Berlin Meetings Kick Off Germany’s G20 Host Year

Co-Chair Kathryn Porter, Hilton International; Co-Chair Mthunzie Mdwaba, IOE VP for Africa; Co-Chair Peter Robinson; Chair Gerhard Braun, Vice President of BDA
Co-Chair Kathryn Porter, Hilton International; Co-Chair Mthunzie Mdwaba, IOE VP for Africa; Co-Chair Peter Robinson; Chair Gerhard Braun, Vice President of BDA

On December 1, the first full meeting of B20 members during Germany’s G20 host year was held in Berlin. The B20 brings together private-sector representatives from each of the G20 nations and provides official input and advice to the G20. This year’s G20 Summit will be held July 7-8 in Hamburg. The B20 Summit will take place May 2-3 in Berlin.

USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson took part in the December 1 event in his capacity as a Co-chair of the B20 Employment and Education Task Force, which met in parallel with all other B20 Task Forces, and for which the IOE serves as Network Partner. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), for which USCIB also serves as U.S. affiliate, serves as Network Partner for other B20 Task Forces including Trade and Investment.

Because of the compressed schedule for 2017 – the G20 Summit has generally been held in the fall – Germany is proceeding with an accelerated work plan, and has entered into close cooperation with the B20 in support of a manageable yet ambitious agenda.

The December 1 conference brought together all Task Forces and cross-thematic groups. It gave members of various B20 working groups the opportunity to continue their work on policy proposals, and featured addresses by leading G20 and B20 representatives. The conference was opened by German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble and B20 Chairman Jürgen Heraeus. Lars-Henrik Röller, Head of the Federal Chancellery’s Economic and Finance Division and G7/G20 Sherpa, also participated. His B20 counterpart, Stormy-Annika Mildner of BDI, played an important organizational role in the conference.

B20 Germany is co-hosted by the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK)—all three USCIB partners in its global network for Business at OECD/BIAC, International Organization of Employers (IOE), and ATA Carnet, respectively.

The theme of the Conference was “Resilience, Responsibility, Responsiveness—Towards a Future-Oriented, Sustainable World Economy.” The B20 issued a statement calling for open markets and inclusive growth, entitled “Make Trade Work for Everybody. Initiated in response to troubling emotional rhetoric taking place around the world, the statement began with:

“The B20 is deeply concerned about current anti-globalization sentiments, which can be witnessed in many countries around the world. Increasingly, communities are voicing strong opposition to trade liberalization and international investment. We need to take these concerns seriously and support communities during times of change and disruption. At the same time, seemingly easy solutions risk having long-term negative consequences for business, workers, and consumers. We urge governments to resist the temptation to resort to protectionist measures such as trade barriers or investment restrictions”

Click here to read a B20 Statement for Open Markets and Inclusive Growth

G20 Scorecard

At the Berlin meetings, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) unveiled the latest edition of ICC G20 Business Scorecard, rating G20 responsiveness to key business policy priorities for growing the global economy, while revealing important missed opportunities G20 nations group to advance international trade and key international policy frameworks.

ICC Secretary General John Danilovich noted that ICC “is encouraged to see that G20 work is becoming increasingly responsive to priority recommendations put forward each year by business that aims to spur economic growth and job creation.”

The 2016 ICC Scorecard examined 25 business priorities developed during the Chinese B20 cycle and rates the G20’s responsiveness across seven policy areas. The overall score of 2.3 out of 3.0 across all seven policy categories marks the highest overall score since ICC began its monitoring. However, despite the positive overall trend, progress is shown to be uneven.

Click here to view the full results of the ICC Scorecard.

Staff Contact:   Kira Yevtukhova

Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 202.617.3160

Kira Yevtukhova manages USCIB’s print and online publications, including the website, e-newsletter and quarterly magazine, and serves as the organization’s digital media strategist. Prior to this role, Kira worked for over five years within USCIB’s Policy Department, focusing on climate change, environment, nutrition, health, and chemicals related policy issues. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and has an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
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