USCIB Washington Update: May – June, 2019

During the months of May and June 2019, USCIB Staff met with Angela Ellard, House Ways & Means Minority Chief Trade Counsel, Christa Brzozwski, DHS, Nick Gardner, US Dairy Export Council, and Martin Kreienbaum, German Federal Ministry of Finance, issued recommendations on the WTO e-Commerce negotiations, hosted the 14th Annual OECD International Tax Conference, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last three months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

  1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
  1. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
  1. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
  1. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
  1. Anti-Illicit Trade – Promoting Strong International AIT Leadership and Advocating a Comprehensive and Multi-Disciplinary Approach to AIT
  1. Food and Agriculture – Promoting an Open and Efficient Global Food System by Providing Industry Expertise
  1. China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

  1. Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment
  1. Membership
  2. Upcoming Events
  3. Staff List

 Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment 

Angela Ellard, House Ways & Means, Briefs USCIB Trade Committee: At the June 20 meeting of the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee members received a briefing from Angela Ellard, Minority Chief Trade Counsel, House Ways & Means Committee. She shared her immediate impressions of Ambassador Lighthizer’s hearing the day prior, indicated that USMCA is a top priority and responded to questions on a range of other trade issues. This was followed by a briefing from Nick Ashton Hart of the Digital Trade Network, who called into the meeting directly after the conclusion of the WTO E-Commerce negotiations in Geneva. The most recent round of negotiations took place from June 18-20. Nick was able to provide an in depth, off-the-record briefing on the negotiations as the only business representative present in the room for the negotiations.

USCIB Statement on WTO e-Commerce Negotiations: In early June, USCIB issued Recommendations on the WTO e-Commerce negotiations, reflecting member priorities and goals for the negotiations, which had their first round in May. At the December 2017 WTO ministerial in Buenos Aires, 71 countries agreed to begin discussing new global rules to facilitate the expansion of the digital economy. The negotiations were formally launched in January with a joint statement by 76 countries, including the United States, in Davos at the World Economic Forum. As of the most recent round, the joint statement initiative now includes 78 WTO members, representing 90% of global trade. USCIB encouraged negotiators to focus on trade facilitation, services, digital trade, and transparency and trust. In addition to this paper, USCIB is actively engaging in the negotiations in Geneva via various efforts, including the Digital Trade Network and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Robinson on the Road (1): OECD and “Business at OECD” Annual High-Level Sessions: USCIB President/CEO Peter Robinson was one of the leaders of the Business at OECD (BIAC) delegation participating in the OECD’s annual Ministerial session in Paris May 22-23. Peter also attended the OECD’s pre-Ministerial Forum and was able to have a series of bilateral meetings with senior government representatives from the U.S. and other OECD countries, senior OECD officials including Secretary General Gurria and the newly-appointed Deputy Secretary General from the U.S., Jeffrey Schlagenhauf. Peter also attended, along with Business at OECD Vice Chair Rick Johnston (Citi), the annual BIAC General Assembly of its 30 national committees members and the 5th annual B20/G20/BIAC/OECD dialogue session ahead of the June G20 Osaka Summit, an opportunity for business to share recommendations to the G20 leaders and Sherpas.

Robinson on the Road (2): ICC High-Level Meetings: The following week, May 28-29, in Paris Peter Robinson shifted into International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) mode, representing USCIB at the ICC’s “Permanent Heads” meeting (i.e. Peter’s National Committee head counterparts from around ICC’s broad global network) and the ICC “World Council”. A special “Knowledge Solutions” session was held, at which ICC Secretary General John Denton and his leadership team laid out their vision, priorities, and structure for the organization, and which also included leadership representatives from some of ICC’s policy Commissions. A special ICC Centenary Summit was held to mark ICC’s 100th year, which was addressed by senior governmental and intergovernmental officials and at which previous ICC Chairmen and Secretaries-General were present.

Robinson on the Road (3): Geneva and London – ILO Leadership and Partnership with ICC-UK: after a short break at home, Peter was off to Geneva to participate, June 17-18, along with USCIB Vice President Gabriella Rigg Herzog, Senior Counsels Ronnie Goldberg and Tom Mackall, and several USCIB member company representatives in events at and around the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) ten-day centennial International Labor Conference. While in Geneva, Peter attended the Presidents Forum of the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and was a featured panelist, along with ILO DG Guy Ryder, WTO DG Roberto Azevedo, World Bank SVP Mahmoud Mohieldin, OECD Chief of Staff Gabriela Ramos, ITUC DG Sharan Burrow and others at an ILO event on “Multilateralism for an Equitable Future of Work.” Peter was also able to have a series of very useful informal bi-laterals with key government and international organization leaders. Peter then stopped in London on his way home, joining a panel at ICC-UK’s annual general meeting, presenting USCIB views on the future of the WTO, the multilateral trading system, and the just-launched WTO e-commerce negotiations. Peter also was invited to join and speak to ICC-UK’s Board meeting about current USCIB/ICC-USA priorities.

Hampl Discusses China and USMCA at Investor Conference: USCIB Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, Eva Hampl, spoke on a panel entitled Trade & Tariffs – Today & Tomorrow at the annual MLP & Energy Infrastructure Conference (MEIC 2019) in Las Vegas, May 14-16. The panel, which also included Colin Bird from the Embassy of Canada and Karen Antebi from the Embassy of Mexico, provided a macro perspective on current trade issues. The discussion focused on various issues surrounding China, the importance of the U.S. trade relationship with Mexico and Canada, including the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), and other trade issues.

Donnelly Meets with Swiss Government Official: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly met May 14 with visiting senior Swiss Government official, Phillippe Nell, Director for the Americas in the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (“SECO”), to exchange views on a range of bilateral and global trade and economic issues, including WTO reform, China, new U.S. national security review procedures for incoming Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and possibilities for a U.S. – Switzerland trade agreement.

USCIB Board of Directors Focuses on Trade Policy Developments: USCIB’s Board of Directors at its Spring meeting in New York City on May 15, had a wide-ranging discussion of key trade issues. The Board focused on issues including “section 232” national security reviews of imported steel, aluminum, and automobiles; prospects for congressional approval of the U.S./Mexico/Canada Agreement (USMCA); U.S.-China trade tensions; as well as WTO priorities, negotiation of an e-commerce agreement and institutional reform of the WTO. The Board endorsed the leadership role and the strong policy positions USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee have been articulating.

USCIB Leading Business Voice on UNCITRAL Negotiations on Investment Agreement “Reform”: USCIB staff members have been meeting regularly with U.S. government investment negotiators and lawyers participating in the negotiations under the auspices of the UN’s Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group 3. Those discussions of possible revisions to the vast network of 3000+ Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”) as well as investment chapters in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) around the world are zeroing in on key enforcement details, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement “ISDS” provisions. On April 29, USCIB staff met with the key US negotiators from the State Department and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative to review developments. On May 23, USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was a rare business participant amidst a sea of lawyers in the discussion of the UNCITRAL negotiations at the open public meeting of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law. USCIB is continuing to urge the U.S. Government and other participants to maintain strong substantive investment protections as well as enforcement provisions.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

 USCIB Members Shape Launch of OECD Review of 2013 Privacy Guidelines, Advance Work on Security, Data Governance, & Communications Issues: Business should assume responsibility for the privacy of data through its life cycle by conducting rigorous and documented risk assessments and mitigation, ensuring transparency through both internal and external audits, continually monitoring and testing to prevent gaps, and generally going above and beyond what is required by law. This was an important message delivered USCIB members who participated in a special OECD workshop on May 6 aimed at a advancing the mandated five-year review of the 2013 OECD Guidelines Governing the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (the “Privacy Guidelines”). The May 6-7 meetings of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) Working Party Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE), also moved forward work focused on revising an OECD Recommendation on the Protection of Children Online, developing principles for access to and sharing of data, advancing the Global Forum for Digital Security for Prosperity, and adopting the draft Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence. AT&T provided a critical review of the OECD’s work on bundled communication price baskets, which was considered at the May 7 meeting of the Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP).

USCIB Convenes Meeting with Co-Director of the UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation Secretariat: USCIB convened a private, luncheon discussion on June 13 with Ambassador Amandeep Gill, Co-Director of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (HLPDC) Secretariat. The meeting was especially timely since the HLPDC report, The Age of Digital Interdependence, was hot off the press having been issued on June 10. USCIB members reiterated key points in our November 2018 and January 2019 submissions, urging a “holistic approach” to digital policy that went beyond use of digital technologies by the information, communications, and technology (ICT) sector, and considered how ICTs can serve as enablers for innovations across all sectors, such as in healthcare, education, finance, and energy, to name a few. Members cautioned against creating duplicative Internet governance mechanisms, urged increased resources to support the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and encouraged the HLPDC to integrate the OECD’s work on Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation as well as draw upon initiatives of standards organizations, such as the IEEE.

USCIB Engages with U.S. Department of Justice and State about International Initiatives Focused on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity: The June 13 meeting of the ICT Policy Committee featured discussions with Department of Justice officials about efforts currently underway to negotiate an additional protocol to the so-called Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. The changes are aimed at bringing the Convention up to date with developments in the digital economy, improve on the current Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) approach, and generally expand international cooperation to pursue various computer crimes. An important over-arching theme was that cybercrime (e.g. fraud and other crimes involving computers) should not be conflated with cybersecurity, the latter of which centers on the protection of networks. Complementing the cybercrime discussion, USCIB members explored with key State Department officials the latest developments in the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications (GGE), which enjoys U.S. support. The GGE is structured to convene regular institutional dialogue on cybersecurity issues as well as bilateral and regional discussions that feed into the UN General Assembly. In the run-up to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, however, the Russian Government put forward a competing proposal for a cybersecurity-focused Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG). The U.S. Government abstained on grounds that the OEWG’s work likely will be strongly influenced by Russia’s support for mechanisms to censor online content. Nevertheless, the OEWG kicked off an organization meeting on June 3 and likely will proceed ahead of the GGE process. The State Department speaker informed USCIB members that stakeholders accredited by ECOSOC may participate in the OEWG as observers; the GGE is a multilateral process involving governments only.

USCIB Members Advocate for Timely Development of a GDPR-Compliant Uniform Access Model (UAM) for Nonpublic Registration Data at ICANN 65: ICANN 65’s policy-focused meeting wrapped up on June 27 in Marrakech, Morocco. Barbara Wanner, USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy, and members from AT&T, Amazon, BT, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, and VeriSign, joined participants from the multi-stakeholder community to address key policy issues in management of the domain name system. For the past year, USCIB members have been contributing actively to an Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) to develop a formal policy to ensure that ICANN and the industry of more than 1,000 generic top-level domain (gTLD) registries and registrars meet existing ICANN contractual requirements concerning the collection of and access to registration data as well as comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The EPDP’s Phase 1 Final Report was issued earlier this year, which contained 29 policy recommendations. USCIB members who participate in the ICANN’s Business and Intellectual Property Constituencies used the Marrakech meeting to underscore the importance of moving expeditiously in “Phase 2.” This phase will focus on designing a Uniform Access Model (UAM) to enable third-party access to non-public WHOIS data for legitimate law enforcement, consumer protection, brand management, and intellectual property (IP) protection purposes. Wanner serves on the Business Constituency’s Executive Committee.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Holds Successful Tax Conference with the OECD and Business at OECD: The fourteenth annual OECD/USCIB Tax Conference took place on June 3rd and 4th at the Four Seasons in Washington, DC. The conference focused on the taxation of the digitalizing economy and provided the first opportunity for business and governments to discuss the OECD’s work program. The conference also considered treaty issues and the tax implications of Brexit. Tax Committee Chair, Bill Sample, and Vice Chairs, Tim McDonald, Louise Weingrod, and Will Morris represented business views at the conference. Economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s keynote remarks focused on ways to improve the tax capacity of emerging markets, which are expected to receive a growing share of global private-sector investment in the years ahead

Other panelists and speakers at this year’s conference included:

  • Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy & Administration
  • Martin Kreienbaum, director general for international taxation, German Ministry of Finance
  • Chip Harter, deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, U.S. Treasury
  • Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria
  • Doug O’Donnell, commissioner of the Large Business and International Division, IRS
  • Mike Williams, director of business and international tax, HM Treasury (UK).

USCIB Tax Committee Meets in Conjunction with OECD/USCIB Tax Conference: The USCIB Tax Committee met with Martin Kreienbaum, which afforded committee members a deep dive on some of the issues discussed at the Tax Conference. The committee also considered ways to provide input into the OECD work program and recent guidance on Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Carol Doran Klein Represents Business Views at the Pacific Rim Tax Conference in Palo Alto: USCIB’s tax expert Carol Doran Klein presented at the ninth annual Pacific Rim Tax Conference on Digital Economy Tax Issues, held May 9-10 in California. Doran Klein’s panel covered the ongoing work on taxation of the digitalizing economy at the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the United Nations. The panel provided an overview of the background including Action 1 of the OECD’s Base-Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, digital services taxes and other unilateral interim measures, and the different options under consideration at the OECD.

USCIB Submits Comments to Regulators: USCIB submitted comments on proposed regulations on Foreign Derived Intangible Income and on draft UN transfer pricing guidance. The comments can be found under the recent accomplishments section of our web page.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

USCIB and U.S. Chamber Hold WCO E-Commerce Industry Day Meeting: On May 21, 2019, USCIB members along with many U.S. government agency partners (CBP, DHS, USTR, State, Treasury), and non-member associations working on customs issues (IRU, US Fashion Industry Association, American Association of Importers and Exporters), came together to discuss the WCO E-Commerce Framework of Standards. The meeting was led by Christa Brzozwski of DHS, and Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Chair, Jerry Cook of Hanes brand. The goal of the meeting was to ensure that the USG have enough “industry” support for their positions going into the June Policy Commission Meeting and it was felt that this goal was achieved.

Anti-Illicit Trade – Promoting Strong International AIT Leadership and Advocating a Comprehensive and Multi-Disciplinary Approach to AIT

USCIB Anti-Illicit Trade Committee Talks FTZ Legislation: On June 10, 2019, USCIB hosted Paul Massaro, Policy Advisor for the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Gary Kalman, Executive Director for the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition to discuss future FTZ legislation and the Corporate Transparency Act. Massaro explained how the Helsinki Commission has engaged and become a part of the US task force on illicit trade while Kalman elaborated on the international development of the FACT coalition within the illicit finance background. At the meeting, Megan Giblin and David Luna, Committee Chair, provided updates on AITC partnerships including possible FTZ workshop, meetings with State and APEC, as well as beginning discussions with ICC BASCAP.

Food and Agriculture – Promoting an Open and Efficient Global Food System by Providing Industry Expertise

USCIB Holds Joint Food and Agriculture and Health Care Committee Meeting: On June 5, 2019, Nick Gardner, Director, Codex and International Regulatory Affairs at the US Dairy Export Council, met with USCIB members to provide a detailed overview and insight into Codex Alimentarius and its involvement with food safety. Gardner emphasized the overarching issue with WHO and FAO jointly administering Codex, which poses several challenges, such as major trade implications and access to new markets/trade to existing markets. Additionally, at the meeting, Mike Michener discussed important upcoming events, including the ECOSOC High Level Political Forum (July 9-18) and the UN General Assembly (September, 17-30).

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

 USCIB Submits Comments on China Tariffs and Hampl Testifies: USCIB submitted comments on June 17 to the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the proposed modification to Section 301 regarding China’s policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The submission expressed concern that proposed tariffs on essentially all Chinese imports will stifle the U.S. economy and will not achieve the Administration’s goal of changing China’s behavior. Eva Hampl, Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services testified on these issues before the Section 301 Committee on June 21 as part of a hearing spanning 7 days and with over 300 witnesses. USCIB also joined with the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland Coalition, alongside 661 other companies and association, to send a letter to President Trump on June 13 urging the administration to negotiate a strong deal with China that addresses longstanding structural issues, improves U.S. global competitiveness and eliminates tariffs.

Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

USCIB Urges Reversal of 1-800 Contacts FTC Ruling: USCIB filed an amicus brief with regards to 1-800 Contacts, Inc. case to highlight the challenges American businesses would face under the recent Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decision’s approach to antitrust liability for trademark settlements, and explain the potential negative impacts the decision would have on businesses, consumers and competition if left to stand. Earlier this year, the FTC decided to impose antitrust liability against 1-800 Contacts, the largest online retailer of contact lenses in the U.S., on the basis that 1-800 Contacts’ settlements of trademark infringing lawsuits against at least fourteen competing online contact lens retailers restricted trade. Among other things, USCIB’s amicus argues that the Commission’s decision ignores the critical importance to business of intellectual property rights and its enforcement and would unfairly require the lawful exercise of such rights to a higher pro-competition standard.

Membership

Membership Meetings: The USCIB membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies Nissan North America, Expedia, Astellas, and American Express to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs. In addition, the USCIB membership department and USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson met with representatives from member companies AT&T and Intel Corporation.

New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Palo Alto Networks as a new member.

Upcoming Events:

  • OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy, Paris, France – July 1-2
  • UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), New York, NY – July 9-18
  • USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Meeting, Washington, DC – July 10
  • USCIB Foundation-IOE-Deloitte SDG Summit, New York, NY – July 17
  • US Customs & Border Protection 2019 Trade Symposium, Chicago, Illinois – July 23-24
  • Internet Governance Forum USA (IGF-USA), Washington, DC – July 25
  • Meeting of APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup, Puerto Varas, Chile – August 18-21
  • Preparing for the Future of Work: A USCIB Foundation Dialogue, Washington, DC – September 5
  • 11th Annual Engaging Business Forum on Business and Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia – September 12-13
  • World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – October 28-November 22
  • ICANN 66, Montreal, Canada – November 2-7
  • Meetings of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Working Parties, Paris France – November 18022
  • 14th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), Berlin, Germany – November 25-29

 

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Associate, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Daniella Goncalves
Assistant Policy and Program Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5083 or dgoncalves@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Associate, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Kendall Thibeadeau
Policy and Program Associate, New York
212-703-5095 or kthibeadeau@uscib.org

Ashley Harrington
Policy and Program Associate, Washington
202-682-5861 or aharrington@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update: December, January, February 2018-2019

Highlighting Key Activities, December, January, and February 2018-2019

During the months of December, January, and February 2018-2019, USCIB Staff submitted comments on potential trade agreements with Japan, the EU, and the UK, testified on a potential trade agreement with the UK, issued recommendations in on how business can support WTO reform, met with Nan Fife at the State Department on OECD issues, provided two sets of comments on drafts of the B20 Tokyo Summit Joint Recommendations, met with State department officials following the ITU Plenipotentiary Meeting and IGF, provided input on the development of a 21st Century Customs Framework, commented on proposals concerning determining the foreign tax credit and the Base Erosion Anti-abuse Tax, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last three months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

Membership

Upcoming Events

Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

Business Pushes for Comprehensive Trade Deal with Japan: USCIB submitted comments in late 2018 to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) outlining negotiating objectives for a U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement. USCIB supports negotiation of a comprehensive trade agreement with Japan as part of a broader strategy to open international markets for U.S. companies and remove barriers and unfair trade practices in support of U.S. jobs. USCIB outlined its priority issues, which include digital trade, intellectual property, media and entertainment services, investment, customs and trade facilitation, express delivery services, electronic payment services, regulatory coherence, government procurement and financial services. The Administration has released negotiating objectives for a U.S.-Japan FTA, negotiations for which are due to begin soon.

USCIB Submits Negotiation Objectives for U.S.-EU Trade Deal: USCIB submitted negotiation objectives for a U.S.-EU Trade Agreement to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on December 11, 2018. The submission was filed in response to USTR’s request for comments and emphasized the importance of a comprehensive negotiation, covering not only market access for goods, but also critical services issues. The USTR request for comments follows the administration’s announcement to Congress on October 16, 2018 of its intention to initiate negotiations on a U.S.-EU Trade Agreement. USCIB supports negotiation of a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU as part of a broader strategy to open international markets for U.S. companies and remove barriers and unfair trade practices in support of U.S. jobs. USCIB priority issues for negotiation of a U.S.-EU agreement include investment, customs and trade facilitation, express delivery services, improved regulatory cohesion, digital trade, intellectual property, government procurement and SOEs, and financial services.

U.S.-UK Trade Agreement: USCIB Submits Negotiating Objectives and Hampl Testifies: USCIB submitted negotiating objectives for a high standard and comprehensive U.S.-UK Trade Agreement on January 16, 2019. USCIB’s submission was based on the assumption that the UK will be successful in exiting the EU, allowing for the ability to negotiate trade agreements with trade partners outside of the EU. Priority issues for negotiations of a U.S-UK Trade Agreement include digital trade (including cross border data flows, forced localization, cybersecurity and digital taxation), intellectual property, media and entertainment services, financial services, electronic payment services, customs and trade facilitation, express delivery services, regulatory cohesion, investment, government procurement, and chemicals. Eva Hampl, Senior Director, Investment Trade and Financial Services, provided testimony before the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) at the public hearing on January 29, 2019.

USCIB Urges Removal of Steel and Aluminum Tariffs in USMCA: USCIB joined a coalition of other trade and industry organizations to send a letter to Secretary Wilbur Ross and Ambassador Robert Lighthizer on January 23, 2019, regarding the 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The coalition, recognizing the importance of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement ratification to the economic interests of all three countries, underscored the importance of lifting these tariffs, as well as the removal of all retaliatory tariffs on trade among the three countries.

WTO Modernization: USCIB Recommendations and Robinson Op-Ed: As World Trade Organization (WTO) member governments move forward this year with efforts to reform the WTO, USCIB issued recommendations in January 2019 on how business can support the WTO and its efforts to improve the organization. USCIB’s recommendations also noted the importance of the WTO as a cornerstone of the global rules-based trading system that has helped spread growth and development for decades. They focused on addressing subsidies and other market-distorting support provided to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the establishment of new rules for current issues such as digital trade and customs processes on electronic transmissions, and ensuring a properly functioning appellate body, among others. USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson appealed for a strong business role in efforts to modernize the global trade body in an Op-Ed published in The Hill. Robinson wrote that he views of the private sector, which has a direct stake in the rules that result from such government-to-government discussions, should be actively solicited and given careful consideration by WTO member states.

Broad-Based Business Coalition to Press for USMCA Adoption: The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s most successful global companies, has joined with an array of U.S. companies and industry associations to urge swift approval by Congress of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), an updated and modernized framework for expanded trade, investment and market integration in North America. The USMCA Coalition, encompassing more than 200 leading companies and major associations representing farmers and ranchers, manufacturers, service providers and technology companies, was formally launched on February 26, 2019.

BIAC Chair O’Reilly Talks/Listens to USCIB: The Chair of “Business at OECD” or Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), Phil O’Reilly met in person in New York, and by video link to Washington, on January 11, 2019, with USCIB Board members, committee chairs and staff. Phil reported on BIAC’s annual meeting with the OECD senior leadership (Secretary General Gurria, Deputy Sec Gens, and key ambassadors) and laid out BIAC’s agenda and priorities for 2019. Rick Johnston of Citi and a Vice-Chair of the BIAC Board, also offered his perspectives on BIAC priorities and challenges and on where the OECD is heading. Russel Mills, the new BIAC Secretary General, also called in for the session. Russel has long experience in the U.S. chemical industry (Dow and Dupont) and was long-time Chair of BIAC’s Environment committee. We had an excellent, candid discussion with Phil O’Reilly. BIAC is in good hands.

USCIB Team and Members Discuss with Senior State Department Leaders Business Access/Treatment at UN Agencies: USCIB and some key member companies have become increasingly worried about discrimination against business in several U.N agencies, including but not limited to the World Health Organization. We have been active in raising these concerns with the U.S. Missions to the UN in New York City, Geneva, and Rome as well as to the International Organizations (“IO”) Bureau at the Department of State. On January 24, 2019, despite the challenges of the government shutdown, key leaders from the IO Bureau came to USCIB’s Washington office e for a very candid discussion with key member companies and staff about business treatment access in the parts of the UN system. We followed that up with a more detailed meeting with State IO experts at the Department on February 15. USCIB VPs Norine Kennedy, Mike Michener and Shaun Donnelly are taking the lead on this important work. The State Department and our U.S. Mission have been great partners, as have some international counterparts in our global network, but this will be a long-term issue with parts of the UN system and a top priority for USCIB.

USCIB Talks OECD with State Department: On February 12, 2019, USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, Rob Mulligan, led a USCIB staff team in a detailed meeting with the OECD “desk” team at the Department of State which coordinates overall U.S. dealings with the OECD and backstops the U.S. Mission to the OECD in Paris. Nan Fife, Director of the Economic Policy and Public Diplomacy office in state’s Economic and Business (“EB”) Bureau led the State team. We had an excellent, frank exchange on a range of issues related to the OECD and ended up in agreement on assessments and priorities, and concerns. One important development we will be actively monitoring is progress in getting a new U.S. Ambassador confirmed and out to Paris on the ground. Pamela Bates, an experienced former State Department economist, has been quickly renominated after her earlier nomination (and many others) expired at the of the previous Congressional session. Getting Ms. Bates confirmed and on-the-job in advance of the OECD’s annual May Ministerial is an important priority for USCIB and for State.

Donnelly Talks Business and BIAC Issues at Training Session for USG Delegates to OECD: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was a panelist again this year at the third annual “Delegates Training Session” organized and hosted by our State Department partners who coordinate all OECD work. State annually invites all U.S. Government employees (senior or junior) from all USG agencies who represent the USG at any OECD Committee, Working Group, or other meeting to this all-day training session on “how to be an effective delegate/advocate” and broad USG policies and priorities regarding the OECD. Again this year, our State colleagues devoted a lengthy session to the importance of coordinating with the U.S. private sector, featuring the USCIB and BIAC network. Shaun, the only business panelist, explained BIAC and USCIB, our unique roles, and how we operate. He was joined on the panel by three USG experts active in their respective OECD committees and with USCIB. We appreciate State organizing the session, for the focus on working with the private sector, and especially for including USCIB.

USCIB Discusses Digital Trade with Nick Ashton-Hart: On January 16, 2019, USCIB staff met with Nick Ashton-Hart, the Geneva Representative of the Digital Trade Network (DTN), as well as representative of ICC United Kingdom on the UK delegation to the meetings of the International Telecommunications Union. USCIB is part of the DTN along with a few other ICC national committees and several companies. The DTN is focused on supporting the effort in the WTO to move forward on the E-Commerce initiative, which is a priority issue for USCIB.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

State Department Officials Explore Challenges in Internet Governance with USCIB Members Following 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary Meeting and 2018 Internet Governance Forum: The ICT Policy Committee Meeting on December 13, 2018, featured discussions with State Department officials about the implications of year-end initiatives that potentially could affect governance of the Internet stemming from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary, October 29-November 16, 2018 in Dubai, UAE, the 2018 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), November 12-14, 2018, in Paris, France, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace. The ITU Plenipotentiary meeting included positive, precedent-setting developments – namely, the election of U.S. candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin to Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau. In addition, through thoughtful pre-meeting diplomacy, the U.S. Government was able to derail problematic resolutions that would have brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity under the ITU’s purview. Nevertheless, State Department officials urged USCIB members remain vigilant in 2019 to prevent ITU “mission creep.” Concerning the 2019 IGF, State Department officials and USCIB members both concurred that President Macron’s opening speech – in which he called for greater regulation of the Internet, among other issues – was concerning and raises questions about whether the IGF will remain a forum for discussion or face growing pressure to produce policy outputs. Similarly, the group agreed that if President Macron’s “Paris Call,” which was a non-binding statement of support for cybersecurity principles, was brought into the UN process, the transition from a single-nation to a multilateral initiative could pose problems for the United States and U.S. business.

USCIB Members Provide Inputs Aimed at Shaping Japan’s B20 Report: Working under exceedingly tight deadlines, USCIB members from the ICT Policy Committee, the Trade and Investment Committee, the Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee, and the Tax Committee provided two sets of comments during the month of January 2019 concerning the first and second drafts of the B20 Tokyo Summit Joint Recommendations. Under the theme, “Society 5.0 for SDGs,” USCIB members emphasized the following: (1) promote interoperability of risk-based security and privacy protection standards across jurisdictions so as to ensure free flow of data, information, ideas and knowledge across borders; (2) foster e-commerce by ensuring free business decision regarding the location of computing facilitates and confidentiality of corporate information; (3) firmly commit to not imposing customs duties and processes on electronic transmissions, permanently; (4) prevent the weakening of intellectual property protections and enforcement mechanisms that underpin trade in digital content and products; and (5) support the OECD Inclusive Framework process to develop a consensus, income-tax based solution that can be applied to the broader digitalized economy. USCIB members further urged G20 governments to resist the temptation to regulate emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, recognizing that such efforts cannot keep pace with rapid technological innovation.

USCIB Members Follow Up Comments to UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation by Urging a Holistic Approach to Digital Policy-Making: On January 17, the ICT Policy Committee followed up its November 30, 2018 submission to the U.N. High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (HLPDC) by addressing specific questions posed by the panel secretariat. By urging a “holistic approach” to digital policy, USCIB clarified that the approach envisioned would go beyond use of digital technologies by the information, communications, and technology (ICT) sector, and consider how ICTs can serve as enablers for innovations across all sectors, such as in healthcare, education, finance, and energy, to name a few. “This requires cutting across policy silos and different departments and agencies within governments and intergovernmental bodies, which we refer to as “whole-of-government,” USCIB stated. Members further urged that governments should strengthen their collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to create flexible, forward-looking and integrated policy frameworks. The HLPDC was established by the UN Secretary-General in July 2018 to advance proposals to strengthen cooperation in the digital realm and contribute to the broader global dialogue on how interdisciplinary and cooperative approaches can help ensure a safe and inclusive digital future.

OECD Kicks Off Review of 2013 Privacy Framework with Advice and Inputs from USCIB Members: On February 4, 2019, the OECD Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE) began a review of the 2013 Recommendation of the Council concerning Guidelines Governing the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (i.e., “Privacy Guidelines”). The review will be undertaken by a special group of 40 privacy experts, which includes Barbara Wanner, USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy, and representatives from AT&T, Google, Oracle, Mastercard, and The Walt Disney Company. The group will consider how technological progress, changes in data-sharing practices by organizations and individuals, and the increasingly patchwork nature of global privacy frameworks may be addressed by revising and updating the OECD’s six-year-old Privacy Guidelines.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness/strong>

USCIB Submits Comment Letters to Regulators: The Tax Committee dedicated significant resources to providing comments on a variety of topics over the months of December, January, and February. These comments can be found on the recent accomplishments section of the USCIB Tax Committee page. Comments included letters on: proposals concerning: determining the foreign tax credit; the Base Erosion Anti-abuse Tax; interest allocation under 163(j); the taxation of hybrid entities and transactions; and the UK digital services tax.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Responds to 21st Century Customs Framework: On February 4, 2019, the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee submitted comments in response to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Federal Register Notice request for public comments on the “21st Century Customs Framework”, a CBP initiative to better position CBP to operate in the 21st century trade environment. USCIB Comments included Recommendations, Concerns, Points for Consideration, Responses to specific CBP requests for comment on the topics of Emerging Roles in the Global Supply Chain; Intelligent Enforcement; Cutting-Edge Technology; Data Access and Sharing; 21st Century Customs Procedures; and Infrastructure.

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

USCIB Participates in Business Coalition Fly-in on China Tariffs: USCIB Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, Eva Hampl participated in the Fly-In organized by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland the nationwide campaign against tariffs, combining the efforts of Farmers for Free Trade and Americans for Free Trade, of which USCIB is a member. Groups of representatives from associations and companies covered over 150 meetings with Senate and House offices from both sides of the aisle over February 6-7, 2019, in anticipation of an increase of tariffs on the $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. The group emphasized the concern about the tariff actions, noting that the various tariffs currently in place are causing significant damage to U.S. companies and jobs, with prospects even more dire were thee tariffs to continue or increase in the future. At this time, the intended increase has been formally delayed until further notice.

Membership

  • Membership Meetings The USCIB membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies Qualcomm, Ferrero and Cargill to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Business Software Alliance, DLA Piper, Netflix, R.J. Reynolds, The Tax Foundation, and Westinghouse Electric Company as new members.

Upcoming Events:

    • UNCTAD E-Commerce Week, Geneva, Switzerland – April 1-5
    • UN Conference on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), New York City – April 1-5
    • CNI/ICC Event Reforming the WTO: proposals for improving the governance of the multilateral trading system, Sao Paulo, Brazil – April 2
    • Business & Society – Creating Shared Values: USCIB Responds, Washington, D.C. – April 8
    • Workshop on the New Center for Sports & Human Rights, Washington, D.C. – April 9
    • Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Spring Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – April 10-11
    • WSIS Forum, Geneva, Switzerland – April 8-12
    • Business at OECD and OECD Trade Committee Meetings, Paris, France – April 24-26
    • Meetings of the OECD Working Parties of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy, Paris, France – May 6-7
    • USCIB Geneva Week-Business in Society: Shared Values, Geneva, Switzerland – May 6-10
    • APEC SOM 2, Valparaiso, Chile – May 6-18
    • ECOSOC 2019 Session, Geneva, Switzerland – May 29-31
    • OECD/BIAC/USCIB Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 3-4

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

 

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Associate, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Daniella Goncalves
Assistant Policy and Program Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5083 or dgoncalves@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Associate, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Kendall Thibeadeau
Policy and Program Associate, New York
212-703-5095 or kthibeadeau@uscib.org

Ashley Harrington
Policy and Program Associate, Washington
202-682-5861 or aharrington@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update: September, October, November 2018

Highlighting Key Activities, September, October, November 2018

During the months of September, October, and November 2018, USCIB Staff met with Alan Wolff, WTO Deputy Director General, Andrew Haviland, Charge d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to the OECD Katherine Tai, House Ways and Means, Nasim Fussell, Senate Finance, Christina Kopitopolous, USTR, submitted significant comments for the National Trade Estimate/1377 Report and on China’s WTO Compliance, launched a new Anti-Illicit Trade Committee, weighed in on the proposed European Digital Services Tax across Europe, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last three months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

Anti-Illicit Trade – Promoting Strong International AIT Leadership and Advocating a Comprehensive and Multi-Disciplinary Approach to AIT

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

Membership

Upcoming Events

Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meets with Katherine Tai, Ways & Means: At the September 13 meeting of the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Katherine Tai, Chief Trade Counsel, Democratic Staff, House Committee on Ways and Means, provided an off-the-record overview of where things stand in the House on NAFTA, 232 tariffs, 301 tariffs and China trade issues more broadly, the WTO, and other potential trade agreements. The Committee was also joined by Nasim Fussell, Deputy Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. Nasim provided the Senate’s perspective on NAFTA negotiations timing, 232 and 301 tariff issues, the second phase of the MTB process, and the WTO. At the meeting, Rob Mulligan also began a discussion on the development of a USCIB Trade and Investment Agenda for 2019, as well as a draft paper on WTO reform.

WTO Deputy DG Alan Wolff Meets with USCIB Members: On October 19, 2018, Ambassador Alan Wolff, Deputy Director General of the WTO, met informally with USCIB member companies to review the full range of issues, developments and challenges around the World Trade Organization. Amb. Wolff, an active member of USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee in his days as a leading Washington trade lawyer, was, as always insightful, relevant, and candid in his remarks. Issues discussed included WTO reform, China’s role in the WTO, the impact of US Government approaches to the WTO, and possibilities for negotiation breakthroughs.

USCIB Submits Comments on China 301 Tariffs and Testifies: On September 6, 2018, USCIB submitted extensive comments on the Trump administration’s proposed $200 billion list of tariffs on imports from China, following up on earlier submissions in response to the quickly escalating trade conflict between the United States and China. USCIB and its members continue to be very concerned about the potential unintended consequences these proposed tariffs of 10 or 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are likely to have, affecting many sectors vital to the U.S. economy and jobs. While China’s forced technology transfer requirements and other abusive practices harm U.S. competitiveness, the administration’s sweeping tariffs endanger the U.S. economy in similar ways. USCIB also signed on to a broader industry statement appealing to the Trump administration not to proceed with the proposed tariffs, saying the effort would likely backfire against U.S. businesses and workers. At the end of August, USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl provided testimony to the 301 Committee chaired by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, expressing member concerns.

Members Meet with Andrew Haviland, Charge d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to the OECD: On October 11, 2018, Andrew Haviland, Charge d’Affaire, U.S. Mission to the OECD, met with a large group of USCIB member representatives from various committees. Following an update on the OECD’s ongoing work and U.S. priorities from Mr. Haviland, members were able to ask questions regarding the positions and work of the U.S. Mission, as well as the role of Business at OECD when engaging with the OECD and other OECD members on business priorities.

USCIB Advocates for Digital Trade and Foreign Investment at OECD: USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl was in Paris the week of October 22, 2018, participating in investment and trade related meetings at the OECD. On October 22, the OECD hosted its annual Global Forum on Trade, which focused on Trade in the Digital EraThe agenda included sessions on digital transformation and what it means for trade, measuring digital trade, digital trade and market openness, data flows, and discussing priorities for trade policy makers. Hampl participated in the event as a panelist in the session on data flows, which also included Deputy Assistant USTR for Telecommunications Policy Jonathan McHale. The following day Hampl has several speaking roles starting with the Business at OECD consultation with the OECD Investment Committee. Business at OECD had submitted three short papers covering issues such as investment policies related to national security, the importance of a well-designed investment protection mechanism and foreign direct investment qualities. Hampl also attended a joint meeting of the OECD Trade and Investment Committees, which included a presentation on the OECD Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) by the OECD. At the consultation, Hampl made an official intervention on behalf of Business at OECD, expressing USCIB’s support of the joint meeting, and raising some of USCIB’s priority issues, including the multilateral trading system (WTO reform), state-owned enterprises, and digital trade. Additionally, Hampl served as a discussant on behalf of Business at OECD at a Policy Network Meeting on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Qualities, during which she expressed general support for the project and underlined the importance of investment. Hampl also had the opportunity to underline the importance of an open investment environment and concern that recent trends of protectionist policies are harmful to business during her role as discussant in the First Roundtable on Investment and Sustainable Development.

Donnelly on Front Lines at UNCTAD Defending Pro-Investment Policies and ISDS: Shaun Donnelly was one of only three hearty business reps to spend part or all of the week of October 22-26, 2018, in Geneva at the World Investment Forum (WIF), hosted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD. Shaun was the keynote speaker for business in the important High-Level Experts group meeting on International Investment Agreements (IIAs) where he forcefully defended strong investment agreements and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions. His remarks can be read here. He also was the single business panelist on a side event organized by the World Bank affiliate International center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on proposed reforms of ICSID’s rules and procedures. Shaun was also able to offer sharp question and criticisms of the EU’s much-ballyhooed Multilateral Investment Court proposal as a proposed but deeply flawed alternative to ISDS. Not clear how may converts Shaun might have made among developing country officials but he was able to give them some alternative perspectives on important and challenging investment policy issues. The UNCTAD Secretariat expressed great appreciation for USCIB attending and offering clear, candid business perspectives.

USCIB Consults with U.S. Investment Policy Leaders: Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl have stayed in close contact with key investment policy officials at State and USTR over the fall season. They met September 20 with Deputy Assistant USTR for Investment policy Lauren Mandell to NAFTA and Korea KORUS investment negotiations. Shaun and Eva met twice this fall with State department Office of Investment Affairs (“OIA” in State’s Economic and Business Bureau) leading up to and then following up afterwards on the mid October OECD investment Committee meetings as well as other international investment policy issues including the review of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions underway in the UN Commission on International Trae Law (UNCITRAL). Those senior investment policy officials have been consistently open to our views and questions.

USCIB Discusses Anti-Corruption Issues with State Department: On October 2, 2018, USCIB joined a group of business associations as well as the AFL-CIO and Coalition for Integrity in a meeting with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Brian McFeeters to discuss our efforts in expanding the signatories to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention to all G20 countries. The meeting was a follow up to a joint letter sent to president Trump in August, requesting that the Administration take major steps this year to combat international bribery and corruption. The message of the group was to underline the importance of the Convention, noting that it needed to be strengthened in two ways. First, though enforcement of the Convention in some countries has been gradually increasing, the overall level of enforcement is not uniform and is weaker than by the United States. Second, countries that have become major players in the international economy, notably China and India, are not signatories.

Hampl Discusses OECD Accession at PhRMA Meeting: On November 1, 2018, Eva Hampl, Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, presented on OECD accession issues to a group of pharmaceutical companies and associations. Hampl highlighted USCIB’s advocacy role at the OECD as a member of Business at OECD, provided an update on the recently concluded accession process of Colombia, as well as on upcoming countries, which include Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. At this time, none of the six countries have officially been invited to begin the accession process, which will require the approval of 25 OECD Committees. USCIB has been actively involved in providing input into Colombia’s accession process via Business at OECD (BIAC), the official business voice at the OECD. Moving forward, USCIB will play an active role in providing U.S. business input to the OECD on any upcoming accession processes.

Donnelly Keynotes AmCham Annual Dinner in Vancouver: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was the keynote speaker at AmCham Canada /Pacific’s first-ever annual dinner in Vancouver October 16. Donnelly offered an inside-the-beltway business perspective on the long-running NAFTA modernization negotiations and the resultant new “U.S. /Mexico /Canada” agreement or USMCA. Canadian business leaders in the vibrant new Vancouver AmCham are generally supportive of NAFTA and hopeful about the new USMCA, though clearly worried about the “section 232” U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Former Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day, now a leading Vancouver-based trade lawyer joined Shaun in a post dinner Q and A session to round out the evening. While in Vancouver, Shaun was also guest of honor at a reception hosted by the U.S. Consul General where he delivered an abbreviated, informal version of his NAFTA/USMCA comments.

USMCA Investment Provisions Under the Microscope at Sidley: Shaun Donnelly was the business speaker, joining senior Canadian and Mexican Government investment negotiators on an off-the-record panel co-hosted by USCIB member law firm Sidley Austin and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) on October 18. The panel “USMCA – What Does NAFTA 2.0 Mean for Investor Protection in North America and Beyond?” drew a full house of trade people, diplomats, and lawyers. Sidley Partner Marinn Carlson moderated the session and kept it moving with some very challenging questions. Shaun was candid in pointing out USCIB and more general business concerns with some of the changes in investment provisions from NAFTA to USMCA. The U.S. government declined invitations to participate.

 USCIB Talks Trade and Essential Security at Hudson Roundtable: Shaun Donnelly was an active participant in a very interesting Hudson Institute roundtable discussion November 28, focused on trade and national security, more specifically on the U.S. Government’s use of “Section 232” trade sanctions (thus far imposed on imported steel and aluminum but threats on imported autos are intensifying) based on threats to U.S. “essential security.” Senator (and former USTR where Shaun was a key Assistant) Rob Portman and EU Ambassador David O’Sullivan offered great keynote remarks. Shaun reflected USCIB’s strong positions on opposing any abuse (by the U.S. government or others) of these essential security provisions in the WTO, other agreements or in U.S. trade law. The group also discussed prospects for U.S.-EU trade agreement, perhaps limited to industrial good or perhaps much broader. Views on prospects for such agreements ranged widely around the table. Drawing on his experience as Assistant USTR for Europe under USTRs Portman and Schwab, Shaun was among the more cautious commentators on prospects for quick, easy U.S.-EU deals.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Members Engage U.S. Government Officials in Discussions about Policies Related to Artificial Intelligence, Privacy, Cybersecurity at the OECD, G20/B20, and ITU Plenipotentiary Meeting: The ICT Policy Committee Meeting on September 27 featured discussions with U.S. Government officials from the Departments of State, Commerce, and the White House Office of Science and Technology. The wide-ranging dialogue focused on policy priorities with respect to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in work underway at the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy as well as the horizontal OECD Going Digital Project. Members also discussed their inputs to the B20 Digital Economy and Industry 4.0 Task Force Report and how those would be reflected in the October 4-5 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Concerning the request for comments on Consumer Privacy Protections by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), members emphasized the importance of realizing greater interoperability in global privacy regulations. Finally, members discussed the importance of coordinating with Inter-American countries at the ITU Plenipotentiary, October 29-November 16 in Dubai, UAE on issues pertaining to governance of the ITU, Internet-related issues, and cybersecurity.

USCIB Catalogs 90 Pages of Foreign Trade Barriers for Annual National Trade Estimate/Section 1377 Report to USTR: On October 17, USCIB submitted comments concerning significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services, and U.S. foreign direct investment for inclusion in the annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) report. Pursuant to Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1998 (19 U.S. C. Section 3106) and as requested by USTR’s Federal Register notice, we also included comments concerning the operation and effectiveness of U.S. telecommunications trade agreements. This 90-page catalog details foreign trade barriers to U.S. exports to the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, European Union, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Latin America Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East and North Africa, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

USCIB Members Continue to Advocate for GDPR-Compliant Policy Framework and Data Access at ICANN 63: ICANN 63’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) wrapped up on October 25 in Barcelona, Spain. Barbara Wanner, USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy, and members from AT&T, Amazon, BT, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, Verisign, and Verizon joined some 3,000 stakeholders to address key issues in management of the domain name system. In particular, USCIB members actively contributed to work underway to develop a formal policy to ensure that ICANN and the industry of more than 1,000 generic top-level domain (gTLD) registries and registrars meet existing ICANN contractual requirements concerning the collection of registration data as well as comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). ICANN’s proposed Draft Framework for a Possible Unified Access Model for Continued Access to Full WHOIS Data (UAM) also was in the spotlight. Under pressure from ICANN’s Business Constituency and Intellectual Property Constituency – both of which include USCIB members — governments, and other stakeholders, ICANN developed the UAM as a possible approach to enable third-party access to non-public WHOIS data for legitimate law enforcement, consumer protection, brand management, and intellectual property (IP) protection purposes. Wanner serves on the Business Constituency’s Executive Committee.

USCIB Urges the Administration to Pursue Greater Interoperability Among Global Privacy Regimes: On November 8, USCIB responded to a request for comments on Approaches to Consumer Privacy from the Commerce Departments National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA). USCIB members supported the administration’s high-level goal to develop mechanisms that realize greater interoperability among international privacy regimes. Specifically, members applauded NTIA for recognizing the need to bridge regulatory differences so there is less fragmentation, data flows seamlessly, and the digital economy continues to evolve. In pursuing development of an interoperable approach, however, it is imperative that we realize an appropriate balance so that privacy frameworks promote consumer/user trust in data-driven technologies while at the same time enabling companies and organizations to use and transfer data in innovative ways that benefit society, USCIB members urged.

USCIB Members Push Back on Top-Down Cybersecurity-Related Regulation, Advocate a Risk-Based Approach in IGF Workshop: French President Emmanuel Macron opened the three-day IGF on November 12 at UNESCO, depicting a digital economy fraught with danger from cyber-attacks, the proliferation of hate speech, and anti-democratic forces. He urged development of a “better model” featuring regulation of the Internet and its actors. USCIB members pushed back on this top-down approach in a special security-focused workshop on November 14, “Approaches to a Wicked Problem: Stakeholders Promote Enhanced Cooperation and Collaborative, Risk-Based Frameworks of Regional and National Cybersecurity Initiatives,” co-organized by USCIB and Oxford Martin School. The overall aim of the workshop was to provide insights into how to build national and regional cybersecurity capacity that is risk-based to enable nimble responses to security challenges. USCIB members Claudia Selli (AT&T) served as moderator and Amanda Craig (Microsoft) contributed expert commentary, emphasizing that a risk-based, whole of government approach is most effective and necessary for development of a national cybersecurity strategy.

OECD’s CDEP Moves Going Digital Project Toward Completion, Advances AI Work: The November 14-16 meetings of the OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) focused on advancing the OECD’s Going Digital project, showcasing the OECD’s analytical report on Artificial Intelligence as well as the work of a special AI Experts Group (AIGO), and featuring an intense and animated review of the Online Platforms Report and a Roundtable discussion on online platforms. Working under the aegis of Business at OECD (BIAC), USCIB members have been shaping development of the Going Digital Project for the past two years, offering insightful guidance on the project’s all-important Integrated Policy Framework. USCIB members from Facebook, Google, IBM, and Microsoft also are playing influential roles in the AI Experts Group to ensure that the group’s eventual policy recommendations align with USCIB members’ interests. The final outcomes of the Going Digital Project will be unveiled at a high-level summit on March 11-12, 2019 in Paris.

USCIB Members Uphold Multistakeholder Model for Internet Governance in Comments to UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation: At a time when the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance increasingly is under fire in some multilateral organizations, USCIB members underscored that the multistakeholder model continues to be the best method to enable whole-of-society/whole-of-government consideration of digital economy issues. This will continue to ensure that discussions are grounded in values of free speech and respect for human rights and the principles of transparency, accountability, and consensus will guide stakeholders, according to USCIB. On November 30, USCIB included these comments in its submission to the U.N. High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (HLPDC) aimed at informing the HLPDC’s deliberations. The HLPDC was established by the UN Secretary-General in July 2018 to advance proposals to strengthen cooperation in the digital realm and contribute to the broader global dialogue on how interdisciplinary and cooperative approaches can help ensure a safe and inclusive digital future.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Continues Efforts to Oppose the Adoption of the Draft Directive on Digital Services Tax:  USCIB further engaged with the OECD and various European countries on the tax challenges of the digitalizing economy and the European Digital Services Tax. The OECD organized a “digital day” in Paris to further discuss business models and the direction of the OECD’s work on a long-term solution. Many USCIB members participated in this discussion. USCIB members have also met with this fall with a number of high-level European government officials to discuss the EU digital directives. These included meetings with Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. We have also engaged with business representatives at our peer organizations in other countries. We are encouraging those organizations to continue to work with their governments to ensure continuing opposition to the DST. We have also had ongoing discussions with the U.S. Treasury and the Senate Joint Economic Committee, including participating in a panel organized by the JEC to brief Hill staff on the issues and concerns of U.S. business.

USCIB will be continuing to pursue opportunities to express our concerns and ensure that any changes to the standards applicable to taxation of the digitalized economy reflect the concerns of U.S. business. While many countries have objected to the draft directives and the EU requires unanimity to proceed, it is important that USCIB continue to make its case about the potential damage from these directives. The OECD is working on a long-term solution. Many countries expressed a willingness to work within the OECD to achieve a long-term solution. USCIB also supports a consensus approach and believes that the OECD is the best place for working on such a consensus. The EU will be holding an Ecofin meeting on December 4th to consider this issue again (agreement was not reached at the Ecofin meeting held on November 6th). If agreement is not reached on December 4th, that will likely give the OECD some space to work on a long-term solution, since agreement on the EU directive is less likely in 2019 for a variety of political reasons.

USCIB Submits Comment Letters to Regulators: The Tax Committee dedicated significant resources to providing comments on a variety of topics. (See the recent accomplishments section of the USCIB Tax Committee page.) These comments included letters on: proposed regulations concerning the repatriation tax under section 965; proposed regulations concerning Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income under section 951A; the Platform for Collaboration on Tax’s toolkit on Offshore Indirect Transfers; and the OECD’s consultation on Financial Transactions.

USCIB Participates as an Observer in the UN’s Committee of Tax Experts: The UN Committee of Tax Experts held its seventeenth session in Geneva from October 16th through the 19th. The agenda covered updates to the UN Manual on Transfer Pricing; updates to the UN Model Income Tax Treaty (including, the taxation of software royalties, and the taxation of CIVs); development of a handbook on dispute avoidance and resolution; environmental tax issues; updates to the Extractives Handbook; the tax consequences of the digitalizing economy; updates to the manual on treaty negotiation; capacity building; and the taxation of development projects. The background papers presented and discussed at the meeting are here. USCIB is providing input on areas of interest to the USCIB Tax Committee including: the taxation of the digitalizing economy, the taxation of software royalties and taxation of carbon.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

USCIB Customs E-Commerce Sub-Committee Meets for First Time: On Thursday, October 18, 2018, members of the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee met under the auspices of a new, USCIB Customs E-Commerce Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee will focus on customs related e-commerce issues and serve as a way to screen and discuss e-commerce issues informally before bringing problems and recommendations to the broader Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee. If you are interested in participating in this group, please let Megan Giblin know at mgiblin@uscib.org.

Customs Committee Meets with Christina Kopitopolous, USTR, Ken Kennedy, DHS ICE: On Wednesday, November 28, 2018, the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee received an update on Forced Labor issues from Ken Kennedy, Senior Policy Advisor for Forced Labor Programs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Following this discussion, the Committee heard from Christina Kopitoplolous, USTR Director for Customs and Trade Affairs. Christina provided her assessment of customs issues at the WCO, WTO, and domestically.

Anti-Illicit Trade – Promoting Strong International AIT Leadership and Advocating a Comprehensive and Multi-Disciplinary Approach to AIT


USCIB Launches Anti-Illicit Trade Committee, David Luna as Chair: On Tuesday, September 11, USCIB held the inaugural meeting of its new Anti-Illicit Trade Committee, chaired by David Luna of Luna Global Networks & Convergence Strategies, LLC. In addition to laying out the committee’s goals and the beginnings of a Plan of Action, the committee heard the latest on Anti-Illicit Trade work at the OECD from the OECD’s Stephanie Jacobzone, Jack Radisch, and Piotr Stryszowski. The Committee met again on Thursday, November 29. At the November meeting, members heard from Christa Brzozowski, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary, Trade and Transport, for an update on Anti-Illicit Trade work at the OECD. Following this briefing, members heard from Steven Shapiro, FBI Unit Chief, Criminal Investigative Division, Intellectual Property Rights Unit, National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. Steven provided an overview of his team’s work at the IPR Center and expressed his interest in additional engagement with the USCIB Anti-Illicit Trade Committee.

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

USCIB Submits Comments on China’s WTO Commitments and Testifies: As part of the annual request by the U.S. Trade Representative for comments on China’s compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments and notice of public hearing, USCIB submitted commentson September 21 reflecting USCIB members’ feedback and concerns. USCIB’s submission highlights concerns that arise in selected horizontal areas that transcend industry sectors, including IT security measures, China’s antimonopoly law, intellectual property rights, market access, national treatment and non-discrimination, the regulatory environment, standards, state-owned enterprises, customs and trade facilitation, taxation, labor laws, certification, licensing, and testing barriers. USCIB’s submission also addresses issues related to specific industry sectors that face problems in China, including agricultural biotechnology, audiovisual, chemicals, electronic payment access, express delivery services, recoverable materials, software, and telecommunications. Following USCIB’s submission, USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl provided testimony on October 3 to the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC).

USCIB Meets with DOJ and FTC to Discuss China AML Issues: In a follow up to USCIB’s submission on China’s compliance with WTO Commitments, USCIB on November 19 met with officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to discuss current issues business faces in China in relation to the application of China’s anti-monopoly law (AML). As noted in USCIB’s public comments, Chinese antitrust enforcement authorities continue to use of the AML as a tool to advance industrial policy goals rather than to protect competition. U.S. companies have repeatedly experienced Chinese regulators using AML enforcement absent sufficient economic proof of market power or anti-competitive harm or any transparency regarding analyses that may have been conducted. In addition, anecdotal evidence indicates that the AML enforcement agencies often disregard basic norms of fairness, due process, and transparency.

Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

 USCIB Holds Joint ICC/USCIB Meeting on Global Competition Policy in NY: On September 5, against the backdrop of fast-changing business and policy practices with respect to antitrust and consumer protection, the USCIB Competition Committee held a joint meeting with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Competition Commission in New York. Participants in the joint ICC/USCIB meeting represented many jurisdictions, including Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The keynote speaker was Bruce Hoffman, director of the Bureau of Competition at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Hoffman discussed the latest developments of antitrust policy with USCIB members, including for competition policy litigation and enforcement in the U.S., as well as FTC hearings on the state of competition law and policy that began in Washington, D.C. in September. USCIB Competition Committee Chair Dina Kallay (Ericsson) and USCIB Competition Committee Vice Chair Jennifer Patterson(Arnold & Porter) led participants through an agenda that included updates on issues including mergers, due process, cartels, the International Competition Network (ICN), and the Multilateral Framework on Procedures, on which USCIB and ICC recently submitted a joint statement.

Membership

  • Membership Meetings: The USCIB membership department and policy staff traveled to the Bay Area to meet with representatives from member companies Visa, Uber, Salesforce, Oracle, Intel and Ripple Labs to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs. In addition, the USCIB membership department and USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson met with representatives from member companies Citigroup, Hanesbrands, General Mills, Koch Industries, AT&T and DIAGEO.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Astellas, Cruise Automation and Steptoe & Johnson LLP as new members.

Upcoming Events:

    • UNFCCC COP24, Katowice, Poland – December 3-14
    • USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – December 4
    • 2018 USCIB International Leadership Award Dinner, New York – December 11
    • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – December 13
    • USCIB Environment Committee and International Product Policy (IPP) Working Group Joint Meeting, New York – December 19
    • ACEP Som-1, Santiago, Chile – February 23 – March 8
    • 4th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA4), Nairobi, Kenya – March 11-15
    • Going Digital: OECD Insights for a Changing World, Washington, D.C. – March 29
    • APEC SOM 2, Vaplaraiso, Chile – May 6-18
    • ECOSOC 2019 Session, Geneva, Switzerland – May 29 – 31
    • OECD/BIAC/USCIB Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 3-4

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

 

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Associate, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Associate, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update: June, July, August 2018

Highlighting Key Activities, June, July, and August 2018

During the months of June, July, and August 2018, USCIB Staff met with Angela Ellard, House Ways & Means Chief Trade Counsel, Esther Nieto Hernandez and Peter Fatelnig from the EU Mission to the U.S., Sam Dupont and Kevin McHale from USTR, Gael Perraud of the French Finance Ministry and Fabrizia Lapecorella of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labor Organization (ILO), and John Denton, the new Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce. We also discuss global trade on BBC World News, testified on 301 Tariffs, led NAFTA advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, hosted the 13th Annual OECD International Tax Conference, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last three months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions

Membership

Upcoming Events

Staff List

 

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meets with Angela Ellard, Ways & Means: The USCIB Trade and Investment Committee, which is Chaired by Rick Johnston, Managing Director Global Government Affairs for Citigroup, met at the Citi office in Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2018. Angela Ellard, Chief Trade Counsel, House Ways & Means Committee, gave her immediate impressions of the Trump Administration’s announcement of further tariffs against China, which had come out the night before the meeting. She also provided her views on the state of the Section 301 and 232 tariffs, NAFTA renegotiation priorities and timelines in Congress, the STOP Act, GSP extension, and the movement of the MTB bill from the House to the Senate. Next, Esther Nieto Hernandez, Deputy Head of Trade and Agriculture, EU Mission to the U.S., briefed members on the view from Europe on recent American trade actions, emphasizing that they do not consider relations to have become a trade war yet, but that there is serious concern for the road ahead.

Mulligan Talks Trade with BBC World News: Following the July G20 Finance Ministers meetings, BBC’s Aaron Heslehurst spoke with USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan as part of BBC’s Talking Business segment regarding international trade tensions that may undermine the global economy and stunt growth. Mulligan expressed concern that continued escalation of tariffs may cause all kinds of problems for USCIB member companies. “Tariffs will lead to higher costs, drive higher prices for consumers and, we think, in the end, can start driving job losses,” warned Mulligan. Specifically, on U.S.-China tensions, Mulligan noted there are issues with China’s unfair trade practices that need to be addressed and USCIB fully supports an effort that would bring together all our allies to make that point with China, but raising tariffs is not going to be the way to solve these problems.

USCIB Urges Congress to Curb Section 232 Tariffs: USCIB joined more than 270 national associations and state and local chambers of commerce to send a letter on June 26, 2018, in support of the Corker Bill (S. 3013), which would require President Donald Trump to submit to Congress any proposal to raise tariffs in the interest of national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The letter expresses concern about the President’s unrestricted use of section 232 to impose tariffs, noting that it may not be in the national interest to do so. It further states that the tariffs are undermining U.S. efforts to build an international coalition of like-minded countries to join the United States in combating the sue of unfair trade and investment policies.

ICC Secretary General Meets with USCIB Members and Staff: John Denton, the new secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce paid visits to the USCIB New York and Washington, D.C. offices in late June and early July. He met with USCIB staff including President and CEO Peter Robinson and Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Rob Mulligan, along with a number of USCIB members. Discussion ranged from ICC pushing back against populist narratives on cross-border trade and investment to ICC institutional and management priorities. Denton, an Australian lawyer and diplomat who most recently headed the law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, was elected in March to provide executive leadership to the world business organization. Denton penned a letter to the Financial Times providing a vigorous defense of the multilateral trading system and the WTO.

 Hampl Leads Group for NAFTA Lobby Day to Voice Concerns: On June 27, 2018, USCIB again participated in a Lobby Day on the House Side under the umbrella of the NAFTA Coalition. Eva Hampl led a group of companies and associations in meetings with Republican and Democratic offices throughout the day. While the purpose of the meetings was to primarily discuss NAFTA, other relevant trade issues, such as tariffs also came up in almost every meeting. With the lobby day taking place just before the Mexican election, issues arising from that dynamic were raised as well. Most offices were keenly aware of the importance of NAFTA, but many had other issues that appeared to be more pressing for them at the time. All were concerned about withdrawal, though many, particularly on the Republican side, seemed willing to see the Administration’s actions on trade play out.

USCIB Establishes Anti-Illicit Trade Committee: USCIB announced in July the establishment of a new Anti-Illicit Trade (AIT) Committee to address the threat that Illicit trade poses across sectors, borders, markets and industries. David M. Luna, president and CEO of Luna Global Networks & Convergence Strategies LLC, will chair and provide leadership for the committee, which will be made up of representatives from USCIB’s broad-based membership. The AIT Committee will take a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to elevating the fight against illicit trade, particularly related to the work of the OECD’s Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade, corresponding activity by Business at OECD (the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD), and the work of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative. The first meeting of the new committee will take place on September 11.

Talking investment Policy with the State Department: USCIB staffers Eva Hampl and Shaun Donnelly met recently with senior officials at the State Department to compare notes on upcoming international meetings on investment policy, including at the OECD in Paris, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s World Investment Forum in Geneva, and the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Party 3 in Vienna on reform on Investor-State Dispute Settlement. We also compared notes on developments on national security reviews of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the U.S. under the U.S. government’s interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (“CFIUS”) under the newly adopted U.S. “FIRRMA” legislations. Investment policy issues, broadly defined, are important to our members so we try to have these sorts of informal sessions with State and other key USG agencies on a regular basis.

USCIB Participates in DOS-USAID Anti-Corruption Roundtable: On June 19, 2018, Eva Hampl, Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services participated in another roundtable on anti-corruption. These roundtables are part of a new series organized jointly by the State Department and USAID in an effort to consult regularly with civil society organizations. They serve as an opportunity to coordinate efforts, exchange practices, and discuss ideas for future work on anti-corruption in both policy and programming. This most recent discussion took place in the leadup to G20 meetings and provided a platform for exchange of views on issues like state-owned enterprises (SOEs), asset recovery, foreign bribery, financial transparency, and whistleblower protection. USCIB’s work with the OECD Working Group on Bribery, as well as the G20 / B20, is particularly valuable in these discussions. The next roundtable will likely take place in September.

USCIB Represents Business at State Department Anti-Corruption Training: Shaun Donnelly was the business community panelist at an August 10, 2018, State Department anti-corruption training session during a week-long “Tools and Strategies to Combat Corruption” course for State Department officers headed overseas this summer. The session, at State’s Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, was an informal give-and-take on how U.S. embassies and consulates abroad can work with the private sector to combat bribery and corruption. It was a very useful discussion of how U.S. business and local Embassy staff can cooperate on win-win efforts to combat corruption and bribery by local firms and government officials as well as third country competitors. Corruption anywhere is a cancer on governance and politics; it can also cost American businesses and workers a fair shot at winning major trade and investment deals. Business and government need to be full partners in combatting this cancer.

Donnelly Counsels State Department Economic Bureau Senior Officials on Effective Overseas Assistance for U.S. Companies: USCIB VP Shaun Donnelly participated in a small group of business (companies as well as associations) representatives invited for a brainstorming session August 9 with State Department Economic and Business (EB) officials. The State team was looking for business input on if/how non-binding commercial cooperation agreements might be of assistance to American companies competing for sales and partnership agreements overseas, especially in emerging markets and in Africa where other U.S. Government commercial programs are limited. It was a good preliminary discussion which could, repeat could, get off the ground and prove useful in some sectors. But it could be a long way to go before anything gets off the ground. The meeting was a return to his roots for Donnelly who spent much of his 36-year State department career in the EB bureau and ended up as EB’s # 2 official (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State or “PDAS”) 2000-05.

Donnelly’s “American Diplomat” Podcast – Trying to Demystify Trade Negotiations: USCIB VP Shaun Donnelly did an interview on the podcast “American Diplomat”, trying to help non-trade experts around the country get a sense of how U.S. trade negotiators work and how strong trade agreements can promote the interests of U.S. workers, companies, states and local government and broad U.S. national interests. Before joining USCIB, Donnelly had a 36-year U.S. Government Foreign Service career, concentrating on trade and international economic policy. Also a former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Donnelly’s career capstone came as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for European and the Middle East ’05-’08, serving as American’s top trade negotiator for those key regions.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

EU Digital Developments Dominate ICT Policy Committee Discussions with U.S. Government and European Commission Officials: S.-EU privacy issues took center stage at the June 20 meeting of the USCIB ICT Policy Committee. Speakers from the European Commission’s U.S. mission in Washington and the U.S. Department of Commerce briefed members on various digital privacy topics key to transatlantic relations. Peter Fatelnig, Minister-Counsellor for Digital Economy Policies, discussed the ramifications of the May 25 implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In particular, he noted the concerted efforts of the EU, the U.S. government, and the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to determine the legality of various approaches that would enable third party access to domain name registration data for legitimate purposes. Nasreen Djouini, U.S. Department of Commerce, updated USCIB members on preparations for the 2nd annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework in mid-October. The Shield Framework is aimed at protecting transatlantic transfers of personal data. Djouini urged USCIB members to respond to an EU survey of U.S. Shield-certified companies since this will provide key input to the annual review.

USCIB Members Help to Set the Stage for Developing a GDPR-Compliant Policy Framework: ICANN 62’s Policy Forum wrapped up on June 28 in Panama City, Panama. USCIB members from Amazon, AT&T, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, VeriSign, and Verizon joined Barbara Wanner, Vice President, ICT Policy, and a broad cross-section of stakeholders from throughout the world to focus on policy priorities for the domain name system (DNS). This year’s Policy Forum was especially timely, coming on the heels of ICANN’s May 17 issuance of a Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Temp Spec). The Temp Spec, which enables “tiered access” to DNS registrant data, was designed to ensure that ICANN and the industry of more than 1,000 generic top-level domain (gTLD) registries and registrars comply with existing ICANN contractual requirements concerning the collection of registration data (WHOIS) as well as meet the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect on May 25. USCIB members made important contributions to discussions aimed at gaining clarity on the legality of the Temp Spec and advancing work on a new GDPR-compliant policy that would enable 3rd party access to WHOIS data for legitimate purposes.

USCIB Advocates Multistakeholder Approach to International Internet Policy Issues: On July 17, 2018, USCIB responded to a request for public comment from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, concerning International Internet Policy Priorities for 2018. Noting that the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance increasingly is under fire in certain multilateral forums, USCIB underscored that the keys to realizing economic and social benefits in today’s digital economy are policies that are informed by all Stakeholder guidance and evidence-based analysis is especially critical to ensuring that emerging technologies, such as AI, can be shaped to maximize its potential and mitigate possible risks, USCIB further emphasized.

USCIB Urges Collaborative Approach Between U.S. and Japanese Business and Government on Digital Economy Issues: Barbara Wanner participated in the U.S.-Japan Internet Dialogue, July 23, in Washington, D.C., which featured both business and government representatives. Wanner spoke on a panel of business representatives. She emphasized the need to work together in multilateral organizations and multistakeholder organizations especially in light of several countries continuing to press for government regulation of the internet by bringing Internet governance and digital economy issues under the UN or its specialized agencies. “This is not the best approach given the dynamic nature of technology development,” warned Wanner. “Heavy-handed regulations could dampen this dynamism. Additionally, this may open the door to efforts by some countries to use the Internet for surveillance of their citizens and possibly even censorship, she said.”

 USCIB to Collaborate with Oxford University on Cybersecurity-Focused Workshop for 2018 Internet Governance Forum (IGF): USCIB will join forces with the Oxford Martin School on a workshop at the 13th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which will be held November 12-14, 2018 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The joint workshop will tap USCIB member experts as well as noted authorities from governments and international organizations, like the Organization of American States, to examine the benefits of risk-based, voluntary cybersecurity frameworks that enable effective coordination of regional security initiatives.

USCIB Members Convey Serious Efforts Comply with EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework: On August 15, 2018, USCIB presented to the European Commission the results of its survey of members certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. The Shield Framework is aimed at protecting transatlantic transfers of personal data. Overall, members’ responses reflected their concerted efforts to comply with the Framework via enhanced internal compliance programs, new written policies and procedures, related employee training and awareness programs, and the appointment of privacy officers or leader to ensure compliance with Privacy Shield requirements. Respondents also praised the Framework for providing important protections for the transfer of EU personal data to the United States that may not be covered by other frameworks.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Submits Comment letter to the EC on the Draft Directives on Digital Services Tax and Significant Digital Presence: Following up on a series of meetings that USCIB had with European countries, USCIB submitted a comment letter to the European Commission with copies to countries that we had met with. The letter set forth in writing USCIB’s criticisms of the two directives. We have also meet with the U.S. Treasury and the Senate Joint Economic Committee to discuss our concerns. USCIB will be continuing to pursue opportunities to express our concerns and ensure that any changes to the standards applicable to taxation of the digitalized economy reflect the concerns of U.S. business. Other meetings are in the planning stages. While many countries have objected to the draft directives and the EU requires unanimity to proceed, it is important that USCIB continue to make its case about the potential damage from these directives. The OECD is working on a long-term solution. Many countries expressed a willingness to work within the OECD to achieve a long-term solution. USCIB also supports a consensus approach and believes that the OECD is the best place for working on such a consensus.

USCIB Organizes Another Successful OECD International Tax Conference in Washington: Together with the OECD, USCIB organized the 13th annual International Tax Conference June 4 and 5. Highlights of the conference included: International Tax Aspects of the U.S. Tax Reform Dispute Resolution – including the stability of the reforms and what is next on the international front; ICAP and MAP – including the need to make the process more efficient if it is going to be rolled out generally; and the Digital Economy – Interim Report – including the fundamental debate about the role of users and data in value creation.

French Finance Ministry Briefs USCIB Tax Committee: Gael Perraud of the French Finance Ministry addressed the Tax Committee on the French government’s view on taxation of the digital economy. The committee also discussed the progress on implementing the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Also in conjunction with the Tax Conference, the Digital Working Group arranged a meeting with Fabrizia Lapecorella of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

USCIB Submits Comments on the Protecting Taxpayers Act: USCIB submitted a comment letter strongly supporting the provisions in S. 3278 would establish a statutory right to review by the Office of Appeals and to provide guardrails to protect the right of appeal. In addition, to supporting the bill, USCIB suggested a number of improvements.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Discusses WTO Moratorium with USTR: On August 21, 2018, the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee met with Sam Dupont, USTR Director for ICT Services & Digital Trade and Kevin McHale, Deputy Assistant USTR for Telecommunications Policy to discuss the status of the WTO E-Commerce moratorium at both the WTO and the WCO, along with broader E-Commerce issues. The committee also shared takeaways from the CBP Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, Drawback regulations, and the joint USCIB/U.S. Chamber E-Commerce Industry Day 2.0.

 USCIB Convenes Interagency Group on Customs E-Commerce: On June 14-15 and July 31-August 1, USCIB joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to host a series of meetings tied to E-commerce and the work being undertaken by the World Customs Organization (WCO). These “Industry Days” featured private sector and public sector representatives from multiple U.S. government agencies aimed at continuing the established dialogue on the WCO’s E-Commerce Framework of Standards (FoS). Many of these meetings were conducted in a small group fashion, which were stakeholder specific (i.e., carriers, customs brokers, e-payment, marketplaces and vendors). The events included robust representation from the U.S. government, bringing together more than 10 agencies, including Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Departments of Commerce and State, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Security Council.

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

USCIB Continues to Fight China 301 Tariffs, Hampl Testifies: On July 23, 2018, USCIB submitted comments to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the proposed 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports. This list of goods followed the first consultation on proposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, which resulted in the imposition of tariffs on $34 billion on July 6, 2018. The final list of tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports went into effect on August 23, 2018. A third list of proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports was announced in July, and USCIB has continued to actively advocate on the effect these tariffs will have on the competitiveness of U.S. companies. USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl provided testimony to the 301 Committee chaired by USTR on August 20, 2018, expressing concern about the potential unintended consequences these proposed tariffs of 10 percent are likely to have, affecting many sectors vital to the U.S. economy and jobs. The Administration is also considering increasing tariffs to 25 percent. USCIB will be submitting final written comments on this list of products by September 6, 2018.

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions

USCIB Hosts Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labor Organization: on Friday, July 20, 2018, over 20 member companies met with Guy Rider, Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern including: ILO’s centenary in 2019, the “Future of Work,” the role of governments, the role of business at the ILO, and the work of the standard-setting committee on violence and harassment at the International Labor Conference. For the centenary, USCIB will seek to organize a business-focused event in 2019, and also participate in an ILO event to celebrate the Philadelphia declaration. USCIB and its members also stressed the fundamental role governments must play in writing laws that meet international standards and effectively enforcing them. They stressed the importance of ILO’s continued focus on helping governments carry out those core functions. Lastly, USCIB also spoke very clearly about the issue of violence and harassment at work and emphasized U.S. employer commitment to this topic. Gabriella Rigg Herzog, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs, underscored the importance of the topic and that Director General Ryder and the ILO Office can provide needed support for the tripartite constituents to help reach an agreed text providing clear and practical definitions for both public and private sector employers. In that way, they can understand their responsibilities and governments can be encouraged to take the next step to ratify the ILO instrument.

Membership

  • Membership Meetings: The USCIB membership department and policy staff and President and CEO Peter Robinson met with representatives from member companies Boeing, General Electric, Salesforce and Eaton to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Expedia, Ripple Labs and Salesforce as new members.

Upcoming Events:

  • ICC/USCIB Competition Meeting, New York – September 5
  • USCIB Food and Agriculture Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. – September 11
  • USCIB Anti-Illicit Trade Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – September 11
  • ICC Digital Economy Commission Meeting, Paris, France – September 13-14
  • Engaging Business Forum on Business and Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia – September 13-14
  • USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – September 13
  • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – September 27
  • ICC Trade and Investment Commission Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland – October 1
  • WTO Public Forum, Geneva, Switzerland – October 2-4
  • ICC Banking Commission Technical Meeting, Tbilisi, Georgia – October 15-17
  • ICANN 53, Barcelona, Spain – October 20-16
  • BIAC Trade and Investment Committee Meetings, Paris, France – October 22-25
  • International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary, Dubai, UAE – October 29-November 16
  • ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation Meeting, Paris, France – November 6-7
  • Internet Governance Forum, Paris, France – November 12-14
  • Meetings of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy and its Working Parties, Paris, France – November 12-16
  • 2018 USCIB International Leadership Award Dinner, New York – December 11

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

 

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

Top

Washington Update, April – May 2018

Highlighting Key Activities, April – May 2018

During the months of April and May 2018, USCIB Staff met with EU Finance Ministries on draft digital tax directives, participated in a roundtable with OECD Trade staff on digital trade, testified before USTR’s Section 301 Committee, advocated for business as Colombia acceded to the OECD, spoke on NAFTA at the NGA North American Summit, filed comments to the ITC on foreign measures affecting B2B and B2C products and services, met with Kenneth J F Kennedy, DHS, on Forced Labor issues, briefed Tim Skud, Treasury, and Mark McKenzie, DHS, on E-Commerce at the WCO, met with Hill staff Hill on CFIUS reform, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

  1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
  2. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
  3. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
  4. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
  5. China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business
  6. Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions
  7. Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment
  8. Membership
  9. Upcoming Events
  10. Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

Mulligan Shares USCIB Views at B20/BIAC/OECD/ICC Meetings:  Several meetings took place in Paris the week of May 28 at which Rob Mulligan, USCIB Senior Vice President Policy and Government Affairs, presented member views, starting with the B20 Trade and Investment Taskforce.  He made the point that the trade paper language related to digital trade, especially on IP, should be consistent with language developed by the Digital taskforce.  Since several companies working in the Digital taskforce had developed compromise language on IP, he urged the Trade taskforce to also use that language.  The BIAC General Assembly followed the B20 meeting where Rick Johnston, Citi, was approved for another term on the BIAC Board and they announced the new Secretary General, Russell Mills.  In a meeting with Ken Ash, Director of the OECD Trade Directorate, Rob discussed upcoming OECD work on tariffs, market opening, trade facilitation, non-tariff barriers and services reform.  At the meeting of the ICC Trade and Investment Commission on May 30, Rob provided input on proposed ICC work on unilateral protection measures, the impact of extraterritorial application of national laws, and the intersection of trade and climate change.

USCIB Kicks Off BIAC Roundtable with OECD Trade Staff on Digital Trade:  As part of the BIAC Trade Committee meeting on April 23, 2018, a roundtable discussion was organized with Ken Ash, Director of the OECD Trade Directorate, and his staff on digital trade.  Rob Mulligan started the discussion by highlighting the importance of cross border data flows to business and the negative impact of data localization requirements. He stressed the need for regulators to take approaches that do not end up restricting trade, stifling innovation, and undercutting economic growth.  The OECD staff noted some of the issues they are trying to resolve in their work on digital trade including: the challenges for business in distinguishing personal data from non-personal data; the costs of technological solutions such as encryption; differences of views based on cultural beliefs; and, is there a role for multilateral approaches.  BIAC will continue this dialogue as the OECD trade staff develops its digital trade papers.

USCIB/BIAC Urge OECD Trade Committee to Include Business Priorities in Future Workplan:  Rob Mulligan represented USCIB at the BIAC and OECD Trade Committees in Paris from April 23-25.  The BIAC meeting focused on providing input into the discussions the OECD Trade Committee was having on it Program of Work and Budget (PWB) for 2019-2020.  BIAC supported plans to work on digital trade, customs facilitation, international regulatory cooperation, trade in services and trade and environment.  We noted that the PWB should continue to include work on localization requirements and state-owned enterprises that are still key areas of concern for our members. BIAC also arranged for a lunch meeting with Deputy Secretary General Kiviniemi, which provided a chance for members to hear her thinking on the current global trade environment.  They also organized a dinner with Ana Novik, Head of the OECD Investment Division, John Drummond, Head of the OECD Services Trade Division, and Dermot Nolan, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OECD.  This provided an opportunity to discuss how they will structure the planned joint committee meeting in October between the trade and investment committees and for us to share suggestions.

USCIB Pushes for Open Investment Climate in CFIUS process: USCIB has been an active advocate on investment issues in the context of the CFIUS legislation on the Hill. On April 19, 2018, Shaun Donnelly, Vice President, Investment and Financial Services, and Eva Hampl, Senior Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, met with Hill staff to discuss the Cornyn bill. On April 30, 2018, Donnelly and Hampl joined a group of associations in a meeting with Treasury and Commerce officials for an update on what at the time was the most recent draft of the legislation. USCIB hosted a member meeting on May 8, 2018, to discuss ongoing developments and next steps. Finally, on May 21, 2018, USCIB signed on to a multi-association letter to the House and Senate in support of the most recent updates of the legislation, which importantly no longer included provisions to expand CFIUS jurisdiction to cover outbound investment.

USCIB Pens Multi-Association Letter to Treasury on Investment 301: On April 26, 2018, USCIB, together with the Coalition of Services Industries (CSI) and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) hosted a strategy meeting to share intelligence and discuss potential action items on investment issues related to the Administration’s Special 301 investigation. On May 18, 2018, USCIB, together with five other associations, sent a letter to Secretary Mnuchin asking for a more open and consultative process regarding the Administration’s investment restrictions contemplated under Section 301, pursuant to the March 22 presidential memorandum. The letter was sent in anticipation of a report coming out from Treasury no later than May 21, 2018, on the progress in developing measures to address concerns about investment in the U.S directed or facilitated by China in industries or technologies deemed important to the U.S.

Hampl Discusses NAFTA in Politico Roundtable: On April 18, 2018, Eva Hampl, participated in a roundtable conversation hosted by Politico, to discuss NAFTA. The off-the-record discussion addressed what the renegotiated chapters looked like at that time, the major sticking points that remain, and what potential solutions may be. USCIB has been actively advocating for members on NAFTA, traveling to rounds in Canada and Mexico earlier this year, and participating in the Coalition here in D.C., including advocating on the Hill. In support of an open conversation on trade, USCIB co-sponsored a reception on May 17 for Hill staff centered around the China 301 hearing that took place that week, as well as the ongoing NAFTA negotiations, celebrating Great American Jobs Supported by Trade. Representatives from U.S. government, companies, and associations spent the evening discussing various important developments in the trade space.

USCIB Advocates for Business as Colombia Concludes OECD Accession Process in May: Following the conclusion of an accession process that started in 2013, Colombia joined the OECD this month. On May 30, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria signed an accession agreement at the annual ministerial-level council meeting. USCIB, which serves as the U.S. affiliate of Business at OECD, the representative private-sector voice in the OECD, has advocated on behalf of U.S. business throughout this process. Leading up to this conclusion, USCIB joined a meeting with other associations and companies at the White House to discuss Colombia, as well as with USTR, following the most recent meeting of the OECD Trade Committee in April. USCIB welcomes the progress Colombia has made over the past several years in the context of the accession process to the OECD, and we look forward to continued progress and concrete actions being taken on outstanding issues, including on pharmaceuticals and trucking, where the current status does not yet rise to the level of like-mindedness with other OECD countries on open trade and investment. As the OECD considers inviting additional countries to join, USCIB will continue to advocate on behalf of U.S. business to ensure that all OECD countries continue to meet high standards.

Donnelly Defends Business Positions at UNCITRAL Review of ISDS Procedures: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was the leading advocate for business positions and priorities at a weeklong review of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions to enforce international investment agreements held at the UN in New York April 23-27 under the auspices of “Working Group 3” of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). ISDS and investment arbitration are under assault from a coalition of developing countries, NGOs, some international organizations and the European Union. The EU is aggressively pushing its “Multilateral Investment Court” proposal as the solution to alleged problems in the long-established ISDS system to afford an independent body to address serious breaches of investment and rule or law commitments by host government. We and many other business groups find the EU proposal deeply flawed and biased against business. Shaun and a handful of invited business and arbitrator representatives spoke up forcefully to provide much-needed real world perspectives of investors. But the UNCITRAL group is a government-dominated process with limited scope for business and other stakeholders. The next week-long semi-annual session of the WG will be in

USCIB at the National Governors Association North American Summit:  Shaun Donnelly represented USCIB at the special North American Summit of the National Governors Association (NGA) in Scottsdale, Arizona May 4-6. U.S. state Governors met with their North American counterparts – Mexican governors and Canadian provincial Premiers – to review common North American challenges and opportunities. Not surprisingly, NAFTA was a primary focus for discussion among the governors and with USCIB and other business stakeholders participating in the session. Several USCIB member companies also participated. Governors from the three nations had remarkably similar pro-business views on NAFTA – keep it strong, do no harm, and update/strengthen it on new issues based on global best practices. Governors seem to “get” NAFTA more than some Washington politicians.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Files Comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission on Foreign Measures Affecting B2B and B2C Products & Services: Members of USCIB’s Digital Trade Working Group contributed their expertise to USCIB’s April 5, 2018, submission in response to the ITC Federal Register Notice calling for comments on Global Digital Trade 2: The Business-to-Business Market, Key Foreign Trade Restrictions and U.S. Competitiveness (#332-562) and Global Digital Trade 3: The Business-to-Consumer Market, Key Foreign Trade Restrictions and U.S. Competitiveness (#332-563). Evidence of trade barriers that members have been collecting for USCIB’s annual National Trade Estimate/Section 1377 submission to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office (USTR) served as the foundation for the ITC comments, which profiled practices in Brazil, China, European Union, India, Indonesia, and Russia.

USCIB Joins Forces with USITUA to Host Roundtable Discussion Featuring ITU Director Candidate: USCIB and the U.S. International Telecommunication Union Association (USITUA) jointly organized a special roundtable discussion on April 5, 2018, in Washington, D.C. to hear a brief of Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s candidacy for director of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). The Roundtable attracted nearly 40 participants from both trade associations, as well as from the U.S. Government and the Washington, DC diplomatic community. The U.S. Government will formally deposit Bogdan-Martin’s candidature prior to the ITU Plenipotentiary (PP-18), which will take place in Dubai in October 29-November 16. Senior U.S. Government officials indicated that one of Washington’s leading goals at the PP-18 is to secure Bogdan-Martin’s election to this post, highlighting her impressive track record with the ITU.

UNCTAD E-Commerce Week Provides Opportunity for USCIB Members to Highlight the Importance of Digital Technologies for Sustainable Development: UNCTAD’s E-Commerce Week, April 16-20, in Geneva, Switzerland highlighted progress by emerging economies in developing digital ecosystems to support electronic commerce and digital trade and, in turn, drive sustainable economic development. More than 1,000 participants from government, business, civil society, and international organizations convened for the fourth edition of this conference under the theme “Development Dimensions for Digital Platforms.” USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner was on the ground for the first half of the week and observed enthusiasm for the potential of digital platforms to create commercial and economic benefits. USCIB members from Mastercard, Facebook, and King & Spalding elaborated on effective ways of leveraging digital technologies to address various developmental needs as both workshop and plenary speakers.

USCIB Members Help Develop 2018 Policy Priorities for ICC Digital Economy Commission: The ICC Digital Economy Commission (ICC-DEC) held its first meeting of 2018 on April 19-20 at the ICC’s Paris headquarters. USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner contributed to discussions about existing and new policy work as did members from Apple, CenturyLink, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Facebook, Google, Intel, KPMG International, and Microsoft. Existing work that will be taken forward include draft policy papers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity as well as advocacy efforts, supported by the ICC policy paper, “ICT, Policy and Sustainable Economic Development,” at the UN High Level Policy Forum in July 2018. New work includes: (1) an ICC response to the European Union e-privacy regulation, which was created to complement the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); (2) the European Commission’s proposal for cross-border data flows in trade and investment agreements; and (3) a paper that will explore the ICC’s potential role in promoting and preparing self-regulation in the digital economy. The ICC’s ITU Working Group met on the sidelines of the Commission meeting and decided key areas of priority for ICC advocacy in anticipation of the ITU PP-18.

USCIB Members Help to Advance OECD’s Going Digital Project: Barbara Wanner and representatives from AT&T, CCIA, eBay, 21st Century Fox, Mastercard, Microsoft, and Verizon participated in the May 14-18 meetings of the OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Working Parties. The week-long meetings focused on advancing the ambitious horizontal Going Digital project and rolling out plans for a Global Forum on Digital Security for Prosperity. The meeting also featured a special Roundtable discussion on privacy interoperability. USCIB members, participating under the auspices of Business at OECD (BIAC), made numerous interventions focused on elements of the Going Digital Project, such as projects on Artificial Intelligence, Online Platforms, and E-Commerce. The OECD will present an Interim report at the Ministerial Council Meeting, May 28-June 1. The final Going Digital Report will be unveiled at a special Gala event, March 11-12, 2019, in Paris.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Meets with EU Finance Ministries on the EU Draft Directives on Digital Services Tax and Significant Digital Presence: Bill Sample, Chair of the USCIB Taxation Committee and Carol Doran Klein, USCIB VP and International Tax Counsel, along with USCIB member companies participated in a series of meetings with Finance Ministries in European countries concerning the draft directives. The meetings were intended to provide information concerning the potential impact of the draft directives on businesses – both the companies that are targeted by the directives and others that might be “collateral damage” — and discern the countries positions on the proposed directives. USCIB pointed out that the draft directives are deeply flawed and evidence a misunderstanding of the nature of digital economy business models. For example, companies are paid for clicks, rather than displays of advertisements, intermediaries may have very low margins such that a 3% tax would exceed the total profit on the transaction, and companies do not sell data. While many countries expressed concerns with the draft directives and the EU requires unanimity to proceed, it is important that USCIB continue to make its case about the potential damage from these directives. Many countries expressed a willingness to work within the OECD to achieve a long-term solution.

USCIB Joins BIAC Tax Committee Meeting Discussing Digital Taxation: USCIB members attended the BIAC Tax Committee meeting on May 4, 2018 in Paris. The Committee meeting included presentations on the taxation of the digital economy (which is likely to be the main tax topic at the OECD, the EU and the UN this year (and perhaps beyond)); the multilateral instrument, which will enter into force on July 1, 2018 and add new countries and agreements as more countries ratify; MAP and dispute resolution; transfer pricing topics; and U.S. tax reform.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

USCIB Customs Committee Members Meet with ICE on Forced Labor: On Thursday, May 31, 2018, USCIB Director of Customs and Trade Facilitation, Megan Giblin, along with Jerry Cook, Hanesbrands and USCIB Customs Committee Chair, and several other Committee members met with Kenneth J F Kennedy, Senior Policy Advisor Forced Labor Programs, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security to discuss ICE updates on Forced Labor.

USCIB Discusses E-commerce with DHS Trade Policy Staff: The USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee met on May 22, 2018, where Mark McKenzie of DHS Trade Policy joined the Committee to discuss the HSI ICE E-Commerce strategy, provide views on WCO E-Commerce work given DHS’ leadership role in leading the interagency process, and discuss the joint USCIB – U.S. Chamber Industry day on June 14, 2018. The event will give members the opportunity to provide inputs directly into the U.S. interagency group on the issue of the WCO E-Commerce Cross-Border Framework of Standards (FoS).

USCIB Hosts Discussion with U.S. Government Partners on Waste: Since the early 2000s there has been at the WCO, at the request of the Basel Convention, an effort to create “waste” breakouts for a variety of product categories. Under the process to update the legal text of the 2022 Harmonized System Nomenclature, the WCO has been discussing breakouts related to mechanical and electronic or electrical waste.  On May 17, 2018, the USCIB Customs Committee hosted Ms. Beth Elkins of USITC and lead U.S. delegate to the WCO HS Review Subcommittee to discuss current Basel Convention efforts in preparation for June RSC meetings.

Giblin Supports USCIB Member Companies and the USG at WCO E-Commerce Working Group Meetings: From April 9-12, 2018, Megan Giblin, participated in the WCO E-Commerce Working Group meetings held at World Customs Organization Headquarters in Brussels.  During the meetings, Giblin supported both USG interagency partners (i.e., DHS Trade Policy, CBP, and USTR) and USCIB member companies. In preparation for the meeting, the USCIB Customs Committee submitted formal comments on the Draft Framework of Standards. Following the meeting, the USCIB Customs Committee submitted formal comments on 1) the agreed Standards; 2) Related introductions; 3) additional text that was rapidly reviewed and included in the go-forward draft; 4) Resolution; and 5) Draft Workplan tied to the request to extend the tenure of the Working Group past June 2018.

Giblin Meets with Colombian Trade and Customs Attaches: On March 23, 2018, while in Brussels attending international classification meetings at the World Customs Organization, Megan Giblin, met with the Trade and Customs attaches at the Colombian Embassy to discuss key member issues including, but not limited to: Customs Valuation, Consultation with Industry, WTO TFA, and more. The USCIB Customs Committee is working on a Customs and Trade Facilitation Barriers paper, which will be used to continue to address member concerns in the Customs space.

USCIB Customs Committee Meets with Department of Treasury to Discuss E-Commerce at WCO: On March 27, 2018, Megan Giblin, Jerry Cook, and several members of the Customs Committee met with Tim Skud, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade and Tariff Policy) and others of Department of Treasury representatives to discuss USCIB submissions on WCO E-Commerce Draft FoS, specific concerns related to Draft FoS section on Revenue collection, and expressed views in preparation for April in-person meetings on the Framework.

China – Supporting Policies and Relationships that Enhance U.S.-China Business

USCIB Submits Comments and Testifies on China Tariffs: Following the Trump administration’s proposed Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, USCIB Senior Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl testified before the Section 301 Committee, chaired by USTR on May 16 regarding the proposal. Hampl’s testimony reflected USCIB member concerns about potential consequences the proposed tariffs will have on sectors vital to the U.S. economy. Her testimony was drawn from comments USCIB submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. USCIB also signed on to a multi-association letter on April 11 to the Hill, expressing concern about the tariffs to Chairman Brady and Ranking Member Neal. In addition, USCIB also signed on to a multi-association letter to Amb. Lighthizer in response to the request for comments.

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions

USCIB Compares Views/Priorities with State on Responsible Business Conduct in Leadup to OECD Forum in June: USCIB VP for Labor Affairs and Corporate Responsibility Gabriella Rigg Herzog, accompanied by USCIB Investment staffers Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl, met with the State Department senior staffers who lead U.S. Government work on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) at the OECD on May 1, 2018. The OECD’s annual Global Forum on RBC will be held in Paris June 20 and 21 and will include a focus on RBC in the agricultural sector. The OECD’s work on RBC is centered in the Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct, under the general auspices of the OECD Investment Committee. Gabriella will again be attending the June Forum meeting. Unfortunately, some NGO groups and even a few OECD member country delegations seem to view OECD RBC work as simply an open season to criticize business. But our ongoing cooperation with the U.S. Government team continues to yield areas for serious, fact-based work.

Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

USCIB Competition Committee Discusses Recent Supreme Court Case at Spring Meeting: The USCIB Competition Committee held its spring meeting on April 9, 2018. Following welcoming remarks from new Chair Dina Kallay, Ericsson, and Vice-Chair Jennifer Patterson, Arnold & Porter, members received updates on OECD Competition Meetings and BIAC Developments from John Taladay, Baker Botts and Chair of the BIAC Competition Committee, as well as updates on ICC Competition Commission Developments from Jennifer Patterson and Cal Goldman. Brinkley Tappan and William Rinner, Counsels to the Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, provided an update on the activities in their office. The remarks included an extensive discussion of the Vitamin C antitrust legislation that was heard by the Supreme Court on April 24, 2018. The remainder of the agenda included an update on Brazil Antitrust Developments from Ademir Pereira Jr., focusing on the Volkswagen case, and an update on the International Competition Network (ICN) from Paul O’Brien, Counsel for International Antitrust, U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Membership

  • Membership Meetings: The USCIB membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies Biotechnology Innovation Organization and Intel to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Winston & Strawn LLP as a new member.

 

Upcoming Events:

  • 2018 OECD International Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 4-5
  • USCIB Digital Trade Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 12
  • WCO E-Commerce Framework Industry Day Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 14
  • OECD Responsible Business Conduct Annual Forum – Paris, June 18-22
  • USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 19
  • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 20
  • ICANN 62, Panama City, Panama – June 25-28
  • Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Policy Forum & Ministerial, UN-HQ, New York – July 16-19
  • APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3), Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – August 4-20
  • Engaging Business Forum on Business and Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia – September 13-14

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update, December 2017-January 2018

During the months of December 2017 and January 2018, USCIB Staff arranged for members to meet on CFIUS with Heath Tarbert, Treasury, and internet governance with Robert Strayer, State, issued the USCIB 2018 Trade and Investment Agenda, participated in a Senate Lobby Day on NAFTA, traveled to Montreal for the 6th round of NAFTA negotiations, led a meeting with USTR on OECD Accession issues for Colombia, submitted comments to a UK consultation on digital taxation, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
Innovation and Intellectual Property – Strengthening International Protections for U.S. IP
Health – Business Engagement for Balanced International Health and Nutrition Regulations
Membership
Upcoming Events
Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

Assistant Treasury Secretary Tarbert Briefs USCIB Trade Committee on CFIUS: On December 12, 2017, the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee met at the Citigroup Offices in Washington, D.C. The committee was joined by Heath P. Tarbert, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets and Development, who provided an off-the-record briefing for members on the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the proposed legislation in the Senate to reform the CFIUS process. Tarbert was joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security, Aimen N. Mir, who leads the interagency CFIUS process. Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel, then briefed the committee on the international provisions of the tax reform bills then in the House and Senate, and following this update, the committee was joined via conference call by Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Beatty gave his assessment of the state of the NAFTA negotiations and the perspective of the Canadian businesses community and government. Finally, Tatjana Sachse, Counsel from Sidley Austin’s Geneva office, called in to the meeting and provided a report directly from Buenos Aries on the latest at the WTO Ministerial.

USCIB Spells Out Priorities for U.S. Trade and Investment Policy: In January USCIB issued its 2018 Trade and Investment Agenda outlining our policy priorities for the year. The Agenda highlights USCIB’s commitment to a global rules-based trade and investment system that opens international markets. Other key principles include support for strong enforcement of existing U.S. trade pacts, pursuing new trade and investment agreements, and ensuring strong investment protections. The Agenda stresses the importance of U.S. engagement and leadership in creating and enforcing rules for international trade and investment. It also emphasizes the need for policies to improve U.S. competitiveness such as preparing U.S. workers to compete and succeed in the 21st century economy. The Agenda has been shared with the White House, USTR and the lead Congressional trade staff.

Hampl Advocates on NAFTA in Montreal: The 6th round of NAFTA negotiations took place in Montreal starting on January 21, with a concluding Ministerial on Monday, January 29, 2018. Eva Hampl, USCIB Director, Investment, Trade and Financial services, traveled to Canada for the round, and together with member companies and associations, met with negotiators from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as congressional staff, Republican and Democratic members of congress, and members of the Canadian and Mexican business community. In his Closing Statement, Amb. Lighthizer acknowledged that some progress has been made, but that it is slow. Importantly, he noted that the United States is committed to moving forward with negotiations. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Mexico City from February 26 to March 6.  In line with Amb. Lighthizer’s remarks, the feeling on the ground during the week was one of progress and proceeding in a workmanlike and constructive manner. The four “poison pill” proposals, as they have been called (automotive rules of origin, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), government procurement, and sunset provision) remain contentious, though Canada and Mexico have presented new and creative ideas in an attempt to work within the U.S. proposals. Of particular concern is the U.S. proposal on the ISDS provision and dispute settlement more generally in the agreement. USCIB will continue to engage on these important issues and advocate for priority issues of our members.

USCIB Lobbies the Senate on NAFTA: On January 17, 2018, USCIB participated in a Senate Lobby Day on the Hill, speaking with a range of Republican and Democratic offices. Eva Hampl participated on behalf of USCIB. Following two successful lobby days in the fall, in the House and Senate respectively, these January meetings were organized in the leadup to the 6th round of NAFTA negotiations that took place in Montreal the week of January 21. Throughout the day, about 150 members of the NAFTA Coalition met with as many Senate offices as possible, raising our issues of concern. The Coalition emphasized the outstanding issues regarding the problematic proposals of a sunset clause, investor-state dispute settlement, automotive rules of origin, and government procurement. We also made the point that there are many chapters that are making progress, including customs and digital trade, which are vital for business and should get closed out as soon as possible.

USCIB Leads USTR Meeting on OECD Accession for Colombia and Plans for Future Accessions: Mid-January, Eva Hampl led a group of companies and associations in a meeting with USTR to discuss OECD Accession issues for Colombia. On the USTR side the meeting included Cara Morrow, ‎Deputy Assistant USTR for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, Leslie O’Connor, Deputy Assistant USTR for Central America and the Dominican Republic, Joe Whitlock, USTR Senior Director for Innovation and Intellectual Property, and Zoe Sophos USTR Deputy Director for WTO and Multilateral Affairs. The meeting served as a follow up to the November meetings of the OECD Trade Committee, where Colombia accession was discussed. Significant issues remain and Colombia is required to continue to make further changes before being able to accede to the OECD. USCIB will continue to strongly advocate on the outstanding issues for our companies. It is important that Colombia is only permitted to accede when all high OECD standards have been met, particularly with other countries in discussions of starting the accession process. The applicant countries are Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. To ensure that business views are appropriately represented in the process, Business at OECD (BIAC) has issued a statement outlining a process for input, noting in part that a commitment to open markets should guide any decision to the opening of accession negotiations, and the accession process should encourage countries to improve their business environment and engage in the necessary reforms.

USCIB and State Department Consulting on Next Generation of OECD Accession Candidates: Rob Mulligan, USCIB Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, led a USCIB staff team in an early January session with the State Department’s team managing U.S. relations with the OECD to compare notes on assessments and priorities among the six new countries seeking to get invited into the formal queue for accession into OECD membership. With three Latin countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Peru) and three EU members (Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania) putting their candidacies forward, some complications arise, including each applicant’s willingness and ability to meet the OECD standards and conditions for membership, the extent of true “like-mindedness” of each candidate, and the balance between European and non-European members in the OECD. Once a country gets into the queue, it then must pass muster in rigorous reviews by dozens of OECD committees and working groups; a process that usually takes several years. Much of the attention at this point is focused on Brazil, a major global player but, unfortunately, one currently far from OECD standards on laws, regulations and policies in key areas. The good news is that USCIB is in an active dialogue with the U.S. Government and we seem to be on the same wavelength.

USCIB Advocates for Open Investment Climate in CFIUS Reform Discussions: In November of last year, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), together with the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), the legislation intended to modernize and strengthen the process of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Since then, USCIB and our members have been carefully reviewing the legislation, as it raises several concerns as to scope. In addition to continued dialogue with other associations concerned about FIRRMA, USCIB is in the process of finalizing Policy Pillars on the legislation, outlining the general view that CFIUS plays a very important role, but that any legislation must remain focused on national security review only, and that any expansion in scope is carefully calibrated so as not to hamper U.S. innovation and development. Several hearings have already been held on the subject, so the process is moving forward. USCIB plans on remaining very engaged on CFIUS reform, to ensure that the U.S. retains the open investment environment that has enabled our companies to grow and thrive over the years.

USCIB Reviews OECD Investment Issues with State Department: USCIB staffers Shaun Donnelly, Vice President, Investment and Financial Services, and Eva Hampl met in mid-December with Michael Tracton, Director of the Office of Investment Affairs (OIA) in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs to review OECD investment policy issues and to seek U.S. Government support for greater business community input and participation in OECD investment policy work. Mike Tracton heads the U.S. Government delegation to the OECD Investment Committee meetings and is a member of the Committee leadership “Bureau.” USCIB and the broader Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) international business group at the OECD have long been seeking to open up more of the OECD Investment Committee’s closed-door session to BIAC and other official stakeholders. Mike Tracton and the U.S. Government are supporting that effort. Shaun Donnelly will represent USCIB at the upcoming March Investment Committee meetings where we will continue to advocate for strong investment agreements, including investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS”) provisions to ensure investor rights can be enforced.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Members Engage with U.S. Government Officials on OECD Digital Economy Program Priorities, 2019-2020: On December 11, 2017, USCIB hosted a meeting to enable members to engage with relevant staff from the State Department, Commerce Department, Federal Communications Commission, and Federal Trade Commission on the OECD’s digital economy program priorities for 2019-2020. The informal, off-the-record session featured an exchange of views on substantive elements of the projects proposed by the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy for the upcoming work period as well as research methodology.

State Department Invites Discussion about 2018 Challenges/Opportunities in Internet Governance: On December 13, 2017, Robert Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, State Department, was the featured speaker at the 4th quarter meeting of the ICT Policy Committee. He explored the 2018 internet governance landscape, a discussion that featured extensive discussion about the importance of ensuring that the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) remains a viable multistakeholder platform for non-binding discussions about a broad array of Internet-related issues. Discussions also reflected a convergence of views concerning priorities for the 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary, which will be held October 29-November 16, 2018 in Dubai, UAE. In addition, USCIB members provided important updates on the following topics: (1) Ellen Blackler (Disney) and Rich Clarke (AT&T) debriefed on the outcomes and implications of the November 2017 meetings of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Working Parties; and (2) Keith Drazek and David McAuley (VeriSign), Denise Michel (Facebook), and Chris Wilson (Amazon) examined key issues addressed at ICANN 60 such as the contractual compliance challenges posed by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Board’s suspension of an important community-driven security review, the wrap up of Enhancing ICANN Accountability Workstream 2, and Amazon’s application for the .amazon top-level domain name. Chair Eric Loeb concluded the meeting with a review of the committee’s 2018 Goals and Objectives.

USCIB Advocates Bridging the Gender Digital Divide through Multistakeholder Processes: On December 15, 2017, USCIB submitted comments as part of the open consultation convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues (CWG-Internet) on the topic of “Bridging the Digital Gender Divide.” USCIB underscored that no one organization can tackle this problem alone; partnerships are critical, between the public and private sectors, business and non-profits, intergovernmental organizations, and between local and national governments. USCIB further highlighted the effectiveness of using multistakeholder processes to bridge the gender digital divide.

USCIB Members Offer Insights into Opportunities and Challenges of Digital Transformation and the IGF’s Role: USCIB members from Amazon, AT&T, BT Americas, Cisco, Comcast NBCUniversal, Facebook, Fenwick & West, Google, Intel, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, VeriSign, Verizon, and Wiley Rein, among others, participated in the 12th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), December 18-22, 2017, Geneva, Switzerland. These member representatives and USCIB’s Barbara Wanner, Vice President, ICT Policy, made important contributions on digital trade, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IoT), and bridging the gender and youth digital divide. In addition, the OECD’s Going Digital project was featured in a special session, which enabled USCIB members to reiterate points of support and concern offered by BIAC at the November 2017 meeting of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP). name=”ICT_European-Commission-Tax-Digitalized-Economy”>

USCIB Bids Farewell to Key EU Digital Economy Officer and Welcomes his Successor: USCIB hosted a special get-together January 17, 2018 to bid farewell and express appreciation to Andrea Glorioso, Digital Economy Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the USA, for his openness to working with U.S. business during his nearly four-year term in the Washington office. Members, in turn, welcomed Glorioso’s successor, Peter Fatelnig. The informal gathering featured discussion about current issues in U.S.-EU relations and areas of cooperation – and challenge – going forward.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Submits Comments in Response to European Commission Consultation on the Tax Challenges of the Digitalized Economy: In response to a request for input The taxation of the digital economy will be the main issue addressed internationally this year. The UK has issued two position papers (one on the digital economy and the other on royalties withholding) USCIB submitted a response to the consultation on the digital economy and will submit a response to consultation on royalties, which is due shortly. There is enormous pressure within the EU and elsewhere to come up with new rules for taxing the digital economy. Many countries feel the need to increase the share of the income that is taxable in the market economy, regardless of whether there is a traditional presence in the market economy. USCIB will participate in this debate and attempt to ensure that U.S. business views are fully represented.

USCIB Submits Comments on Section 965: The USCIB Tax Committee submitted a letter to the Treasury concerning the implementation of new section 965. The letter focused on the distinction between cash and non-cash assets and the possibility of double counting and ways to avoid double counting. USCIB will be holding a Tax Committee meeting on February 22, 2018. The taxation of the digital economy and the new tax law will be a focus of that meeting.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

USCIB Customs Leadership Meets with New CBP Trade Relations Director: On January 31, 2017, Megan Giblin, USCIB Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation, and Jerry Cook, Hanesbrands and USCIB Customs Committee Chair, had a meet and great with U.S. CBP Office of Trade Executive Director, Bradley Hayes. The meeting covered USCIB Customs Committee issues and interests, as well as follow-up on key priority issues discussed in the USCIB’s 2017 meeting with then Acting Commissioner McAleenan such as e-commerce, customs valuation, and forced labor. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with CBP.

Giblin Talks APEC Customs Work with USTR, USAID: On January 12 and 17, 2018, Megan Giblin met with USTR APEC and USAID APEC representatives to discuss USCIB engagement on Customs and Trade Facilitation issues. These included the Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity (A2C2), specific issues of interest and possible event topics for APEC 2018 events hosted by Papua New Guinea, as well as industry engagement efforts focused on Customs and Trade Facilitation topics.

Colombian Embassy Officials Hear from USCIB Customs Committee Members: On November 30, 2017, USCIB Customs Committee Members met with Colombian Embassy representatives to discuss Colombia’s domestic TFA ratification status, customs valuation concerns, as well as other non-tariff barriers faced at, or in relation to, the Customs border. Future meetings with Colombian Customs and Customs attachés will build on these discussions in efforts to resolve USCIB member concerns.

Innovation and Intellectual Property – Strengthening International Protections for U.S. IP

USCIB Participates in ICC Intellectual Property Commission Meeting: Mike Michener, USCIB Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation, participated in the most recent ICC IP Commission meeting in Geneva that was held at the offices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Senior officials from WIPO and the WTO made presentations on developments and activities in areas of interest to business, such as copyright, enforcement, trademarks, designs and GIs, patents, genetic resources and traditional knowledge, WIPO projects on intangibles in global value chains, databases, medicines and climate change, and IP-related developments in the WTO. The Commission will closely monitor developments in the draft Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments and evaluate what action ICC should take at the next commission meeting in March, after studying The Hague Secretariat report on the possible consequences of various options, expected shortly before the meeting.

Health – Business Engagement for Balanced International Health and Nutrition Regulations

USCIB Highlights Critical Role of Private Sector in Medical Innovation: In December, 2017, USCIB participated in the OECD Health Committee, which discussed among other issues OECD work exploring Sustainable Access to Innovative Therapies. BIAC Health Committee Chair Nicole Denjoy emphasized the role of business as a key stakeholder in this debate, and Vice Chair Thomas Cueni highlighted the critical importance of adopting a holistic system-wide approach. Business at OECD (BIAC) contributed to this OECD project during stakeholder consultations in December 2016, and May and June 2017, and has also contributed to the report through substantive empirical evidence. Ali Karami Ruiz, BIAC Director for Policy, Communications, and International Affairs,showcased business contributions towards health literacy efforts in the context of OECD efforts in this field. USCIB’s Michael Michener, PhRMA’s Kevin Haninger, and IFPMA’s Andrew Jenner were also part of the Business at OECD (BIAC) delegation.

Membership

New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed FMC Corporation as a new member.

Upcoming Events:

  • BIAC/OECD Meeting of Chemicals Committee, Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotech, Paris, France – February 5-7
  • USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – February 13
  • USCIB Digital Trade Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. – February 13
  • USCIB Tax Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – February 22
  • APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea February 26-March 2
  • USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – March 6
  • ICANN 61, San Juan, Puerta Rico – March 10-15
  • WSIS Forum, Geneva, Switzerland – March 19-23
  • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – March 26
  • UNCTAD E-Commerce Week, Geneva, Switzerland – April 16-20
  • ICC Digital Economy Commission (ICC-DEC) Meeting, Paris, France – April 19-20
  • USCIB Geneva Week, Geneva, Switzerland – April 23-26
  • 2018 OECD International Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 4-5

 

USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update October – November 2017

Highlighting Key Activities, October-November 2017

During the months of October and November 2017, USCIB Staff met with Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs Everett Eissenstat on U.S. trade policy, discussed OECD policy work with Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Brian McFeeters, engaged on CFIUS with Treasury DAS for Investment Security and Chair of the CFIUS Aimen Mir, spoke on a NAFTA panel at the Services Summit conference, submitted a comment letter to OECD on the tax challenges of the digitalized economy, raised concerns regarding the work of the OECD Health Committee with the Director of Employment, Labor and Social Affairs for the OECD Stefano Scarpetta, reviewed questions on customs treatment of international postal shipments with Deputy Post Master General Ronald A. Stroman, provided the business view at UNCTAD’s High-Level Conference on International Investment Agreements and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

    1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
    2. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
    3. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
    4. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
    5. Food and Agriculture – Promoting an Open and Efficient Global Food System by Providing Industry Expertise
    6. Innovation and Intellectual Property – Promoting an Open and Efficient Global Food System by Providing Industry Expertise
    7. APEC – Enhancing U.S. Business Cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Region
    8. Membership
    9. Upcoming Events
    10. Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

Mulligan Talks NAFTA at CSI Summit: USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, Rob Mulligan spoke at a Coalition of Services Industries (CSI) summit on October 17, where he outlined USCIB’s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) priorities. Mulligan noted that NAFTA can be brought into the 21st century by including provisions that ensure cross-border data flows, include strong e-commerce rules, protect against data localization requirements, and level the playing field for firms competing against state-owned enterprises. More can also be done to improve the customs processes with Canada and Mexico. These steps will help U.S. businesses grow and create jobs. Mulligan noted that USCIB member companies strongly support NAFTA and have greatly benefited from it over the last 23 years, so they want the governments to avoid changes to existing parts of NAFTA that would harm trade rather than expand it. He especially highlighted concerns with U.S. government proposals on rules of origin, government procurement, ISDS and a sunset clause.

USCIB Lobbies Senate and House on NAFTA and Co-sponsors Reception: As part of a wider Coalition effort related to NAFTA, Rob Mulligan, Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, and Eva Hampl, Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, lobbied the Senate and the House, respectively, in October as the fourth round of talks unfolded. Private-sector representatives spent two full days talking to House and Senate Republicans and Democrats. Issues addressed included proposals coming from the U.S. side in the NAFTA talks addressing rules of origin, government procurement, investor-state dispute settlement, and a proposed sunset provision that would essentially force NAFTA to be renewed at regular intervals. There continues to be great concern in the business community that NAFTA is being set up to fail with some of the proposals that are being tabled. USCIB also co-sponsored a reception on the sidelines of the NAFTA talks, where Hampl amplified USCIB’s central message of urgency, noting that USCIB members rely on the agreement and its benefits for their operations, which provide jobs for U.S. workers.

USCIB Digital Trade Working Group Meets with USTR on NAFTA Digital Trade Negotiations:  Jonathan McHale, Deputy Assistant USTR for Telecommunications Policy briefed the USCIB Digital Trade Working Group on the NAFTA negotiations at its meeting on November 7, 2017.  He provided an update on the digital trade elements of the NAFTA negotiations as well as an outlook for e-commerce at the WTO Ministerial.  Jonathan highlighted several positive developments with regard to the digital trade issues and noted areas where the U.S. has proposed additional provisions for negotiation.  Members also heard from Nick Ashton-Hart, calling in from Geneva, who has been assisting the Friends of E-Commerce for Development group of countries seeking to have the WTO move forward with work on e-commerce issues.  He noted that there is a group of African countries opposing these efforts to address e-commerce more actively in the WTO and urged USCIB and ICC to work with affiliate business groups in those countries.  The DTWG also discussed planning for 2018 and will look to prioritize advocacy and engagement that capitalizes on USCIB’s access to global organizations.

USCIB Joins BIAC Board for Meetings in Washington, D.C. with Key U.S Officials:  The Business at OECD (BIAC) Board of Directors held its most recent meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 2017.  Rick Johnston, Citi, who is the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Chair, also serves as a Vice-Chair of the BIAC Board and hosted their meeting at his office.  In addition to a day-long strategy meeting which included a presentation from Rob Mulligan as the representative of the U.S. affiliate to BIAC, the Board Members had the chance to exchange views with a number of key U.S. officials and thought leaders including Everett Eissenstat (Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs), Andy Taylor and Matthew Zweig (Staff for House Committee on Foreign Affairs), and Brian McFeeters (Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs).  They also had a lunch discussion with Greg Ip (Wall Street Journal) and Shawn Donnan (Financial Times).  Peter Robinson, CEO and President of USCIB, and Rob Mulligan joined the Board for these meetings.

Hampl Advocates for Strong Investment Policies in Paris: In October, Eva Hampl, Director, Investment Trade and Financial Services, participated in the meetings of the OECD Investment Committee. In addition to a formal stakeholder consultation, and a dinner with leadership from the Investment Committee as well as the OECD Secretariat, Hampl had bilateral meetings with various OECD investment staff, as well as with officials from the U.S. Mission to the OECD. During the stakeholder consultation, BIAC made strong statements focused primarily on international investment agreements, specifically ISDS and related issues. BIAC maintained the position that investment agreements are very important to business, and are necessary for a robust international investment environment. Unfortunately, the OECD has not yet been able to produce reliable data definitively proving the benefits of IIAs. Hampl also made an intervention on behalf of U.S. industry, underlining the importance of empirical research in this area, and raising concerns about leaving a vacuum of information in the space related to IIAs.

Donnelly Speaks Up for Business at UNCTAD’s High-Level Conference on International Investment Agreements (IIAs): USCIB Vice President for Investment Policy Shaun Donnelly was the lead business speaker at the October 9-11 annual High-Level Conference on International Investment Agreements in Geneva. Shaun kept reminding the government, NGO and academic “experts” that strong IIAs, including effective Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) disciplines, help drive investment flows and all the benefits (economic growth, trade and good jobs) we are all seeking. Donnelly authored a blog post on the UNCTAD IIA Conference, including key talking points from his several interventions.

Donnelly Touches Base on Geneva Issues, Tees up Peter Robinson’s Meetings with U.S. Mission: While in Geneva in early October, USCIB’s Shaun Donnelly met with the Charge d’Affaires (the Acting U.S. Ambassador) to the Geneva UN agencies, Ted Allegra. They reviewed USCIB priorities and concerns across a range of UN agencies (World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, and Human Rights Commission, in addition to UNCTAD. Donnelly also had a detailed roundtable with key U.S. Mission staff from multiple U.S. agencies (State, HHS, USTR). Donnelly met formally or informally with other Geneva-based foreign Ambassadors and staff in other UN agencies. About a month later, USCIB President/CEO Peter Robinson was back at the U.S. Mission for a more detailed follow-up session with the Charge, focused especially on serious challenges for USCIB members at the WHO, HRC, and ILO. Peter also was able to have a busy round of high-level meetings at UN agencies and beyond.

USCIB Discusses Transparency at OECD SOE Integrity Roundtable: On October 23, 2017, represented USCIB at a special roundtable at the OECD on Integrity, the “Fight Against Corruption and Responsible Business Conduct in the SOE Sector”. As a discussant on the issue of transparency, Hampl made comments addressing the importance of transparency regarding state-owned enterprises (SOEs). SOEs are increasing in global commerce, disadvantaging companies operating without state support or control. SOEs are particularly vulnerable to corruption due to factors such as a close relationship between government, politicians and the SOE senior management, and in some cases lack of transparency and reporting. To truly level the playing field between SOEs and companies competing in the global market, SOEs must be held to the same standards. Following the roundtable, Hampl also participated in the consultation with the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatization Practices, where she reiterated many of the points made at the roundtable, as well as emphasized the importance of the OECD to focus on the demand side of bribery.

Discussing the Cost of Corruption on OECD Anti-bribery Convention and FCPA Anniversary: On November 8, 2017 Eva Hampl, took part in a panel at the event “Celebrating the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention at 20, the FCPA at 40 & Addressing the Challenges Ahead”. She addressed the cost that corruption and bribery present to business, and the important role the OECD plays to level the playing field in that regard. The OECD Anti-bribery Convention is a landmark instrument addressing the bribery of foreign officials. With its multi-disciplinary nature, the OECD has the capacity to take a coordinated approach to the fight against corruption, including addressing such issues as increased adherence to the Convention, increased efforts to address the demand side of bribery, more measures to facilitate voluntary self-disclosure, and addressing the growing complexity and costs of complying with multiple anti-bribery regimes by promoting clarity and greater international consistency.

USCIB Urges High Standards in Colombia’s OECD Accession: Through its Business at OECD (BIAC) affiliation, USCIB has been extensively involved in representing member interests in the OECD accession process of Colombia. Eva Hampl traveled to Paris in November with member companies and associations, to attend meetings with OECD officials and various OECD delegations. BIAC led the global business delegation in meetings with Ken Ash, OECD director for trade and agriculture, Nicola Bonucci, OECD director for legal affairs and coordinator for accession, Catalina Crane, high-level contact for Colombia’s OECD Accession Process, and delegation representatives from the United States, including Andrew Haviland, chargé d’affaires, as well as representatives from the European Union, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and Mexico. Colombia started the accession process in 2013, and currently 20 of the 23 OECD Committees have approved them for accession. One of the outstanding committees is the Trade Committee, which is currently drafting its Formal Opinion, which is the final stage in the process. USCIB’s current advocacy surrounds pre-accession recommendations, which we urged the OECD Trade Committee to include in the Formal Opinion. This ask is central to resolving our various business issues. Following the November 2017 meeting, the next meeting of the OECD Trade Committee will be in April 2018. USCIB will aggressively continue our advocacy efforts as this accession process moves forward, to ensure that as many of our priority issues are resolved as possible before Colombia joins the OECD.

Checking in with New Economic Leadership at State: On October 26, Shaun Donnelly had a wide-ranging introductory session on USCIB and our key priorities with the then new Acing Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs (the “EB Bureau”) Brian McFeeters plus other senior EB staff. Brian, just back from a tour as Deputy Chief of Mission in Indonesia, is the new Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (“P/DAS”) in EB but was holding the fort until his new boss was confirmed and sworn in. As a former EB PDAS in his own 36-year Foreign Service career, Shaun had a lot of common experiences to draw on with Brian as he laid out USCIB’s unique role representing U.S. business around the world and our current policy priorities. Former Senate staffer Manisha Singh was confirmed by voice vote by the U.S. Senate on November 2 to be the next EB Assistant Secretary. Ms. Singh, who served as EB’s Trade DAS in the George W. Bush Administration, should be formally sworn in very soon. Here’s a link to McFeeters’ official State bio.

Helping Mark 20 Years of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention: The Coalition for Integrity (“C4I”) organized an afternoon long seminar on the afternoon of their annual dinner in Washington marking the 20th anniversary of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention and the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, two key tools in the fight against international bribery. USCIB VP Shaun Donnelly spoke on the panel focused on the panel focused on the OECD’s Anti-Bribery convention (officially the “Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions”) which was signed in December 1997. Shaun and fellow panelists evaluated process and highlighted priorities for future work. Shaun emphasized two key areas for concerned USCIB member companies – balancing the now well-established work on the “supply” side of corruption from the business side to bring equal focus on the “demand” side, unmasking and punishing corrupt senior government officials attempting to extorting payments from businesses. Shaun also urged the participating governments to open more of the committee meetings and activities to business and other stakeholders.

Talking CFIUS with Treasury: With the long-awaited Cornyn Bill to reform and strengthen the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (“CFIUS”) finally now getting more attention, USCIB staffers Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl ventured over to Treasury (the lead agency on CFIUS) to meet with Aimen Mir, Treasury DAS for Investment Security and Chair of the CFIUS. We had an excellent, wide-ranging discussion on key CFIUS issues with the result that DAS Mir and his boss new Treasury Assistant Secretary Heath Tarbert will be speaking with USCIB member companies at our upcoming USCIB Trade and Investment Committee meeting on December 12.

Talking Trade Hither and Yon: Beyond his part-time USCIB work, our VP for Investment Policy Shaun Donnelly remains a sought-after after-hours speaker on broad trade topics both in Washington and on the road. Recently Shaun spoke on Trump Administration trade policies and related trade issues at the Louisville (Kentucky) Committee on Foreign Relations and at his long-ago high school in Indiana. Here in Washington, Shaun was a dinner speaker for the prestigious Foreign Policy Discussion Group and to a “Road Scholar” group as part of a week-long program on “Sovereignty Issues in U.S. Foreign Policy.” Helps keep the old Ambassador off the street and, hopefully, helps in a small way to improve public understanding on important trade issues for our country.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Members Engage with the Internet Society on Internet Governance Issues, Commerce Debriefs on Privacy Shield Annual Review: The ICT Policy Committee Meeting on October 4 featured a dialogue with senior executives of the Internet Society (ISOC) to explore potential collaboration in developing new approaches to increasing challenges in the Internet governance space. It was noted that Internet governance issues have become more complex and the multistakeholder model has come under fire in multilateral organizations due to geopolitical pressures often couched in security terms. Members agreed that USCIB and ISOC should leverage our organizations’ positive multistakeholder experiences to showcase a new alternative. ISOC’s Chief Technology Officer Olaf Kolkman also gave a presentation on ISOC’s Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) Initiative, which is aimed at bringing companies and other stakeholders together to develop a set of norms focused on routing security. In addition, Nasreen Djouini, International Trade Specialist at International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, debriefed members on the generally successful first annual review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. USCIB issued a statement just before the September 18-19 review reaffirming its support for the Framework, underscoring that it is accomplishing its intended goal of creating stronger, more effective means for transferring and safeguarding personal data from the EU to the United States.

USCIB Members Shape Discussions on EU Privacy Regulation Impact, Amazon Application, and Board Accountability at ICANN 60: The 60th meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 28-November 3 was dominated by discussions about the implications of the May 25, 2018 implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on ICANN’s WHOIS database policies and the contractual obligations of Registries and Registrars. USCIB member representatives from Amazon, AT&T, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, VeriSign and Verizon actively contributed to their expertise. In addition, the long-running dispute concerning Amazon’s application for the Amazon generic top-level domain (gTLD) was the focus of a standing-room only session of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). The ICANN Board’s abrupt suspension of a review to ensure the security, stability and resilience of the domain name system (DNS) came under tough scrutiny. Barbara Wanner, ICT Vice President, participated in her capacity as the BC’s representative to the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), a position that facilitated important meetings with senior ICANN officials and other key constituencies.

Key Inputs to OECD Horizontal Project on the Digital Economy are Influenced by USCIB Members: On October 25, USCIB member representatives from Amazon Web Services, AT&T, Facebook, and Microsoft, made key contributions to a joint BIAC/OECD workshop, “OECD Going Digital Scenarios,” which considered four different potential scenarios for how the digital economy may evolve over the next several decades. They provided feedback about the likelihood of these scenarios occurring and the impacts on business, consumers, and other participants in the economy and society. Selected members followed this up October 26-27, providing industry insights to a joint OECD/Government Japan conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Their substantive contributions continued through the week of October 30 at meetings of the Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP), the Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy (MADE), and the Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE) as well as at the November 21-22 meetings of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP). Working through BIAC, USCIB member input will feed into the OECD’s Going Digital project on the digital transformation of the economy. This is the most ambitious horizontal project that has ever been undertaken by the OECD, the goal of which is to help governments approach the digital transformation of the economy in a coherent, proactive, and whole-of-government manner.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Participates in OECD Conversation on the Tax Challenges of the Digitalized Economy: In response to a request for input by the OECD, USCIB submitted a comment letter on the tax challenges of the digitalized economy. The letter emphasized the need to consider the impact of changes on global growth and the need to ensure that new rules are based on sound principles. The letter analyzed the proposals under the Ottawa principles that have been used to evaluate tax proposals in the past and that the OECD has supported in the Action 1 Final Report. The written comments were followed by a public consultation held in Berkeley, California. The Berkeley meeting was well-attended by USCIB members, including Bill Sample, Chair of the USCIB Tax Committee, Will Morris, Vice Chair of the USCIB Tax Committee (and Chair of the BIAC Tax Committee), and Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel. In addition to global growth and sound principles, business emphasized the need for income taxation to follow value creation; the difficulty of valuing data, that raw data does not create value, rather value is created by what businesses do with data; that the digital economy cannot be ring-fenced (although many of the proposals seem to try to do precisely that); that gross basis taxes are especially flawed given that most businesses fail and that even successful businesses may incur start-up losses for extended periods; and that any short-term solution must be genuinely short-term and comply with both tax treaty and trade obligations.

USCIB members also met separately with officials from the German Finance Ministry to discuss their views on these issues. We will also be having a meeting in Washington, D.C., on November 30th, with the French Finance Ministry to these topics.
It is clear that there is tremendous political pressure to shift taxation rights. The EU wants new “source” rules that put more profit in market jurisdictions. It seems that the OECD may have a short window to produce results that the EU and other jurisdictions that are seeking more “source” taxation rights consider appropriate. Beyond that time-frame, which may coincide with the April 2018 report to the G20, unilateral measures become increasingly likely.

USCIB Submits Comments on Platform for Collaboration on Tax’s Draft Toolkit on the Taxation of Offshore Indirect Transfers: USCIB submitted a comment letter on the taxation of offshore indirect transfers. The comment letter strongly made the point that, if adopted as drafted, the toolkit would reverse fundamental policies on the taxation of capital gains and therefore should be considered (and adopted or rejected) by country delegates, not recommended by staff of international organizations.

USCIB Attends and Presents Comments at the OECD’s Public Consultations on Profit Splits and Profit Attribution: Bill Sample and Carol Doran Klein represented USCIB at two days of public consultations at the OECD in Paris on profit splits and profit attribution. Business emphasized that the use of the transactional profit split method should be rare. There was a great deal of discussion concerning risk and the accurate delineation of the transaction. Many of the business commentators argued that applying the TPSM to companies that do not assume the risk under Chapter 1 is inappropriate. Another frequent comment of business on the profit split method was that more clarity is needed particularly on the definition of unique and valuable intangibles. On profit attribution, business criticized the high-level nature of the current discussion draft, making the point that more detail is needed to achieve certainty.

USCIB Participates in BIAC Tax Committee Meeting: Bill Sample and Carol Doran Klein participated in a BIAC Tax Committee meeting in Paris that was held at the offices of Baker & McKenzie. There were presentations by a number of OECD staff summarizing the status of a number of important work streams. On the digital economy work, the OECD indicated that there is no consensus on any of the options, but external developments are sharing the conversation and the report. The OECD wants to ensure that the interim report provides a pathway to long-term solutions. With respect to profit attribution, the OECD expected that the WP6 would reach agreement on a final version by November 17. A draft should go to the CFA/Inclusive Framework for approval in January 2018. The timing is similar for finalizing the profit split discussion draft.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

Giblin Represents USCIB and ICC at WCO 60th HSC Meetings: From September 27 – October 6, 2017, Megan Giblin, USCIB Director of Customs and Trade Facilitation, participated in the World Customs Organization 60th Harmonized System Committee (HSC) Meetings in Paris, France. At the 60th HSC, there were 53 individual product classification decisions taken, and a number of issues important to USCIB membership were discussed, including 3D Printers, certain Tobacco Products, Toys, Footwear, and more.

Engaging with ICC Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission on E-Commerce: Megan Giblin participated in the ICC Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission Meeting in Paris, France, November 9-10, 2017. ICC provided an update on its engagement in the WCO working group on e-commerce as a co-lead of the sub-working group on Revenue Collection. Other topics covered at the meeting included a discussion on the European Union Customs Code (UCC), implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), and an update on the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation (TCCV) developments.

Customs Committee Members Meet with Key Players on International Postal Shipments: In efforts to address member questions related to customs treatment of international postal shipments, the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee had meetings with Manuel (Manny) Garza of CBP, Mr. Joseph Murphy of the Department of State, and Deputy Post Master General, Mr. Ronald A. Stroman, to continue our discussions and information gathering on current and pending regulations.

Food and Agriculture – Promoting an Open and Efficient Global Food System by Providing Industry Expertise

Stefano Scarpetta, OECD, Has Candid Conversation with USCIB Food and Agriculture and Health Care Working Groups: USCIB’s Food and Agriculture and Healthcare Working Groups met with Stefano Scarpetta, director of Employment, Labor and Social Affairs for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on October 25, 2017. The meeting reinforced longstanding USCIB and Business at OECD cooperation in other issue areas and the need to improve the engagement between business and the OECD Health Committee. Members also raised several concerns with a draft paper on sustainable access to innovative therapies.  USCIB outlined four areas of recommendations to Scarpetta in the hopes of improving future interactions with member states and the health division secretariat, including helping member states understand the role of Business at OECD and its national affiliates, tracking input from Business at OECD and national affiliates, increasing diversity in perspectives among OECD health division staff and better use of OECD expert groups.

Innovation and Intellectual Property – Strengthening International Protections for U.S. IP

USCIB Intellectual Property Committee is Re-Launched with Focus on Innovation: USCIB has redoubled its efforts to promote American competitiveness with the launch of its Intellectual Property and Innovation Committee. The new committee, chaired by Sharon Reiche, corporate counsel for global patents and policy at Pfizer Inc., builds upon USCIB’s longstanding commitment to improved protection of intellectual property – and the innovation and creativity it underpins – via robust U.S. trade policy and expanded international diplomatic commitments.

The inaugural meeting of the new USCIB committee took place on October 18 in Washington, D.C. Special guests at the meeting included John Sandage, Deputy Director General for Patents and Technology at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Paul Salmon, Senior Counsel for International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Daphne Yong-d’Hervé, Chief IP Officer for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), also addressed the committee via conference call, and highlighted the ICC’s new status as Observer to the UN General Assembly.

APEC – Enhancing U.S. Business Cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Region

USCIB Attends 2017 APEC CEO Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam: Mike Michener, USCIB Vice President of Product Policy and Innovation, attended the 2017 APEC CEO Summit on November 7-10 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Under the leadership of NCAPEC, USCIB and other business groups joined a diverse array of American CEOs and other executives (including numerous USCIB members) in both the official CEO Summit programming and other meetings with governments. Meetings were scheduled with the President of Vietnam, Tran Dai Quang, Ambassador Matt Matthews, U.S. Ambassador for APEC, the Trade Minister of Australia, Steven Ciobo, and Najib Tun Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Michener also participated in a meeting with the Philippine’s Secretary of Trade Roman Lopez.  

Throughout 2017, USCIB has addressed a number of key priorities through APEC, including chemicals policy, advertising self-regulation, data privacy, customs, digital trade, and women in the economy. Our members and staff have engaged in several APEC working groups, including the Chemical Dialogue, APEC Business-Customs Dialogue, Customs Procedures Virtual Working Group, Alliance for Supply Chain name=”MEM”> Connectivity, the Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup. Currently, USCIB has just finalized the 2018 APEC Priorities and Recommendations paper. Papua New Guinea will serve as the host economy for APEC 2018.

Membership

Membership Meetings: The USCIB membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies Gilead Sciences and DowDuPont to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.

New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Reed Smith LLP and Uber as new members.

Upcoming Events

  • WCO 53rd RSC, Paris, France – December 4-12
  • ICC Marketing Commission Meeting, San Francisco – December 4-5
  • Third UN Environment Assembly (UNEA3), Nairobi, Kenya – December 4-6
  • Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina – December 10-13
  • USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – December 12
  • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – December 13
  • Internet Governance Forum (IGF), Geneva, Switzerland – December 18-21
  • USCIB Arbitration Committee Luncheon, New York – January 23
  • BIAC/OECD Meeting of Chemicals Committee, Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotech, Paris, France – February 5-7
  • ICC Banking Commission Annual Meeting, Miami, Florida – April 3-6

Staff

 


USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update August – September 2017

Highlighting Key Activities, August – September 2017

During the months of August and September 2017, USCIB staff arranged a meeting with John Melle, USTR, and Angela Ellard, Ways and Means staff, on NAFTA negotiations; engaged with Alan Wolff, WTO, and Chris Wilson, USTR, in Geneva on deliverables for MC 11; organized a Symposium on Business and Human Rights with over 70 business representatives; submitted comments to USTR on China’s compliance with its WTO commitments; hosted a meeting for members with Ken Ash, OECD, on their trade work and Colombia accession; had a dialogue with Martha Newton, Department of Labor Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs on ILAB; received briefings from USTR’s Jason Bernstein and Christina Kopitopoulos on Customs in NAFTA; shared business views on the OECD Going Digital project with Andrew Wyckoff, OECD; and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

      1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
      2. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
      3. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
      4. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
      5. Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions
      6. Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

    1. Membership
    2. Upcoming Events
    3. Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

John Melle, USTR, and Angela Ellard, Ways and Means, Brief USCIB Trade Committee: On September 12, 2017, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere and Lead Negotiator for NAFTA modernization, John Melle, provided an off-the-record briefing for members on the latest round of NAFTA talks. He engaged with members on questions concerning negotiating timelines and deadlines, text proposals, investment and ISDS, rules of origin, addressing the trade deficit, digital trade, energy, and other topics. Members reinforced with Melle that withdrawing from NAFTA would go against the principal of “do no harm”. 

Angela Ellard, House Ways & Means Committee Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director of the U.S. House of Representatives, discussed NAFTA and other trade and investment topics in Congress, off-the-record. Ellard highlighted how closely Congress was working with USTR and the administration on the NAFTA process, despite the tight timelines. She noted the strong pushback from Congress to withdrawing from the Korea Free Trade Agreement. Ellard also discussed Trade Enforcement issues, implementation of the Customs Bill, the Miscellaneous Tarif Bill (which has 1,800 provisions suggested for inclusion), and GSP renewal. All of which she emphasized take significant time and resources. Members inquired about potential timelines for the 232 case, specific chapters in NAFTA, the U.S.-China trade relationship, and TPA renewal.

 USCIB Calls on Administration to Do No Harm in NAFTA Modernization: On June 12, 2017, USCIB released its recommendations to the Trump Administration on priorities for the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The submission calls on the Administration to update the 23-year-old agreement to accommodate new realities in global commerce, including the rise of the digital economy, while keeping what works from the original agreement. Specifically, the document calls upon the Administration to update and strengthen key NAFTA provisions, including the liberalization and protection of investment flows, protection of intellectual property, trade facilitation and improved agricultural market access. It also recommends tackling new areas not included or anticipated in the original agreement, such as the digital provision of goods and services, data localization requirements, and treatment of state-owned enterprises. It further urges U.S. negotiators to work closely with a range of private-sector stakeholders to ensure that a revamped agreement meets business needs in the 21st With the third round of negotiations just having concluded in Ottawa, Canada, the negotiations are continuing at a rapid pace.

USCIB Co-chairs Business Meeting with USTR’s NAFTA Investment Negotiators: USCIB co-chaired an August 29, 2017, meeting for a coalition of U.S. companies and trade associations with USTR’s key NAFTA negotiators on investment. In a free-wheeling session with USTR’s Chief of Staff, lead NAFTA negotiator and the key USTR investment policy team, business laid out a strong view on the importance of maintaining, indeed strengthening, key investment provisions in the NAFTA, including strong enforcement mechanisms through a proven Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. We and other business representatives made very clear to USTR leadership that any reported “opt-in/opt-out” system for ISDS would undercut the proven implementation/enforcement system which is critical to mobilizing the foreign direct investment flows so essential for business in today’s competitive global markets.

Rob Mulligan Meets with WTO Officials on Planning for Ministerial: While participating in the WTO Public Forum and the ICC Trade and Investment Commission meeting in Geneva from September 25-30, 2017, Rob Mulligan, USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, met with the new WTO Deputy Director General, Alan Wolff, the WTO Director for Information and External Relations, Keith Rockwell, and the WTO Director for Services, Hamid Mamdouh. He also met with Chris Wilson, DCM for USTR in Geneva, Didier Chambovey, Swiss Ambassador to the WTO, and Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador to the UK Mission in Geneva. In the discussions with them and others there is still much uncertainty about the potential for significant results coming out of the WTO Ministerial (MC 11) in Argentina being held in December. There is hope that at least work plans can be developed for movement on a range of issues such as e-commerce/digital trade, investment facilitation, fisheries, services facilitation and other areas and this may involve pursuing plurilateral approaches in some cases.

USCIB Hosts Meeting with Ken Ash, OECD, on Trade Work and Colombia Accession: On September 20, 2017, Ken Ash, Director of the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate, met with USCIB members and staff to discuss the projects he has planned over the next year. He detailed the work the OECD has done over the past year on both Trade and Agriculture policy, as well as the outlook for his upcoming work with the G20. Members raised issues and offered ideas for the OECD Trade Committee to pursue, and were also able to inquire about the status of Colombia and other countries seeking to join the OECD. Ken provided an open and frank perspective on Colombia, as well as the other countries including Brazil and Argentina.

Donnelly and Hampl Defend ISDS for a NAFTA 2.0: USCIB’s Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnellyalong with its Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl contributed an op-ed in The Hill titled, “NAFTA 2.0 needs to enshrine investor protections” on July 28, 2017. In the leadup to the update of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Hampl and Donnelly noted that, “overall, the administration’s “NAFTA 2.0” wish-list is solid.” However, one of the more crucial objectives, investor protection under the agreement’s Chapter 11, is not included. “These provisions, which allow U.S. investors both small and large to seek compensation for unfair, discriminatory or inequitable treatment at the hands of foreign governments, are based on bedrock principles embedded in our own Constitution prohibiting abusive government treatment and the taking of private property without just compensation. Without this provision, domestic courts become the only legal recourse for a wronged investor. While Mexico has made great strides in many respects, its court system is still far from impartial. Indeed, miscarriages of justice can happen in any country, including advanced democracies like the United States and Canada,” they noted.

USCIB Urges China Compliance with WTO Commitments: On September 20, 2017, USCIB submitted a statement to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, which incorporated a wide array of input from USCIB members across various sectors. In the statement, which is submitted annually, USCIB commended the U.S. and Chinese governments for important work in on-going bilateral dialogues, as well as in support of working relationships between U.S. and Chinese agencies which provide invaluable opportunities for exchanging information and addressing agency-specific issues. The statement addressed important issues to U.S. business including taxation, customs and trade facilitation, information technology and intellectual property rights. Furthermore, it advocated for continuing negotiations of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the U.S. and China. While USCIB acknowledges the efforts China has made since joining the WTO in 2001 to meet its obligations under the terms of its accession agreement, there still remain significant WTO obligation compliance concerns. These concerns include government procurement, trade restrictions in information technology and continued intellectual property violations in audiovisual, software, agriculture biotechnology and chemicals.

USCIB Pushes Market Access Concerns in BIAC Colombia Paper: USCIB has been working with Business at OECD (BIAC) to advocate on behalf of business in the OECD accession process of Colombia. With the Market Openness Review concluded by the OECD Trade Committee, and the Formal Opinion now in draft form, Business at OECD finalized a document in September with recommendations for pre-accession commitments. These recommendations, which include significant USCIB member input, address market access concerns for industry on issues where Colombia has not yet risen to the standard of OECD countries. The draft formal opinion is set to be reviewed in November at the next meeting of the OECD Trade Committee.

GSP Back on the Agenda: With the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) system facing another of its periodic reauthorization deadlines at the end of the year, USTR is moving to get ducks in a row on pending country and product eligibility petitions, some of very long standing. USCIB has played and will continue to play a lead role on a specific request by Ecuador, with its problematic record toward international investors and respecting international arbitral awards, to add flowers and vegetables to the GSP eligible products list. USTR’s kick-off hearings September 26-27, 2017, focused on country eligibility petitions where, again, Ecuador was a key country of concern. Beyond the policy issues inherent to GSP and the challenge of identifying budget offsets for “foregone revenues”, the yearend legislative calendar looks daunting with urgent competing legislation so GSP risks again lapsing.

USCIB Aggressively Blogging for Strong Investment Protections: USCIB Staff have been actively blogging on major investment policy issues over the summer. Posting on the blog site of Investment Policy Central, Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl jointly penned “NAFTA 2.0 Needs to Enshrine Investor Protections” (an op-ed originally placed in The Hill in early August. Shaun also had an IPC blog post in mid-August “U.S. Business Speaks Up Forcefully for Strong Investment Provisions in NAFTA.” Investment Policy Central is a joint effort of USCIB, the U.S. chamber and other leading U.S. trade associations, committed to strong policies and program to promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Donnelly Co-Authors Commercial Diplomacy Volume 2: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly has co-authored Part 2 of “Support for American Jobs”, a major report on “commercial diplomacy” by the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD), a prestigious organization of former senior U.S. government foreign policy leaders where Shaun is a member. Shaun and co-author Ambassador (ret.) Chuck Ford lay out in their report the progress made and also the challenges remaining for the U.S. Government, including its embassies and Ambassadors abroad, to provide the kind of high-level aggressive support needed to assist U.S. companies to win sales, contracts, investment and joint venture deals in today’s competitive global environment. Thanks to the USCIB member companies and others in the business community who provide valuable input to this important study.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Discourages Regulatory Overreach in Comments to ITU: USCIB filed comments with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on August 14, 2017 as part of the its public consultation on “Public Policy Considerations for OTTs.” USCIB urged the ITU to avoid expanding its jurisdiction and work programs to include Internet-related issues. USCIB acknowledged the ITU’s primarily technical mission to develop international technical standards and enable telecommunications network interconnectivity, noting that these are the ITU’s “core competencies and uncontested remit that should not be compromised.” Expanding the ITU’s work program to included Internet-related issues is well beyond its remit, core competencies, and budgetary resources, USCIB underscored. USCIB further highlighted: (1) the promise of innovative online services and applications for realizing the economic, developmental, and societal benefit goals set forth in the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and (2) the related need to ensure an enabling environment for continued innovation and investment in these services.

USCIB Members Promote APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG) Work with EU: Members of USCIB’s ICT Policy Committee made important contributions at the August 20-23 meetings of APEC’s Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. USCIB’s Barbara Wanner, Vice President, ICT Policy, joined representatives from Apple, C&M International, Cisco, HP, ITI, and The Walt Disney Company. They shared best practices and highlighted the benefits of participating in APEC’s Cross-Border Privacy Rules System (CBPR) via formal presentations, interventions, and informal discussions with other delegates. Highlights of this meeting included: (1) formal announcement that South Korea was approved to become the fifth APEC member economy to participate in the Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system and that Singapore had submitted dual applications to be certified under the CBPR system and the complementary Privacy Recognition for Processors (PRP) system; (2) a dialogue with the European Commission concerning possible approaches to realize interoperability of the CBPR and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and (3) consideration of a U.S. Government proposal to “Modernize the ECSG.” The latter is aimed at broadening the scope of the ECSG work to addressing issues arising from the digital transformation of the economy.

USCIB Members Engage with OECD Secretariat on Going Digital Project: On September 6, 2017 USCIB hosted a special meeting to enable members to engage with Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in informal discussions about the status of various elements of the OECD’s ambitious Going Digital horizontal project. The OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) will lead this effort, working closely with the Trade and Agriculture Committee and some 12 other OECD committees. Wyckoff encouraged USCIB members to comment on papers that will form the substantive foundation of the Going Digital project as well as to actively intervene during November meetings of the CDEP and its Working Parties. Related to the Going Digital Project, on September 7, USCIB convened a video conference with Rachael Bae, OECD Senior Counsellor for Trade and Agriculture, and her colleagues. The video conference enabled USCIB members to provide feedback and engage in discussions with Bae and colleagues about elements of a draft scoping paper aimed at providing a conceptual framework for thinking about market openness in the digital economy.

USCIB Members Help Develop 2017-2018 Strategy for ICC Digital Economy Commission: Microsoft and USCIB co-hosted the fall meeting of the ICC Digital Economy Commission (ICC-DEC) on September 13-14, 2017, in Washington, D.C.. The meeting featured guest remarks by Susan Ritchie, U.S. Department of State, and Christopher Smart, Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Ritchie discussed the U.S. Government’s digital economy policy priorities and challenges to them in the United Nations, G20/G7, and OECD; Smart explored the difficulties of setting common guidelines for data flows that promote economic and commercial interests while also protecting privacy and security. Joining Barbara Wanner, Vice President, ICT Policy, were USCIB members from Amazon, Apple, AT&T, BT America, CCIA, Facebook, Google, KPMG, Microsoft, Oracle, PayPal, The Walt Disney Company, TMG, and Verizon. They made important contributions to ICC-DEC discussions concerning: (1) prime international forums at which to advocate the ICC policy statement on ICT, Policy and Sustainable Economic Development; (2) application of technology in financial services; (3) real-time business transaction controls; (4) identity management for business; (4) effective engagement on cybersecurity; (5) navigating policy dialogues on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and creating a special ICC-DEC Working Group to take this work forward; (6) preparing for the 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary; (7) and developing a roadmap of activities and targeted forums at which to promote the ICC’s vision of an enabling environment for ICT investment and innovation.

USCIB Supports Continuation of EU-US Privacy Shield Framework: On September 15, 2017 – the eve of the first joint review of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework — USCIB reaffirmed support for the Framework and issued a statement underscoring its importance in ensuring continued robust and reliable transatlantic data flows, which have proved vital for healthy U.S.-EU commercial relations. USCIB highlighted three important points for consideration in the Annual Review: (1) the Framework is realizing stronger personal data protections; (2) the Framework is serving as an effective mechanism for certification by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); and (3) the longevity of the Framework remains important.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness 

USCIB Represents Members at OECD VAT/TAG Meeting: Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel, participated in the recent VAT/TAG meeting where the TAG discussed issues relating to collecting VAT on transactions that take place on platforms. As this was an initial discussion of platforms most of the discussion related to the operation of various business models. There is concern that collecting the proper amount of VAT in the context of platforms is difficult as the information on the customer and supply may be separate from the payment. These issues would be similar to the issues that would arise in the context of some of the proposals that have been floated as methods to increase the amount of tax paid on digital transactions.

USCIB Submits Letters to OECD on Profits Splits and Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments. USCIB submitted comment letters on the discussion drafts on profit splits and profit attribution. The letters both emphasized the lack of detailed guidance in areas where detailed guidance is needed. The profit split letter also pointed out the guidance might create a de facto preference for profit splits in cases in which other methods would be more appropriate. The letter on the profit attribution guidance pointed out that the discussion draft seemed to move away from the Authorized OECD Approach. The move away from the AOA and lack of detail may lead to increased disputes as countries interpret the guidance in various inconsistent ways.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices


Speakers from USTR, CBP, USAID Meet with USCIB Customs Committee: The September 20, 2017, USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Meeting featured six speakers, including five from the U.S. Government. Jason Bernstein, USTR Director of Customs Affairs, World Trade, and Christina Kopitopoulos, USTR Director for Customs and Trade Affairs, provided an update on the status of the Customs chapters in the ongoing NAFTA modernization process. Jose Raul Perales, Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, and Virginia Brown, USAID Director, Office of Trade and Regulatory Reform, discussed the latest in the work of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, as well as its next projects. Finally, Kristin Isabelli U.S. CBP Congressional Liaison Specialist, and Michael Schreffler, U.S. CBP International Trade Liaison, discussed their team, the WCO E-Commerce Working Group, and the COAC E-Commerce/Section 321 Working Group.

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee Hears from Martha Newton, Department of Labor: USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee met on September 11-12, 2017, in Washington D.C., under the direction of Gabriella Rigg Herzog, USCIB Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs. Hosted by Baker McKenzie, the meeting was attended by over 50 representatives from member companies, and speakers included a variety of U.S. government officials, civil society and industry. Martha Newton, the newly appointed Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) spoke about the engagement between DOL’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) and U.S. business, and other DOL officials demonstrated the newly-launched “Comply Chain” app, a toolkit for responsible business. Members also heard from officials from USAID on partnerships with the private sector, and Lewis Karesh of USTR and Steve Moody of the State Department spoke on trade and labor. Several other USCIB members and civil society organizations served as guest speakers, touching on the UN Business & Human Rights Forum, the 2017 International Labour Conference, the future of work, and other topics.

USCIB leads Symposium on Business and Human Rights: In partnership with Article One and Barrick Gold, and hosted by Marriott International, USCIB coordinated a “Symposium on Human Rights and Remedy in Business Relationships with Limited Leverage” on September 13, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Attended by over 70 business representatives, as well as U.S. government officials and civil society, the symposium discussed stakeholder expectations for business, brainstormed on how to increase trust between stakeholders and business on the issue of leverage, the challenge of defining remedy, and moving from theory to action around key issues like performance, timing and achieving scale. Speakers included representatives from Mars, Inc., The Walt Disney Company as well as the Global Business Initiative (GBI) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

USCIB Foundation Organizes Roundtable on Apprenticeships: In partnership with the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) and the U.S. Department of Labor, and hosted by the Citi Foundation, USCIB held a Roundtable on Apprenticeships on July 20, 2017 in New York City. Participants discussed apprenticeship models and practice in the U.S. and included representatives of approximately 25 companies who are either actively implementing apprenticeship programs or are interested in getting started. The keynote remarks were given by John Ladd, the Administrator for the Office of Apprenticeship of the US Department of Labor. Apprenticeships were a priority with the previous U.S. Administration, and continue to be so with the new Administration. Underscoring that commitment, President Trump and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta have launched a series of initiatives that call on Congress to pass reforms expanding apprenticeships and raise awareness about the fact that there are important, very viable career paths outside of the traditional four-year college experience. Apprenticeships are also a priority for the B20 and G20 leaders. USCIB has compiled a White Paper from the roundtable, available here

Competition – Creating Global Legal Practices for an Open and Competitive Business Environment

ICC/USCIB Competition Meeting Hosts DOJ Antitrust Expert: USCIB’s Competition Committee held its annual joint meeting on September 11, 2017 in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Competition. Introductory remarks included comments by Paul Lugard, partner, Barker Botts LLP and chair of the ICC Competition Commission, and John Taladay, partner, Baker Botts LLP and chair of the USCIB Competition Committee. The meeting included an off-the-record exchange of views with Bernard A. Nigro, Jr., deputy assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, antitrust division, on issues of relevance to USCIB membership, including international engagement, trade related competition issues and mergers. The remainder of the meeting provided updates on the ongoing projects of the various task forces of the ICC Competition Commission, including on compliance and advocacy, merger control regimes, due process, the International Competition Network (ICN), cartels and leniency, and court proceeding in antitrust damage claims. Finally, the membership received an update on ASEAN competition issues by Hatasakdi Na Pombejra from HN Pro International, who presented on behalf of ICC Thailand.

Membership

  • Membership Meetings: USCIB President and CEO, along with the membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies CenturyLink, 3M, Sidley Austin, Chubb and DIAGEO to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Barrick Gold, Comcast, Cooley LLP, and Gilead Sciences as new members.

Upcoming Events:

    • ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-Corruption Meeting, Paris, France – October 3
    • USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – October 4
    • UNCTAD 2017 High-Level conference on International Investment Agreements, Geneva, Switzerland – Oct 9-11
    • World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-17), Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 9-20
    • USCIB Environment Committee/Product Policy Working Group Joint Meeting, Washington, D.C. – October 12
    • OECD Freedom of Investment Roundtable, Paris, France – October 12
    • BIAC Consultation with OECD Investment Committee, Paris, France – October 17
    • USCIB IP and Innovation Committee Re-Launch Event, Washington, D.C. – October 18
    • BIAC Finance Task Force Meeting, Paris, France – October 20
    • USCIB Digital Trade Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. – October 23
    • OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatization Practices Meeting, Paris – France October, 23-24
    • BIAC Employment, Labor & Social Affairs Committee Meeting, Paris, France – October 24
    • ICANN 60, Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 28-November 3
    • Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE), Paris, France – October 30-31
    • OECD Corporate Governance Committee Meeting, Paris, France – November 2
    • Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Communications Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP), Paris, France – November 2-3
    • Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy (MADE), Paris, France – November 2-3
    • ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation, Paris, France – November 9-10
    • Meeting of the OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP), Paris, France, November 21-22

  • Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina – December 10 – 13
  • Internet Governance Forum (IGF), Geneva, Switzerland – December 18-21

 


USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update – April and May 2017

During the months of April and May, 2017, USCIB Staff met with Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, arranged for an exclusive member meeting with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, met with Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and Acting Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Haslach, participated in a Special White House Meeting about the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, submitted letters to Treasury on reviewing regulations and defending U.S. tax interests at the G7, G20 and the UN, testified on trade deficits, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

  1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
  2. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
  3. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
  4. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
  5. Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions
  6. Health – Business Engagement for Balanced International Health and Nutrition Regulations
  7. Product Policy – Ensuring U.S. Products Timely Access to Markets Around the World
  8. Innovation and Intellectual Property – Strengthening International Protections for U.S. IP
  9. Membership
  10. Upcoming Events
  11. Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

OECD Secretary General Gurria Addresses USCIB Members: On Friday, April 21, 2017, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria met with Senior Representatives of USCIB members at the Citigroup offices in Washington, DC. The Secretary General spoke about the work of the OECD in addressing growing anti-globalization sentiments and engaged members on their perceptions of the OECD and the outlook for OECD funding in the new administration.

USCIB CEO and Members Raise Concerns with Patricia Haslach, Acting Assistant Secretary of State: On Thursday, May 11, 2017, USCIB President and CEO, Peter Robinson, along with senior staff and members met with Patricia Haslach, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs. In a meeting held at the USCIB DC Offices, Members discussed a range of concerns about the attitudes of many international organizations towards business engagement, including at the WHO, the UN in Climate Change talks, in UN work on access to medicine, and World Bank efforts on payment systems. Ambassador Haslach recognized and appreciated our concerns and committed to working with us in tackling these issues.

Mulligan Tackles Colombia Accession and Trade Policy at OECD/BIAC Trade Committee Meetings: During the week of April 24, Rob Mulligan, USCIB Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, represented USCIB at the OECD and BIAC Trade Committee meetings held in Paris and attended the OECD Trade Communications Conference. Working with BIAC and key USCIB members, we met with OECD staff and delegates from several countries to raise concerns related to Colombia’s accession to the OECD and pressed the OECD Trade Committee to include certain contingencies for Colombia to satisfy before getting final committee approval. The BIAC Trade Committee finalized and released its paper “Trade as a Priority for All” which recommends the ten priority issue areas the OECD Trade Committee should address as part of its workplan. The Committee also discussed concerns with the draft OECD Trade Committee paper circulated that week outlining views on the causes of increased public opposition to trade and proposing how governments should best address these concerns. While in Paris, Rob was also able to meet with Doug Frantz, OECD Deputy Secretary General, Peter Haas, Deputy Permanent Representative of the U.S. Mission to the OECD, and Ken Ash, Director of the OECD Trade Directorate.

USCIB Brainstorming on CFIUS: On April 19, 2017 USCIB staff (Shaun Donnelly and Eva Hampl) and a group of members had a good wide-ranging discussion on issues related to the U.S. Government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). CFIUS is a long-standing interagency committee chaired by the Treasury Department charged with reviewing the national security aspects of foreign acquisitions of U.S. firms. With a new Administration and reports of various CFIUS-related bills in preparation or discussion on the Hill, we wanted to review the bidding on USCIB’s long-standing support for open investment regimes, both inward and outward. There seemed to be a consensus among members on USCIB’s orientations on CFIUS; we’ll be distilling the discussion into basic policy pillars to guide our work in this area.

Donnelly Keynotes Annual Meeting of ACFR: USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly was the keynote speaker at the 22nd annual Washington meeting of the American Councils on Foreign Relations (ACFR), a network of foreign policy discussions groups around the country. Shaun discussed U.S. and global policy issues on trade and investment and led a vigorous Q and A session.

USCIB Working with AmChamEU: Susan Danger, the widely-respected CEO of the Brussels-based American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmChamEU) met with USCIB President/CEO Peter Robinson in New York May 5, then followed up with a session with SVP Rob Mulligan in Washington on May 8. AmChamEU Policy Advisor Tim Atkinson accompanied Susan. Trade and investment policy (including TTIP, TPP. NAFTA, WTO, and the EU-Canada “CETA” agreement) and the political landscape on both sides of the Atlantic were the focus of the discussion. USCIB and AmChamEU membership lists overlap to a considerable degree so it not surprising that our analyses and priorities generally align closely. We agreed to continue working together and look for concrete areas where we can deepen our partnership. We welcome specific suggestions from members on areas/initiative/events where USCIB and AmChamEU can cooperate going forward.

USCIB Weighs in on the Debate about Trade Deficits with Submission and Testimony: In May USCIB submitted a statement Regarding Causes of Significant Trade Deficits to the Department of Commerce in response to the Federal Register Notice responding to the executive order requesting the Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits from Commerce and USTR. USCIB’s comments as well as a public testimony that was delivered by USCIB’s Director for Investment, Trade, and Financial Services Eva Hampl on May 18, 2017 reflect USCIB’s view that the U.S. Government’s approach to trade and international economic policy-making must be much broader than bilateral trade deficits in goods. Given the multi-sectoral nature of our membership and the significant work we do in the multilateral space, our comments present a high-level view on the question more broadly, rather than getting into detailed analysis or focusing on individual sectors and markets. In her testimony, Hampl emphasized USCIB’s view that trade deficits are a product of broader macroeconomic factors, not trade policy, and that the trade balance should not be viewed as a straightforward indicator of a country’s economic health. While it is useful to address trade barriers that impede access for U.S. goods and services exporters to specific markets, we should not set up bilateral trade balances as the metric of successful trade policies.

USCIB Discusses Colombia’s Accession Process to the OECD with Japan and France: In April, Eva Hampl, Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, led a group of companies in a meeting and a call with the Embassy of Japan and the Embassy of France, respectively, to discuss important market access issues related to Colombia’s accession to the OECD. The meetings took place ahead of the OECD Trade Committee meetings in Paris in late April, for which Colombia accession was on the agenda. The U.S.-Colombia trade relationship is important to USCIB and its members. USCIB has been continuously engaged in this effort to resolved all remaining market access issues prior to Colombia’s accession to the OECD, and looks forward to Colombia raising their standards to the level of the OECD in a timely manner.

USCIB Signs Association Letter Raising Concerns with China Cybersecurity Rules: On April 6, 2017, USCIB’s China Committee held a meeting via phone to discuss the USCIB 2017 China Committee Priorities. One of the specific concerns focused on China’s broad cybersecurity law which took effect on June 1, 2017. In anticipation of this date, USCIB joined with a range of industry groups from the United States and other countries in appealing for the country to delay its entry into force. Among other things, the new law gives law enforcement enhanced authority to access private data and require data to be stored on servers located in China. In a joint letter, the business groups said they are “deeply concerned that current and pending security-related rules will effectively erect trade barriers along national boundaries that effectively bar participation in your market and affect companies across industry sectors that rely on information technology goods and services to conduct business.” The letter called on China to ensure that cybersecurity regulations comply with China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments and encourage the adoption of international models that support China’s development as a global hub for technology and services.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

USCIB Participates in Special White House Meeting on the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework: On April 5, USCIB joined eight other business groups at a special meeting with key administration staff. It was billed as a “listening” meeting, which primarily was aimed at enabling staff from the NSC, NEC, State and Commerce Departments, FTC, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to gain a better understanding of the business community’s interests and concerns about continuation of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. Trade association representatives highlighted several issues important to maintaining Privacy Shield when it comes up for annual review in September 2017. USCIB underscored the need to fill the Ombudsperson position in a timely manner and ensuring adequate funding to carry out the duties of the position. Business also highlighted Presidential Policy Directive 29 (PPD-28) and the need to preserve limits on surveillance of non-U.S. persons as well as the political importance of the Judicial Review Act to the Privacy Shield, among other issues. In anticipation of the September review, business expressed interest in working closely with the U.S. Government to provide information requested by the European Commission, such as: (1) examples of how companies are complying with Privacy Shield; and (2) records indicating how many times U.S. authorities asked Shield-certified companies to provide EU citizens’ private data.

USCIB Files IGF Workshop Proposal Underscoring the Importance of Digital Trade to Development and the Negative Impact of Localization Requirements: On May 3, 2017, USCIB submitted a workshop proposal for the 12th annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, December 18-21, 2017, under the theme, Shape Your Digital Future! USCIB’s proposed workshop, “Internet Governance 2017: Realizing SDGs through Policies Enabling Digital Trade,” was co-organized with IEEE and would feature USCIB speakers from Amazon, AT&T, Intel, Microsoft, and the digital content community, and others from government and civil society. Underscoring the power of ICTs and digital innovation to help realize many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the workshop proposes examining digital trade rules and other essential policies to enable investment, competition, sufficient infrastructure, and cross-border flows of data and information. Speakers also would explore how some government measures that aim to promote domestic industry by establishing local requirements have the potential to limit growth of the digital economy and inhibit global development. USCIB will learn whether this workshop proposal is accepted later in June.

USCIB Members Shape Continued Development of OECD Horizontal Project on Digital Transformation of the Economy: USCIB Members participated in the May 15-19 meetings of the OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and its Working Parties, where they made important contributions to discussions aimed at establishing the framework for the OECD’s Going Digital project on the digital transformation of the economy. This is the most ambitious horizontal project that has ever been undertaken by the OECD, the goal of which is to help governments approach the digital transformation of the economy in a coherent, proactive, and whole-of-government manner. USCIB members made key interventions to influence the development of work products that will feed into the Going Digital Project produced by the Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy (CISP), the Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy (MADE), and the Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE).

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

USCIB Represents Members at UN Committee of Tax Experts Meeting: Bill Sample, Chair of the USCIB Tax Committee, and Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel, participated as observers at the recent UN Committee meeting in New York the week of April 3-7, 2017. This meeting was the last meeting of the current membership of the committee and wrapped up a number of topics. The UN will be issuing a new UN Model Income Tax Treaty and a new UN Transfer Pricing Manual for the next several months. When the committee is reformed in July they will take up topics of interest to members including taxation of the digital economy.

USCIB Submits Letters to Treasury on Reviewing Regulations and Defending U.S. Tax Interests at the G7, G20 and the UN: In response to Executive Order 13789, USCIB submitted a letter requesting that the Treasury Department review a number of regulations including regulations under 987, 367, 482, 385 and 901(m). The letter emphasized the undue burden imposed by these regulations and the need to defer effective dates to prevent taxpayers from expending resources on regulations that might be eliminated or substantially modified. The second letter urged the Administration take immediate action to ensure that tax principles that would adversely affect U.S.-based multinational companies and the rights of the United States to tax the income earned by such companies are not encouraged or endorsed by international bodies (the G7, G20, OECD and UN) focusing on taxation rules, particularly those applicable to businesses operating in the digital economy.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

Peter Robinson and Members Meet with Acting CBP Commissioner McAleenan: On Wednesday, May 10, 2017 USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson and a group of USCIB staff and members met with the Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Kevin McAleenan, who has been nominated by the President to be Commissioner. Member company representatives including the Chair of the USCIB Customs Committee, Jerry Cook, Vice President for Government and Trade Relations at Hanesbrands. Robinson expressed support for the work of CBP and its team and noted USCIB’s longstanding engagement with CBP on customs policy issues as well as the ATA Carnet program. Members identified various issue areas of concern related to customs valuation, implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, engagement with the work of the World Customs Organization, and continued progress and eventually closure on ACE, forced labor, e-commerce, and more.

Giblin Attends ICC Customs Meetings in Dubai: On May 17-18, 2017, Megan Giblin, USCIB Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation, attended the ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation Meetings in Dubai, UAE. Topics discussed included Free Trade Zones, humanitarian shipments, customs valuation, customs classification, rules of origin, guarantee schemes, refill-reuse containers and more. Giblin was joined by several USCIB members, including FedEx, Roanoke, and Phillip Morris International. In addition, there were ICC National Committee representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, UAE, Georgia to name a few. On the sidelines of the ICC Commission meeting, Megan also attended a half day Customs and Trade Facilitation Forum co-organized by ICC UAE, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and ICC as well as a tour of the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone.

USCIB Strongly Represented at U.S. CBP West Coast Trade Symposium: Giblin also attended the CBP West Coast Symposium from May 24 -25, in Phoenix, Arizona, where she spoke on the panel “The Business of Small Business: Is there a window of opportunity for Small Businesses to work in conjunction with consumers as well as other businesses?” The panel discussed compliance issues, transportation and logistics, as well as national and international business models, and considered the importance of building relationships with other industries such as e-commerce arena. The panel was moderated by Shaun Keller, Chief, E-Commerce and Small Business Branch, OT, CBP, and panelists included Rene Romero, President, Customs Broker and Freight Forwarder, AM-Mex International, and USCIB members Al Kaufman, Senior Vice President of Technical Affairs at The Toy Association, and Lisa Schimmelpfenning, Vice President, Importer/Export, Compliance and Administration, Wal-Mart.

Customs Committee Meets with Sushan Demirjian, USTR: On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, the USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee met with Sushan Demirjian, Deputy Assistant USTR for Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness, to discuss the topic of remanufactured and refurbished goods and their current treatment in U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Sushan highlighted and welcomed industry feedback on the new Remanufacturers Industries Council document, RIC001.1-2016: “Specifications for the Process of Remanufacturing”, which was approved by the ANSI Board of Standards Review and is now an approved American National Standard. Members also discussed customs valuation, the STOP Act, and e-commerce efforts in the customs space. Additionally, the Committee developed positions on issues for the ICC Customs Commission Meeting in Dubai, including on bond, humanitarian shipments, and reference price databases.

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs – Shaping the Development of CR Principles and Increasing Awareness of Business’s Positive Social Contributions

Secretary of Labor Acosta Consults with Senior USCIB Leadership on G20 Labor Ministers Meeting: On Wednesday, May 10, 2017, CEO Peter Robinson, as well as Rob Mulligan and Senior Counsel, Ronnie Goldberg, met with the new Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, to discuss the upcoming G20 Labor and Employment Ministers meeting in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, as well as the Global Employers Summit and “B20/L20” (both employer and trade union representatives) dinner meeting the day before. Robinson raised the recommendations of the B20 Labor and Employment taskforce, on which he has served as a Co-Chair. Secretary Acosta was very interested in how governments can do a better job of matching training and skills development with the needs of employers. In that regard, he was especially interested in the work we are doing with ILO on apprenticeships and with BIAC on womens’ participation in the workforce, and expressed interest in highlighting U.S. government and business leadership in these areas.

Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee Hears from Melike Yetken, State Department: USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Committee met on May 2-3, 2017, in Washington D.C., under the direction of the new USCIB Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs, Gabriella Rigg Herzog. Hosted by Foley & Lardner, the meeting was attended by over 40 representatives from member companies, and speakers included a variety of U.S. government officials, civil society and industry. Melike Yetken, Senior Advisor for Corporate Responsibility, U.S. Department of State, spoke about the U.S. National Action Plan and held a discussion with Hanni Rosenbaum, Senior Director, Policy and Strategic Planning, BIAC, on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. Garance Pineau from MEDEF and Marhijn Visser from VNO-NCW-MKB presented on the recent French and Dutch due diligence laws, respectively. Several other USCIB members and civil society organizations served as guest speakers, touching on topics of forced labor, corporate responsibility benchmarks and conflict minerals, among others.

Health – Business Engagement for Balanced International Health and Nutrition Regulations

USCIB Supports BIAC Health Committee Plans for Outreach to Capitals: On May 30, 2017 Mike Michener, USCIB Vice President for Product Policy and Innovation, attended meetings of the Business at OECD (BIAC) Health Committee. At a morning strategy session, pharmaceutical industry committee members prepared for a June 28th consultation on sustainable access to pharmaceutical innovations. After lunch with Belgium’s Ambassador to the OECD, Jean-Joel Schittecatte, the Committee reviewed policy input on 2017-18 OECD projects, heard about outreach projects and events, and discussed ways to improve communications and coordination between Committee members and their capitals.

Product Policy – Ensuring U.S. Products Timely Access to Markets Around the World

USCIB Product Policy Working Group Meets with Executive Secretary of UNEP Chemicals Conventions: The Executive Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, Dr. Rolph Payet, met with industry representatives on May 25, 2017. The representatives communicated key issues and concerns which have the potential to undermine implementation of the Conventions, limit their effectiveness and waste resources. The industry positioned itself as a constructive contributor and resource to help modernize the various Convention processes and increase the level of expertise available to the Conventions, while also exploring specific opportunities where industry might partner with the BRS Conventions and demonstrate proactive, ongoing product stewardship efforts being led by industry.

Innovation and Intellectual Property – Strengthening International Protections for U.S. IP

 USCIB Relaunches and Renames Intellectual Property Committee: After more than a year in hiatus, the USCIB IP Committee met on May 11, 2017, and decided to increase its focus on new technologies and other areas of private sector research and innovation. The Committee agreed to a new name, the Innovation and Intellectual Property (IIP) Committee, and a new structure that created four working groups to focus on specific sectors of IIP: copyrights, trademarks, patents, and confidential business information (CBI). Sharon Reiche of Pfizer has agreed to serve as Chair of the IP Committee, and we are currently seeking expressions of interest to serve as Vice Chair and as head each of the working groups – if you are interested, please contact Mike Michener, USCIB Vice President for Product Policy and Innovation.

Membership

Membership Meetings: The Washington, D.C. membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies Grant Thornton, Dentons, Applied Materials, and CenturyLink to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.

New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Cargill and Hilton as new members

Upcoming Events:

USCIB/OECD/BIAC 2017 International Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 5-6

BIAC General Assembly, Paris, France – June 6

USCIB Digital Trade Working Group Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 9

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, Geneva, Switzerland – June 12-16

USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 14

ICC Marketing Commission Meetings, Paris, France – June 15-16

OECD Competition Week, June 19-23

BIAC China Task Force Meeting, Paris, France – June 19

USCIB ICT Policy Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 21

USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 21

ICANN 59, Johannesburg, South Africa – June 26-29

OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct Roundtable for Policy Makers, Paris, France – June 28

OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, Paris, France – June 29-30

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Policy Forum & Ministerial, UN-HQ, New York – July 10-19

APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – August 15-30

 


USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Gabriella Rigg Herzog
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs
212-703-5056 or gherzog@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

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USCIB Washington Update – February and March 2017

During the months of February and March, 2017, USCIB Staff hosted a conference with BIAC/OECD on Digital Transformation, discussed Brexit with Alexander Lau of the UK government and Chris Southworth of ICC UK, arranged a member briefing with Doug Frantz, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, and Bernhard Welschke, Secretary General of Business at OECD (BIAC), presented at the OECD Investment Committee meetings in Paris,  participated in the ICC Trade Committee meetings in London, provided comments on NTIA’s Internet of Things Green Paper, addressed customs issues at the APEC SOM 1 meetings in Vietnam, shared member views at the OECD Meetings on VAT in Paris, and much more. Below are summaries of these and other highlights from the activities of USCIB in Washington, D.C. over the last two months. If you have any questions or comments, or want more information on a specific topic, please contact any of the staff members listed at the end of this brief.

Table of Contents:

  1. Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment
  2. ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies
  3. Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness
  4. Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices
  5. Membership
  6. Upcoming Events
  7. Staff List

Trade and Investment – Opening Global Markets for Trade and Investment

  • UK Government Briefs USCIB Trade and Investment Committee on Brexit: On March 7, 2017, at the Citigroup offices in Washington, D.C., the USCIB Trade and Investment Committee held a conference call with Chris Southworth, Secretary General of ICC UK, and Alexander Lau, Senior Policy Adviser (Trade) at the Trade and Partnerships Directorate in the UK Department for Exiting the European Union. Alexander Lau provided an overview of the current political and legislative situation for the UK withdrawal process from the EU and Chris Southworth commented on the state of the government and the Brexit process from a business perspective. The Committee also received a briefing from Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel, on the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) that has been proposed in the House and how it compares to existing tax law. Other topics discussed at the meeting included reports out from the BIAC and ICC Trade and Investment Committee meetings, a discussion on a potential NAFTA renegotiation, and the USTR’s 2017 Trade Agenda.
  • Mulligan Represents USCIB at ICC Meeting with WTO and UK Government Speakers: On March 23, 2017 the ICC Trade and Investment Commission held a full day meeting in London on a wide range of global trade issues.  Ian Ascough, Deputy Director, Multilateral Trade, Department for International Trade, United Kingdom briefed members on how the Brexit process will impact UK trade work.  He stressed their desire for a free trade agreement with the EU, no border in Ireland, and to be champions of free trade globally. They will seek to secure a UK schedule in the WTO and build up their capability in the WTO.  Rob Mulligan, USCIB Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, raised the trade concerns of business in needing sufficient transition times coming out of Brexit to address any changes related to customs, values chains, and regulatory requirements. Bernard Kuiten, Head of External Relations, WTO briefed the Commission on planning for the WTO Ministerial which will be held in Argentina this December.  Some areas that could be addressed in the Ministerial if member countries agree would include fisheries subsidies, e-commerce, services facilitation, agriculture, and investment.  The Commission also agreed to a suggestion by Mulligan to prepare a short paper on key ICC trade policy principles.
  • Members Raise Issues with OECD’s Doug Frantz and BIAC’s Bernhard Welschke: On March 9, 2017, USCIB members met with Doug Frantz, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, and Bernhard Welschke, Secretary General of Business at OECD (BIAC) who described current priority work at the OECD. Members raised issues they had on work related to trade and investment, digital trade, the G20 process, U.S. funding for international organizations, state owned enterprises, and broader themes regarding the anti-globalization rhetoric on the rise. Members directly voiced both concerns and support for specific work streams and ongoing processes at BIAC and the OECD.
  • Donnelly Speaks for Business at State’s OECD Delegate Training: On February 14, 2017, USCIB Vice President for Investment and Financial Services Shaun Donnelly was a guest speaker at an all-day training session for experts around the U.S. government who represent the U.S. at various OECD Committees, expert groups, and conferences. The training, organized and hosted by the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (“EB”) which coordinates overall U.S. participation in the OECD, focused on ensuring USG subject matter experts are also effective USG delegates, representing not their home agency but the overall U.S. government. Donnelly represented the official “stakeholders” in the OECD system, specifically Business at OECD (BIAC). He urged USG delegates to consult closely with BIAC representatives at and around OECD meetings in Paris and to work here at home with USCIB and our members as the sole USG affiliate of, and entry point into, the BIAC business network.
  • Speaking Up at the OECD for Strong Investment Protections: Shaun Donnelly led the BIAC team during the March 6-10, 2017, OECD Investment Committee meetings in Paris. As a lead speaker at the OECD’s Global Forum on Investment on March 6 and its Annual Meeting on Investment Agreements on March 7, as well as in the BIAC Investment Committee delegation’s formal and informal meetings with the OECD committee and key delegations, Shaun delivered our key messages on the importance of strong investment agreements to provide predictable security assurances for foreign direct investments around the world. Strong International Investment Agreements (IIAs) need to include broad coverage and definitions, high-level core protections, strong enforcement provisions, and tightly drawn exceptions and carveouts. The tried-and-true Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) arbitration system generally works very well. Shaun was very clear about our deep skepticism over the EU’s radical new “investment court system” to replace ISDS. He also challenged advocates of new “multilateral investment frameworks” to explain how such multilateral bodies could reach the high-level protections and enforcement procedures in gold-standard Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) like those of the U.S.
  • USCIB Leads Industry Meetings with USTR on Colombia OECD Accession: On February 16, 2017, Eva Hampl, Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services, led a group of companies and associations in a meeting with Dawn Shackleford, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, Zoe Sophos, Deputy Director for WTO and Multilateral Affairs at U.S. Trade Representative and Leslie O’Connor, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Latin America to discuss the OECD Accession process for Colombia. Companies in certain sectors have been facing serious market access barriers in Colombia, which USCIB has been advocating must be dealt with before Colombia’s accession to the OECD can move forward. The group met again with Dawn Shackleford, Leslie O’Connor, and Joe Whitlock, USTR Senior Director for Innovation and Intellectual Property on March 23 for further discussions, given recent developments. USCIB also provided input into updated Business at OECD (BIAC) discussion papers on alcoholic beverages, pharmaceutical and health care issues, and scrapping incentives, which were finalized in March and submitted to the OECD for consideration.
  • USCIB Comments on the EU Investment Court: In March, USCIB submitted comments in response to the EU Consultation on their proposed Investment Court System. The comments reflect USCIB’s long-held and frequently articulated view that the EU’s proposal is an inadequate response to what is largely a political problem in the EU. USCIB calls on the EU to further elucidate why some of these changes are necessary in their view, and how those changes address the alleged problems they cite.

ICT Policy – Promoting Sound Policies for New Technologies

  • USCIB Urges U.S. Government to Avoid Prescriptive Regulation of the Internet of Things (IoT): On March 6, 2017, USCIB filed comments in response to the Federal Register notice requesting public comments on NTIA’s Internet of Things Green Paper. Echoing our 2016 submission, USCIB applauded the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) examination, “The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things,” as timely and important. We expressed support for the themes of the so-called “green paper,” which included (1) continued private-sector leadership in the development of IoT, (2) government efforts to enable infrastructure availability and access; (3) removal of regulatory barriers, and (4) collaboration with the private sector to address potential IoT cybersecurity and privacy risks. However, we urged NTIA to avoid overly prescriptive regulation as well as duplicative or conflicting regulatory mandates for IoT.
  • USCIB Hosts Conference with BIAC/OECD on Digital Transformation: On March 8, 2017, the USCIB Foundation, the educational arm of USCIB, in partnership with Business at OECD (BIAC) and the OECD, organized a conference in Washington, DC on the digital transformation of the economy. “Fostering Digital Transformation: The OECD’s Role”, which was held at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center, explored how policy makers and the business community can work together to ensure that new technologies and digital applications can be utilized to realize a more prosperous, productive, inclusive, and socially beneficial world. David Redl, chief counsel for communications and technology at the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, kicked off the conference, underscoring the importance of fostering investment in U.S. networks, streamlining regulation, and improving online trust and security to bring the benefits of the Internet to every American. Other featured speakers included OECD Deputy Secretary General Douglas Frantz, and Andrew Wyckoff, director of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as USCIB member company experts from AT&T, Citi, Disney, Facebook, GE Digital, Google, IBM, Mastercard, Microsoft, and Verizon.
  • State/Commerce Officials Brief USCIB Members on the Multilateral ICT Agenda, Privacy Frameworks: At the ICT Policy Committee Meeting on March 9, 2017, Julie Zoller, Acting Coordinator for Communications and Information Policy, State Department, provided a comprehensive overview of the multilateral ICT agenda, noting key issues that will be addressed in the OECD, G20, and International Telecommunications Union (ITU). She encouraged continued engagement with USCIB in shaping the policy outcomes. In addition, Nasreen Djouini, International Trade Specialist at International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, offered an update on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework and other EU privacy-related developments. Michael Rose, Policy Advisor, Office of Digital Services Industries, Commerce Department then debriefed members on the outcome of the February 22-25, 2017, meetings of the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group and Data Privacy Subgroup, noting that support for APEC’s Cross-Border Privacy Rules System has grown substantially. In the past six months, as many as five countries (Korea, China, Singapore, Australia and the Philippines) have demonstrated active interest in joining the CBPR system in the near-term, with Korea at the head of the queue, according to Rose.
  • USCIB Helps Further Business Priorities at ICANN 58: USCIB Vice President for ICT Barbara Wanner attended meetings of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 11-16, 2017. USCIB member representatives from 21st Century Fox, Amazon, AT&T, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Verizon also participated. The meeting largely focused on domain name system (DNS) policy issues and inter-stakeholder consultations. Wanner participated in DNS meetings in her new capacity as the Business Constituency representative to the Commercial Stakeholder Group, enabling great input to policy discussions at the executive committee level on behalf of USCIB members.

Tax – Advancing Tax Policies that Promote U.S. Competitiveness

  • USCIB Represents Members at VAT/TAG Meeting: Carol Doran Klein, USCIB Vice President and International Tax Counsel, participated in the VAT/TAG in Paris. Two important topics that were discussed were the implementation of the VAT/GST guidelines and the role of platforms in collecting VAT/GST. The implementation of the guidelines is important, in part, because improving collection of VAT in the cross-border context was the only recommendation to come out of the BEPS work on the digital economy. To the extent that business argues that the proper tax to reflect the value of the market is a consumption tax, it is important that the VAT can be made to work across borders.
  • Carol Doran Klein Speaks at the Pacific Rim Tax Conference in Palo Alto: Carol addressed the Pacific Rim Tax Conference on the challenges and opportunities of the BEPS process. Carol focused on the need for consistent implementation of the BEPS outcomes and the importance of dispute resolution to that goal. The conference also provided an opportunity to interact with officials from many Pacific Rim governments including Australia, Canada, China and the U.S.

Customs and Trade Facilitation – Reducing Barriers and Costs from Customs and Border Control Practices

  • Giblin Represents USCIB at APEC SOM 1 in SCCP VWG and A2C2: February 20-24, 2017, Megan Giblin, USCIB Director for Customs and Trade Facilitation, attended APEC meetings in Vietnam in her Co-Chair role of the Subcommittee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) Virtual Working Group (VWG), where she briefed on the Industry Chemicals Project Status. SCCP participation provides visibility to USCIB members on key topics of discussion with the Customs representatives of the 21 APEC Economies.
  • USCIB Participates in Washington, D.C. COAC Meetings: On March 1, 2017, Megan Giblin represented USCIB and its members at the quarterly COAC meeting where, among other topics, formal COAC working group recommendations on the rulings process were approved and presented to Treasury, DHS, and CBP. Several of USCIB’s core issues and concerns were addressed in the recommendations.
  • USCIB Participates in Q4 COAC Meeting: Giblin also attended the World Customs Organization (WCO) 59th Harmonized System Committee (HSC) Session in late March along with Ken Montgomery of CompTIA, who served as the lead ICC delegate for this Session. On the agenda for the 59th Session were important USCIB member issues, including EHTP (Electrically Heated Tobacco Product), Crab Flavor, Petroleum Preparations, and technology matters issues like 3D printers and Selfie Sticks.

Membership

  • Membership Meetings: The Washington, D.C. membership department and policy staff met with representatives from member companies IBM, 3M, McDonald’s, UTC, Chevron, Cisco, Marriott, S&P Global and Visa to develop our understanding of their policy priorities for the next year and beyond, and to see how USCIB can better serve their policy needs.
  • New Members: USCIB has recently welcomed Mars as a new member.

Upcoming Events:

Meetings of the UN’s Committee of Tax Experts, New York – April 3-7

ICC Commission on Taxation Meeting, New York – April 7

ICC Digital Economy Commission (ICC-DEC) Meeting, New Delhi, India – April 4-5

B20 Task Force on Digitalization & G20 ICT Ministerial, Dusseldorf, Germany – April 5-7

BIAC and OECD Trade Committees, Paris, France – April 25-27

B20 Summit, Berlin, Germany – May 2-3

OECD Committee on Digital Economy and Its Working Parties, Paris, France – May 15-19

USCIB/OECD/BIAC 2017 International Tax Conference, Washington, D.C. – June 5-6

USCIB Trade and Investment Committee Meeting, Washington, D.C. – June 14

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, Geneva, Switzerland – June 12-16

ICANN 59, Johannesburg, South Africa – June 26-29

 


USCIB Policy and Program Staff

Rob Mulligan
Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
202-682-7375 or rmulligan@uscib.org

Erin Breitenbucher
Senior Policy and Program Associate and Office Manager, Washington
202-682-7465 or ebreitenbucher@uscib.org

Elizabeth Kim
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5095 or ekim@uscib.org

Shaun Donnelly
Vice President, Investment and Financial Services
202-682-1221 or sdonnelly@uscib.org

Carol Doran Klein
Vice President and International Tax Counsel
202-682-7376 or cdklein@uscib.org

Megan Giblin
Director, Customs and Trade Facilitation
202-371-9235 or mgiblin@uscib.org

Mia Lauter
Policy and Program Assistant, New York
212-703-5082 or mlauter@uscib.org

Ronnie Goldberg
Senior Counsel
212-703-5057 or rgoldberg@uscib.org

Mike Michener
Vice President, Product Policy and Innovation &
202-617-3159 or mmichener

Eva Hampl
Director, Investment, Trade and Financial Services
202-682-0051 or ehampl@uscib.org

Chris Olsen
Policy and Program Assistant, Washington
202-617-3156 or colsen@uscib.org

Alison Hoiem
Senior Director, Member Services
202-682-1291 or ahoiem@uscib.org

Barbara Wanner
Vice President, ICT Policy
202-617-3155 or bwanner@uscib.org

Jonathan Huneke
Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
212-703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Kira Yevtukhova
Communications Manager
202-617-3160 or kyevtukhova@uscib.org

Norine Kennedy
Vice President, Strategic International Engagement, Energy and Environment
212-703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

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