledge, information, data, and digital tools needed to compete in the global marketplace. 

For India, customs restrictions on the Internet are at odds with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a $1 trillion “Digital India” economy. In fact, such restrictions could well cause India’s digital economy to shrink rather than grow given its large share of software development and global data processing activity. If India imposes customs duties on inbound data transfers – coupled with restrictions on outbound data transfers proposed under various other measures – India will isolate itself from the world. 

USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird and USCIB Senior VP Alice Slayton Clark will be at MC13 in Abu Dhabi next week, where this topic will be a top priority. 

“Allowing the moratorium to expire would be a historic setback for the WTO, representing an unprecedented termination of a multilateral agreement in place nearly since the WTO’s inception – an agreement that has allowed the digital economy to take root and grow,” said Clark. “It risks destabilizing the very fabric of a multilateral trading system already under intense strain.” 

USCIB Contributes to TCC Stakeholder Session on Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling 

Published on February 6, 2024
Lisa Schroeter (Dow)

USCIB was a key participant in the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council’s (TTC) Transatlantic Initiative for Sustainable Trade (TIST) stakeholder event held in Washington, DC on January 31.   

USCIB Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment and Digital Policy Alice Slayton Clark led a roundtable with the Transatlantic Business Initiative (TBI) on Advancing a Transatlantic Circular Economy: Facilitating Circularity in Electric Vehicles Batteries Towards Better Regulatory Harmonization. USCIB member Lisa Schroeter (Dow) was one of several USCIB Members serving as lead contributors to the circularity discussion.   

The battery roundtable was designed by USCIB and TBI to assist the United States and EU in identifying regulatory challenges and barriers to circularity in EV battery production.  The goal is to encourage better green policy cooperation to further integrate transatlantic value chains and facilitate trade and investment in these areas.  

Alice Slayton Clark (USCIB)

According to Clark, TTC stakeholder sessions are critical to advancing the voice of business, providing private sector insights and ingenuity key to durable policy solutions. USCIB is grateful to be able to engage our companies in open dialogue on policy issues under the umbrella of transatlantic sustainable trade.  

“USCIB appreciated the opportunity for our members to be involved in the TIST with respect to EV recycling,” said Clark. “USCIB advances trade and regulatory coherence and we hope our members’ input at today’s session will help inform policymakers in the U.S. and the EU to achieve a more integrated and resilient transatlantic green marketplace.”