Alice Slayton Clark Archives

Competition

Published on January 18, 2024

Trends and Challenges Facing U.S. Business:

  • As antitrust enforcement continues to be aggressive, USCIB promotes sound competition enforcement and procedures domestically and globally.
  • The U.S. government looks to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and the Development (OECD) and the International Competition Network (ICN) to foster international convergence and cooperation on competition law, including merger reviews and antitrust enforcement.
  • U.S. companies need a unified voice to serve in both the OECD and ICN on competition law, international engagement, trade-related competition issues and mergers.

 

 

 

USCIB’s Response:

  • Through Business at OECD, Serve as a strong voice for business at both the OECD and the ICN on international convergence and cooperation discussions.
  • Promote international legal policies that favor an open and competitive environment for U.S. business.
  • Monitor global competition developments and contribute industry’s perspective through USCIB’s network.
  • Advise U.S. government officials, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, on business positions concerning international antitrust issues and secure support for those positions in international forums

Magnifying Your Voice with USCIB:

  • USCIB is the only U.S. business association formally affiliated with the world’s three largest business organizations where we work with business leaders across the globe to extend our reach to influence policymakers in key international markets to American business
  • We build consensus with like-minded industry peers and participate in off-the-record briefings with policymakers both home and abroad.

USCIB on LinkedIn

Chair

Dina Kallay
Head of Antitrust (IPR, Americas & Asia-Pacific)
Ericsson

Vice Chair

Jesus Alvarado-Rivera
Global Director, Antitrust
AB-InBev

Staff

Alice Slayton Clark
Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy
asclark@uscib.org

Ashley Harrington
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
aharrington@uscib.org

 

China

Published on January 18, 2024

Trends and Challenges Facing Companies in China:

  • The United States is the largest investor in China, and China is the United States’ third largest trading partner, with one of the largest economies in the world.
  • Despite being an important trading partner, trade-restrictive requirements persist for USCIB members doing business in China, including forced technology transfers, foreign investment restrictions, severe digital and cloud market access prohibitions, inadequate intellectual property protection, significantly disadvantaging and weakening the global competitiveness of U.S. companies.

USCIB’s Response:

  • Support resumption of bilateral dialogue and cooperation with China in order to stabilize relations, discuss disputes and effectively manage this extensive economic relationship that has been in downward spiral for several years.
  • Advance U.S. business concerns regarding China’s implementation of its WTO obligations and compliance with the “Phase One” U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement, specifically with USTR and the U.S. government interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee.
  • Promote Administration coordination with allies at the OECD, WTO, G20, G7 and other global forums on a collective approach to addressing security and supply chain concerns, distortive trade practices and securing a level playing field with China.
  • Oppose tariff wars and efforts to repeal Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China without meaningful consultation with industry and serious consideration of the economic harm it would cause.
  • Press for stronger, earlier and broader business engagement to ensure policies linked with economic security, such as investment screenings, are narrowly targeted and transparently implemented.
  • Monitor legislative and regulatory developments in the National People’s Congress and the central government in China

Magnifying Your Voice with USCIB:

  • USCIB is the only U.S. business association formally affiliated with the world’s three largest business organizations where we work with business leaders across the globe to extend our reach to influence policymakers in key international markets to American business.
  • We engage with our sister business organizations in China—the China Chamber of International Commerce (ICC China) and the China Enterprise Confederation (IOE China)—to address top issues facing U.S. companies engaged in trade and investment with China.
  • We build consensus with like-minded industry peers and participate in off-the-record briefings with policymakers both home and abroad.

USCIB on LinkedIn

Chair

Vacant

Staff

Alice Slayton Clark
Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy
asclark@uscib.org

Staff

Ashley Harrington
Policy & Program Assistant, Washington
aharrington@uscib.org

 

 

Trade and Investment

Published on January 15, 2024

Trends and Challenges Facing U.S. Business:

  • Open markets for trade and investment have contributed to macroeconomic stability, global prosperity and job growth in the United States and around the world. This truth is being eclipsed today by protectionist pressures and policies built on the false premise that market liberalization must be paused in order to advance social and environmental goals.
  • The U.S. must reclaim its leadership role in engaging partners on a clean and just economy while opening markets and leveling the playing field for U.S. goods, services, agriculture, digital, and investment.

USCIB’s Response:

  • Press for the resumption of U.S. leadership, including in global fora like the OECD and WTO, to advance U.S. business interests and confront discriminatory action against U.S. goods and services, unfair foreign trade practices, and denial of market access. Read about USCIB’s Advocacy Campaign on the OECD accession process.
  • Advocate for more trade and regional diversification to help businesses cushion shocks and sustain domestic operations while expanding economic opportunity for allies to join global production networks.
  • Caution against calls to onshore or localize production and urge close collaboration with industry to develop policies that minimize unintentional economic harm while advancing national or economic security interests.
  • Promote U.S. resolve in enforcing obligations under trade agreements like USMCA and in upholding commitments under WTO agreements, including the Agreements on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
  • Urge the return to long held U.S. positions in support of strong digital trade rules and progress on advancing 21st century standards for the full range of services trade.
  • Discourage counterproductive measures that undercut our international commitments or could lead to retaliatory measures that hurt U.S. companies and workers.
  • Maximize foreign direct investment and defend the provisions of international investment agreements that safeguard U.S. foreign investments and help investors obtain fair treatment without compromising legitimate regulation.
  • Encourage a truly inclusive consultation process that considers business views equally among stakeholders, to advance on-the-ground, pragmatic and innovative practices that safeguard our national economic interests.

Magnifying Your Voice with USCIB:

  • USCIB is the only U.S. business association formally affiliated with the world’s three largest business organizations where we work with business leaders across the globe to extend our reach to influence policymakers in key international markets to American business
  • We build consensus with like-minded industry peers and participate in off-the-record briefings with policymakers both home and abroad.

USCIB on LinkedIn

Chair

Charles R. (Rick) Johnston
Managing Director, Global Government Affairs
Citigroup Inc.

Staff

Alice Slayton Clark
Senior Vice President for Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy
asclark@uscib.org

Ashley Harrington
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
aharrington@uscib.org

 

 

USCIB Leads Business Delegation and Engages in High-Level Discussions at 2023 WTO Public Forum

Published on September 20, 2023
USCIB’s Alice Slayton Clark with WTO’s Angela Ellard and USCIB members at the 2023 WTO Public Forum

USCIB was in Geneva last week for the 2023 World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum alongside member companies and industry associations. The USCIB delegation advocated for member priorities, such as a high-level outcome and successful conclusion of the JSI on E-Commerce, a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, opposition to a waiver extension for COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics, a third round of negotiations to liberalize tariffs in information techonology products (ITA-3), and elimination of tariff and non-tariff measures on environmental goods and services.  

USCIB Vice President for International Investment and Trade Policy Alice Slayton Clark and Policy and Program Assistant Ashley Harrington led the USCIB delegation, facilitating meetings with WTO officials including WTO Deputy Director General Angela Ellard, Director of the WTO Trade and Environment Division Hoe Lim, issue experts from the U.S. Mission to the WTO and trade officials at the International Organization of Employers (IOE). Members immersed in detailed exchanges on the aforementioend concerns and also explored areas for industry inputs on circularity, environmental goods, climate mitigation, and plastics as part of the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD). 

L-R: Ashley Harrington and Alice Slayton Clark

Clark and Harrington activeily pariticipated in multi-association meetings with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on WTO reform and key issues being advanced as deliverables for the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024, as well as with ambassadors from Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore on semiconductor and digital technology concerns. Collaborations culminated in a joint U.S. industry reception at the WTO where scores of officials from WTO missions, policy experts and member companies gathered for an evening of networking and fun. 

Another treat for USCIB members in Geneva was the semi-annual meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Trade and Investment Policy Commission, where they were briefed by myriad WTO ambassadors and officials on the outlook for MC13 and interacted with the various ICC national committee representatives from around the globe. This all occured amid the backdrop of the WTO Public Forum, showcasing 134 panel discussion on how trade can contribute to a greener and more sustainable future.   

“USCIB delivered excellent engagement opportunities during these meetings, advocating positions and discussing creative solutions for the top concerns of our members,” said Clark. “We remain a determined voice for business and industry at the WTO and will continue to highlight policy issues that are important to our members and advance industry’s positions in multilateral discussions.” 

USCIB Releases 2023 Trade and Investment Agenda

Published on March 8, 2023

USCIB released to policymakers and the press its 2023 Trade and Investment Agenda, an annual paper outlining Member objectives for the year. The 2023 priorities include:  

  • Free, open and fair markets are imperative to competitiveness, well-paying skilled jobs and broad-based economic prosperity. 
  • Companies and workers depend on a stable, rules-based trading system to facilitate global commerce and support jobs. The WTO is the critical cornerstone of the global system and is important for bringing countries together to reach new agreements, monitor commitments and resolve disputes. 
  • Foreign direct investment strengthens the U.S. economy and is a key tool in spreading democracy and American values while helping emerging economies recover from the global pandemic, meet sustainable development goals and build green infrastructure consistent with the objectives of the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) initiatives. 
  • Agile and quick responses to emerging global trade and investment issues facilitate innovation, workforce resiliency and green development goals. To sustain its competitiveness, the U.S. must be at the forefront in shaping international rules for the new economy, especially in the areas of sustainability, circular economy, socio-economic equality, worker rights, digital policy and emerging technologies. 
  • It is important to hold trading partners accountable for commitments made in trade agreements, but any retaliatory actions should be exacted with proportionality, meaningful stakeholder consultation, and careful consideration of harmful impacts to domestic jobs, companies, and consumers. 
  • A robust, effective, and durable trade policy requires consultation, collaboration and good will between the branches of the U.S. government as well as with the business community. 

“The USCIB annual priorities paper is instrumental to Washington policymakers because it reflects the voice of a robust and diverse group of U.S.-based global companies representing $5 trillion in revenues and 11.5 million employees from every sector of the economy,” said USCIB VP for International Investment and Trade Policy Alice Slayton Clark. “Our members believe in free, open and fair markets as imperative to U.S. competitiveness, well-paying skilled jobs and broad-based economic prosperity.” 

USCIB’s priority paper was developed by the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee, which is chaired by Charles R. (Rick) Johnston, managing director for Global Government Affairs at Citigroup. 

The document underscores that, “as the world grapples with existential threats and economic disruptions posed by climate change, global pandemic, geostrategic challenges and hybrid warfare, it is imperative that the United States lead in shaping outcomes and partnerships that strengthen U.S. supply chains.” The United States must seize the opportunity to be at the forefront in securing open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence, Clark said.  

A summary document of the full 2023 agenda is available here.

USCIB Co-Hosts Webinar on Brazil and Peru’s OECD Accession Process

Published on December 7, 2022

USCIB and Baker McKenzie co-hosted an informational webinar on December 6 regarding Brazil and Peru’s accessions to the OECD. Approximately 140 private sector attendees, including USCIB members, participated in the meeting. USCIB Director for Trade, Investment and China Alice Slayton Clark outlined the OECD accession timeline, including roadmaps, initial memorandum, technical review and political assessment.

She also informed industry that the accession process provides a unique opportunity for leveraging business interests.  The OECD will be undertaking a rigorous assessment of the candidate country’s alignment with the relevant OECD instruments, policies and practices as well as with other rules, standards and benchmarks such as WTO agreements and other international conventions.

“This offers an excellent opportunity for companies to resolve a range of current business concerns with these candidate countries,” and USCIB is in an excellent position to help, Clark stressed. “As a member of Business at OECD (BIAC), we’re uniquely able to influence the committees, staff and delegations at the OECD who are undertaking the OECD accession reviews.”

Attorneys from Baker McKenzie Peru and Trench Rossi Watanabe* in Brazil also gave an analysis of the current political landscape in both countries with a focus on the developments or changes that are needed to achieve accession to the OECD, specifically related to trade and tax matters.

A recording of the event is now live.

Be sure to check out USCIB’s new webpage on OECD accession, providing members with latest information, including accession events, background papers and advocacy documents.

USCIB Submits Comments to USTR on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

Published on April 13, 2022

USCIB submitted comments this week on the trade aspects of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a new Biden Administration initiative to engage regional partners on economic and trade priorities. U.S. officials do not envision the IPEF to produce a traditional trade agreement, but to instead achieve better harmonization and liberalization in the areas of trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure, decarbonization, tax and anticorruption.

USCIB members welcome the initiative and seek ambitious results. With a population of 1.5 billion people, 62 percent of world-GDP and 46 percent of the world’s merchandise trade, the Indo-Pacific region offers significant market potential for American companies and the millions of workers they employ.

“We urge the Administration to pursue a substantive agreement with concrete outcomes, common standards, and strong rules that are enforceable and binding,” said USCIB Director for Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark.  “An affirmative economic strategy in the Indo-Pacific is critical to advancing U.S. economic and strategic interests.”

USCIB’s comments emphasized the importance of free market principles, particularly in the wake of COVID-19: “As the world rebounds from COVID-19, the United States can contribute to an inclusive, even and robust recovery with stronger trade engagement in the region, a goal made more urgent today as democracy, rule of law and free market principles come under challenge. The IPEF must strengthen U.S. relationships in the region, create more resilient supply chains and ultimately make U.S. allies less vulnerable to China’s economic coercion.”

USCIB Supports Strengthening Trade, Investment, Economic Ties in Indo-Pacific

Published on February 23, 2022

USCIB was among a dozen other trade associations in submitting a letter to the Biden Administration welcoming the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) initiative as part of the government’s Indo-Pacific strategy. USCIB’s engagement on the letter was led by USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Chair, Rick Johnston.

The letter stated: “We agree that strengthening trade, investment and economic ties with the region benefits all Americans. The United States needs an affirmative agenda with allies and key partners in the Indo-Pacific to advance shared economic and strategic interests. The United States, as well as our allies and key trading partners, would benefit most from an ambitious and comprehensive IPEF initiative with enforceable commitments, new market opportunities, and wide adoption of high standards.”

“It is critical that U.S. industry voices its support for Biden Administration leadership in engaging this important region of the world,” said USCIB Director for Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark.

According to the letter, the Indo-Pacific already accounts for $1.75 trillion in trade with the United States and thirty percent of U.S. goods and services exports, supporting millions of American jobs.

USCIB Commences 2022 With Robust Engagement With Biden Trade Officials

Published on February 2, 2022

USCIB is off to a vigorous start in 2022 in the area of business advocacy. In January, USCIB Director for Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark held three major committee meetings to bring USCIB members together with Biden Administration officials to discuss China, India and Indo-Pacific trade policy.

Launching this effort, the USCIB China Committee met January 11 for an off-the-record virtual discussion with Deputy Assistant USTR for China Affairs Tim Wineland regarding the key issues confronting the U.S.-China trade relationship. The meeting provided an opportunity for USCIB members to discuss the latest policy developments impacting relations with one of our largest trading partners; topics addressed included the Biden-Xi virtual leaders’ summit, the Administration’s new China trade policy and negotiating agenda for 2022, an assessment of the China Phase 1 trade agreement, and the U.S. plan to address industrial subsidies with China, among other concerns.

The following week, USCIB members met January 19 with Assistant USTR for South and Central Asia Chris Wilson and Deputy Assistant USTR Brendan Lynch for an update on the US-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) process and the chance to share trade concerns to help inform U.S. priorities as TPF working groups in the areas of agriculture (regulatory alignment), non-agriculture, intellectual property, and services (including digital) are formed for 2022.  A dialogue established by India and the United States in 2005, the TPF was on pause for several years until the Biden Administration relaunched it with an inaugural meeting November 23, 2021.

According to Clark, “the TPF is important to the elimination of trade barriers between the United States and India, and we are grateful to the Biden Administration for resetting the bilateral relationship by reviving this process.  It was important for USCIB members to talk with the negotiators and share their company concerns so the discussions can yield the best results for U.S. industry and its workers.”

Finally, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the Department of Commerce Pamela Phan joined the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee quarterly meeting January 27 to discuss the Biden Administration’s recently announced Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The IPEF is a Biden Administration initiative intended to reassert U.S. leadership and influence, particularly vis-à-vis China’s economic linkages in the region.  While IPEF is in its early stages, USCIB felt it important to engage with Administration officials now to help shape workstreams and expectations for the discussions ahead.

USCIB Launches Competition Webinar Series; First One Focuses on China

Published on January 26, 2022

The USCIB Competition Committee launched a new webinar series for 2022 titled “Updates in International Competition Law and Enforcement,” spotlighting antitrust developments in key jurisdictions around the globe.

The first event was held last week, focusing on China antitrust regulation and enforcement and featuring experts from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) China National Commission: Dr. Hao Zhan, managing partner at Anjie Law Firm Beijing and ICC Competition Commission regional ambassador to China, Susan Ning, senior partner and head of compliance department of King & Wood Mallesons in Beijing, and Song Ying, antitrust partner at Anjie Law Firm Beijing.

“We hope these webinars will benefit USCIB members, giving them the opportunity to learn from competition experts from around the globe on issues critical to their business,” said USCIB Director Investment, Trade and China Alice Slayton Clark.

Zhan discussed recent fundamental changes in China’s antitrust system, with consolidation in 2018 of three authorities into the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), a centralized, vice ministry level authority with more power to promulgate and enforce competition rules and laws. According to Zhan, this has ushered in a new era of antitrust enforcement in China with the establishment of the State Anti-Monopoly Bureau and more cases and higher penalties targeting mostly the media, finance, technology internet platform and pharmaceutical sectors.

Ning outlined the Anti-Monopoly Law, draft amendments released in October 2021 and the anti-monopoly guidelines on the platform economy enacted in February 2021. She discussed how the trend in China is to focus antitrust efforts on the platform economy, focusing on the role of algorithms and platform technologies being misused to exclude or coordinate with others in the marketplace.  Vertical, horizontal and hub and spoke relationships are all targeted. She also discussed the behavior patterns for big data killing, when platforms discriminate in pricing practices using algorithms to differentiate consumers and customary spending costs and described a few high-profile penalty decisions imposed on platform operators who hindered the flow of consumers between platforms – “picking one from the two” problem.

Finally Song described the recent history of anti-monopoly law development in China, highlighting a few of the key changes sought through AML amendments, most of which fall under merger control, addressing no safe harbor, aiding and abetting (liability of third parties), stop the clock, and higher penalties for gun jumping, for example.

Clark plans to host the next webinar in the spring, spotlighting European or Latin American antitrust enforcement practices.