Miami Symposium to Spotlight Eliminating Red Tape in Global Trade

4940_image001New York, N.Y., January 21, 2015 – How can governments and the business community work together to stimulate growth by reducing bottlenecks in cross-border trade? The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) will hold a major conference to address this topic next month in Miami.

USCIB will partner with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Paris-based world business organization for which it serves as the U.S. national committee, to hold the ICC and USCIB Customs & Trade Facilitation Symposium: Finding Solutions to Cross-Border Challenges, February 22-24 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami.

“International trade is critical to keeping the global economy moving forward,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson. “In a world of just-in-time delivery and highly integrated global supply chains, unnecessary and burdensome barriers to trade can cost companies and national economies billions of dollars. This symposium will help forge a path toward removing the red tape that can complicate cross-border commerce.”

The symposium will feature a strong lineup of policy makers and other speakers from around the world, including:

  • Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general, World Customs Organization
  • Harold McGraw, chairman, McGraw Hill Financial [now S&P Global] and chairman of both ICC and USCIB
  • Brenda Brockman Smith, assistant commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  • Lev Kubiak, assistant director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • Virginia Brown, director, U.S. Agency for International Development
  • Norm Schenk, vice president, UPS and chair, ICC Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission
  • Jerry Cook, vice president, Hanesbrands and chair, USCIB Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee.

In November, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) took a welcome step toward lifting some of the administrative burdens on traders when they agreed to implement the landmark WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Once implemented, the TFA is expected to spur global economic growth and create some 21 million new jobs – 18 million in developing countries – while adding $1 trillion to global GDP.

In addition to the TFA, the symposium will address work being done worldwide on “single window” initiatives, trusted-trader programs and the expansion of the Panama Canal, among other things. The full conference agenda is available at www.icc-uscib-customs-event.org.

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.

Staff Contact:   Kira Yevtukhova

Deputy Director, Marketing and Communications
Tel: 202.617.3160

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