USCIB Represents US Business at 6th Session of the UN Environment Assembly  

Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad

The 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) concluded on March 1 in Nairobi, Kenya. After extensive and, at times, challenging negotiations, Parties adopted 15 resolutions, two decisions and a Ministerial Declaration. According to USCIB Director of Environment & Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad, UNEA-6 outcomes advance work on further strengthening cooperation for national implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, the sound management of chemicals and waste, enhanced regional cooperation on air pollution, solutions for strengthening water policies, combatting land degradation and more.

As the highest decision-making body on the environment, UNEA decisions shape the global policy agenda across all Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). This session of the Assembly was held under the theme “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution” with an overall focus on how to increase synergies between MEAs to solve the triple planetary crises.  

USCIB holds official observer status to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and has been active participants in the UNEA process since its inception in 2014. The USCIB delegation to UNEA-6 included Vinblad, USCIB Policy Manager for Trade & Regulation Chris Olsen and USCIB member company Enveda Biosciences’ Director of Policy and Development Tendai Chisow.

Joining over 5,600 people from across 190 countries at UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, USCIB advocated for constructive business considerations and engaged through the UNEP Business and Industry Major Group – the formal UNEP constituency group for business.  

“The strong outcomes from UNEA-6 yet again shows the critical importance of multilateralism,” said Vinblad. “In a world fraught by conflict and economic uncertainty, the ability of Member States to come together in agreement to work together towards solving some of our most urgent global challenges certainly sends a strong signal on the key role that Multilateral Environmental Agreements continues to play.”   

The 2024 Assembly also included the first ever MEA Day on February 28, which highlighted the role of agreements such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement. 

Vinblad Speaks on Business and Biodiversity at Columbia University  

L-R: Wendy Hapgood (Wild Tomorrow), Amy Karpati (Columbia University), Jenna Lawrence (Columbia University), Agnes Vinblad (USCIB), Matthias Pitkowitz (EQX Biome)

USCIB Director for Environment and Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad was invited to participate in an expert panel organized by the Columbia University Climate School Earth Institute in New York City. The event was held under the title, “Solving the Biodiversity Crisis: Strategic & Interdisciplinary Approaches.” Discussions highlighted the importance of biodiversity considerations in sustainable business decisions with a focus on solution pathways and recent policy developments. 

Vinblad’s interventions focused on the international policy dimension and the role of incentivizing industrial policy in spurring and enabling private sector leadership on biodiversity protection. 

The panel was moderated by Wendy Hapgood, Co-founder and COO of Wild Tomorrow, a wildlife conservation non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, restoration and rewilding of threatened habitats to protect biodiversity. In addition to Vinblad, the panel included Amy Karpati, conservation biologist and adjunct professor at Columbia University, Jenna Lawrence, biodiversity specialist and researcher, and lecturer at the Climate School at Columbia University and Matthias Pitkowitz, founder and CEO of EQX Biome – a financial marketplace for nature-based investments.  

Agnes Vinblad

“This excellent discussion served as a great opportunity to speak about USCIB’s engagement in the UN CBD process, and our active participation in the negotiations leading up to the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF),” said Vinblad.  

“Inevitably, a lot of the conversation centered on Target 15 of the GBF – this is the target that calls for legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage businesses to regularly monitor, assess and disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity. But we also touched upon many other of the targets, for example the conservation target – Target 3 – which seeks to conserve 30% of land, waters and seas by 2030,” she continued.  

USCIB holds official observer status to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD). This is the UN treaty under which matters pertaining to biodiversity are negotiated. Through this status, USCIB has been active participants in the UN CBD process for many years and Vinblad led a USCIB delegation to the historic UN CBD COP15 in December 2022 where the GBF was adopted.  

“A key point to note is that while the U.S. is not a Party to the UN CBD, we are seeing a continued increased interest from the U.S. business community to engage on biodiversity topics. One of the primary concerns I am hearing from business is the rapid rollout of numerous different biodiversity reporting standards and frameworks – a key priority for us now is to ensure harmonization to ease the administrative burden for business to free up resources for real implementation,” Vinblad added. 

UN CBD COP16 is scheduled to convene from October 21 to November 1 in Colombia this fall and deliberations will focus on the implementation phase of the GBF.  

USCIB Delegation at UN Talks on Plastic Pollution Stresses Critical Role of Business to Identify Innovation and Implementation Opportunities

Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad at INC-3 in Nairobi

USCIB and its members were engaged throughout the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3). INC-2 was held November 13 to 19 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. 

A USCIB delegation, headed by USCIB Policy Managers Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad, followed the negotiations and a range of events prior to and throughout the week. Additional USCIB members made the trip to Nairobi for the negotiations, joining through other observer organizations, and continued to convey how the business community can be solutions providers in the INC process. 

According to Olsen, the negotiations were organized into three contact groups, broadly covering: substantive elements; financing, capacity building and means of implementation; and elements not discussed at INC-2. The results of these groups will be compiled into a single “revised draft text from INC-3” that includes a compilation of all the options proposed in addition to those of the Zero Draft text, as well as a proposal and other submissions regarding those elements that had not been discussed prior to INC-3. The third contact group was also unable to reach consensus regarding intersessional work. This “revised draft text” will be the basis for the negotiations at INC-4, in Ottawa, Canada, next April. 

“Plastic Pollution is such a complex and multidimensional global issue, in need of even more multidimensional solutions,” said Vinblad while reflecting on the issues discussed throughout the week. “At INC-3, we have continued to see firsthand the wide range of views across countries and the wide range of perspectives across industries. It is critical that the INC process continues to be a negotiation inclusive of all observers and maintain a collaborative spirit, recognizing the key role of the global business community in identifying opportunities for innovation and implementation.” 

UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Chris Olsen (USCIB)

INC-3 also saw a changing in its chair, with Gustavo Meza-Cuadra from Peru stepping back into a vice-chair role, and Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador being elected to serve as the Committee’s Chair for INC-4, INC-5, and the final Diplomatic Conference in 2025. This had been agreed upon at the outset of the INC process. The host city of INC-5 was also announced as Busan, Republic of Korea, to take place late November of 2024. 

Regarding the outcomes of INC-3, Olsen went on to stress, “While the lack of consensus regarding recommendations for intersessional work cast a small shadow over the end of the week that many have focused on, the fact of the matter remains that solid progress was made on many important topics that can serve as the foundation for negotiations at INCs-4 and 5 next year. Business needs to be ready to continue to educate and inform policymakers on how we can be partners in addressing these global challenges in the year to come.” 

Translating Vision Into Action at the Halfway Point: Business for the 2030 Agenda

Norine Kennedy

Blog Post by USCIB SVP Norine Kennedy

October 19, 2023

Last month in New York, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) witnessed unprecedented participation, with 40,000 attendees and over 2,000 bilateral meetings. A gathering with over 13,000 country delegates, and 2,600 members of the media registered for the general debate and its more than 500 affiliated events. Among the events was the SDG Action Weekend, marking a positive (but overdue) shift towards a more inclusive UN engaging the wide array of important non-governmental entities essential to implementation.

The private sector played a significant role, emphasizing its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs). The USCIB UNGA78 High-Level Business Roundtable highlighted the private sector’s role in shared prosperity and sustainability.  Given that as the Major Groups and Stakeholders stated so clearly in their SDG weekend event, the international community is “halfway there, but nowhere near” to the 2030 Agenda, USCIB’s Moving the Needle (MTN) initiative is shining a spotlight on the “what” and “how” of partnering for impact with business.

On September 18, MTN introduced two solutions-oriented reports: ‘Roadmap for Results’ and ‘Business & the UN 2.0.’ These reports offer tools, approaches, and partnerships for translating vision into tangible progress, working with and through the multilateral system to address multiple challenges.  Read together, they offer ideas to strengthen the UN, helping it become more effective, resilient, inclusive, and transparent.

‘Business & the UN 2.0’ highlights an enhanced win-win partnership between businesses and the UN. It recognizes the massive investment required for the 2030 agenda, estimated at $5-7 trillion annually, with the potential to unlock $12 trillion in market prospects.

Based on its decades of experience as a responsible actor in inter-governmental forums, MTN envisions a revitalized UN system with private sector involvement at every level, from shaping agendas to crisis management.

‘Roadmap for Results’ emphasizes private sector involvement beyond financing, spotlighting private sector innovation, scalability, leadership, and communication to accelerate action. Sustainability metrics, data analytics, AI and partnerships are a few private sector tools to catalyze SDG progress. The report discusses where public-private partnerships can advance science and solidarity as key to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

With the UN Summit of the Future a year away, USCIB’s MTN initiative continues to make the case for closer connections and alliances with business in an international community that is being pulled apart by geo-political, economic and domestic forces.  The time to move the needle is now.

Visit our MTN webpage to access the two reports.

Translating Sustainability Vision Into SDG Action at the Halfway Point: Business for the 2030 Agenda 

Last month in New York, the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) witnessed unprecedented participation with 40,000 attendees and over 2,000 bilateral meetings. Over 13,000 country delegates and 2,600 members of the media registered for the general debate and over 500 affiliated events1. Among the main events was the UN’s first-ever SDG Action Weekend, which marked a positive (but overdue) shift towards a more inclusive UN, providing a recognized space for the wide array of important non-governmental entities essential to implementation.  

The private sector played a significant role throughout UNGA78, emphasizing its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). USCIB’s UNGA78 High-Level Business Roundtable highlighted the private sector’s role in shared prosperity and sustainability. USCIB’s Moving the Needle (MTN) initiative shined a spotlight on the “what” and “how” of partnering for impact with business, following clear calls by Major Groups and Stakeholders that the international community is “halfway there, but nowhere near” to the 2030 Agenda. 

On September 18, USCIB launched two MTN solutions-oriented reports: Roadmap for Results and Business & the UN 2.0. These reports describe private sector tools, approaches, and partnerships for translating the 2030 Agenda’s vision into tangible progress, while working with and through the multilateral system to address multiple challenges. Read together, the reports offer ideas to strengthen the UN, helping it become more effective, resilient, inclusive, and transparent. 

Business & the UN 2.0 highlights an enhanced win-win partnership between businesses and the UN. It recognizes the massive investment required for the 2030 agenda, estimated at $5-7 trillion annually, with the potential to unlock $12 trillion in market prospects. 

Citing USCIB’s’ decades of experience as a responsible actor in inter-governmental forums, MTN envisions a revitalized UN system with private sector involvement at every level, from shaping agendas to advancing systems-thinking approaches to responding to natural disasters with the international community. 

Guy Ryder (UN) speaks at the USCIB High Level Roundtable during UNGA78
Guy Ryder (UN)

Roadmap for Results emphasizes private sector involvement beyond financing, spotlighting private sector innovation, scalability, leadership, knowhow and communication to accelerate action. Sustainability metrics, data analytics, AI, and partnerships are but a few private sector tools to catalyze SDG progress. The report discusses where public-private partnerships can advance science and solidarity as key to achieving the 2030 Agenda. 

With the UN Summit of the Future a year away, USCIB’s MTN initiative continues to make the case for closer connections and alliances with business in an international community that is being pulled apart by geo-political, economic, and domestic forces.  The time to move the needle in partnership with business is now. 

USCIB Publishes Reports with Business Recommendations to Help Scale UN SDGs

Guy Ryder (UN) speaks at the USCIB High Level Roundtable during UNGA78
Guy Ryder (UN) speaks at the USCIB High Level Roundtable during UNGA78

New York, N.Y., September 18, 2023 — With the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in full swing, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) announced the release of two highly-anticipated reports that provide recommendations to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit. The reports — Business & the UN 2.0 and Roadmap for Results — focus on inclusive and practical multilateralism that will help scale progress of SDG target action and focus on the role of business and other stakeholders.

The reports begin with a foreword by USCIB Board of Trustees Sustainability Champion and Novozymes CEO Ester Baiget. She writes, “As blueprints for action, Roadmap for Results walks the talk of inclusive multilateralism, offering pragmatic insights and business strategies and a focus on positive impact. Business and the UN 2.0 discusses interfaces between the private sector and the multilateral system.”

USCIB’s Moving the Needle (MTN) initiative launched the reports at a USCIB High-Level Business Roundtable. The Roundtable focused on sustainability, solidarity and shared prosperity and featured high-level speakers from AT&T, Bayer, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, the U.S. Department of State, the UN, the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and many others. Discussion topics included innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the benefit of people and planet and public private partnerships for innovation and infrastructure. Business leaders from USCIB member companies presented practical business recommendations highlighted in the reports, to ramp up implementation of the SDGs and strengthen the UN’s effectiveness and impact.

“USCIB has been a staunch supporter and committed partner to the United Nations since our founding,” said USCIB President and CEO Whitney Baird in closing remarks at the Roundtable. “As the only U.S. business organization at the UN, we take our responsibility seriously to provide solutions and showcase U.S. business leadership.”

About MTN
USCIB launched the MTN initiative during the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly to focus on three priorities identified by the UN President of the General Assembly: Solutions for Sustainability, Science, and Solidarity. Through multistakeholder roundtables, held around the globe in 2022-2023, which culminated in Business & the UN 2.0 and Roadmap for Results, MTN contributed insights to the ongoing deliberations concerning inadequate progress at the halfway mark towards the UN 2030 Agenda.

About USCIB
The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) advances the global interests of American business. We do so through advocacy for an open system of world trade, finance, and investment, where business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare, and environmental protection. We are the sole U.S. affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Business at OECD (BIAC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE). USCIB is also the only U.S. business organization with standing at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is recognized at the UN Environment Program (UNEP), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD).

USCIB Delegation Shares Progress Made on International Instrument on Plastic Pollution

L-R: Agnes Vinblad (USCIB), Christian Gylstorff,(Novozymes A/S), Louise Smith (The LEGO Group), Chris Olsen (USCIB)

USCIB was well represented on the ground at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2). INC-2 was held May 29 to June 2 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.

A USCIB delegation comprised of USCIB Policy Managers Chris Olsen and Agnes Vinblad, as well as USCIB members LEGO and Novozymes, followed the negotiations and attended a range of events throughout the week. Additional USCIB members attended the negotiations, joining through a panoply of other observer organizations, and the importance of involving the business community in the INC process was conveyed throughout the week.

According to Olsen, negotiations got off to a halting start, as procedural debates regarding the rules of procedure and the need for votes to finalize the INC bureau took a larger portion of time than had been expected, delaying the start of substantive deliberations in contact groups. However, negotiators did well to move past the early impasse and work tirelessly to get through enough substantive discussions for the week to conclude with a clear call for the INC chair to prepare a “zero draft” for consideration at INC-3, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya this fall. The timeline for negotiations set out by UNEA Resolution 5/14 calls for an agreement to be reached by the end of 2024, leaving only a handful of negotiating rounds left for member states to develop the instrument.

Speaking on the importance of INC-3, Olsen stressed, “The zero draft will be where the rubber hits the road, for countries and for businesses alike. The potential scope and scale, objectives and substantive obligations, means of implementation and implementation measures… views on what will actually comprise the international legally binding instrument will be officially put down as text to be negotiated on. It is imperative that we at USCIB bring to bear as broad a cross-section of American industry views as possible to continue to inform this process.”

A host of side events took place leading up to and alongside the negotiations themselves, where USCIB actively engaged with governments, other stakeholders and key international affiliates. Among these were the UNEP International Forum to End Plastic Pollution in Cities, the U.S. Government’s event “Galvanizing Global Action on Plastic Pollution”, an OECD series “Towards an International Treaty on Plastics Pollution: Reflections on Selected Issues” and a high-level ICC Breakfast Roundtable that brought together UNEP staff, governments and global business voices.

“As U.S. business, we support and welcome an ambitious instrument aimed at working toward the elimination of plastic pollution in the environment,” said Vinblad at the conclusion of the week, “We stand ready to constructively support the process by bringing forth leading private sector voices representing a wealth of technical expertise, on-the-ground experience and best practices learned. We cannot solve this immense challenge through siloed efforts – it takes everyone being at the table.”

Environment

Committee Mission Statement:

USCIB’s Environment Committee is member-driven, benefitting from the involvement of member experts across a range of key sectors, business topics and responsibilities. The Committee emphasizes the economic, competitiveness, market access and employment benefits that are enabled by sound global environmental rules and international cooperation with U.S. Business, with dedication to achieve win-win outcomes and lasting impact.

USCIB’s Environment Committee represents U.S. Business in the global multilateral arena, providing multi-sectoral business solutions, views, expertise, and actions in international environmental policy deliberations.  As the premier representative of American business, USCIB is the only U.S. business group with Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), additionally, USCIB hold official observer status at the UNFCCC, the UN CBD and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Combining this unique access and convening power with its in-house policy expertise, USCIB’s Environment Committee is well-positioned to champion U.S. business interests in a wide range of international policy forums.

The Committee promotes appropriate environmental protection and energy security integrated with open trade, investment, and inclusive economic growth. USCIB calls for enabling frameworks for private sector investment, action, collaboration, and innovation as essential for environmental stewardship and good practice. In representing U.S. Business, USCIB pursues ongoing dialogue with UN officials and the Administration, as well as with other stakeholders.

 

 

 

Trends and Challenges in Environmental Policy Debates:

  • The Paris Agreement, the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda, and the UN Environment Program’s (UNEP) Environment Assembly are reshaping the rules for international commerce and will have a lasting regulatory and reputational impact for US business, affecting market access and investment. Emerging issues, including linkages between international health and environmental policy, have the potential to re-open established policies and practices and could lead to higher costs and other burdens.
  • Rights-based approaches to environmental matters will be part of a proposed Global Pact for Environment, to be launched by the UN and with a potentially broad scope of environmental issues within its mandate for negotiations ahead.
  • Business requires enabling frameworks for investment, action, collaboration and innovation when it comes to promoting environmental stewardship and good practice.

USCIB’s Response:

  • Advocate across multiple channels to establish a recognized business channel into the UNFCCC process, as well as to other UN forums tasked with environment and sustainable development policy. Intergovernmental environmental initiatives will not work if they don’t work with, and for, the private sector, especially since business is expected to support, finance and report on progress.
  • Argue for open markets for trade and investment and IPR protection as essential prerequisites to enable the private sector to provide the innovation, technology and finances needed for international cooperation on climate change and other transboundary environmental issues agreement.
  • Lead a campaign in DC and across multiple UN forums to make the case for inclusion of U.S. business positions and technical input relating to climate change and sustainable development discussions at the following forums:
    • At the UN, where we have official observer status at the UNFCCC, ECOSOC and UNEP
    • At the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF), where we are forging stronger links between the business communities of the major emitting countries
    • In Washington, where we are advocating directly to the U.S. government
    • OECD
    • Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)

Magnifying Your Voice with USCIB:

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

USCIB on LinkedIn

News Stories

USCIB Represents US Business at 6th Session of the UN Environment Assembly   (3/6/2024) - The 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) concluded on March 1 in Nairobi, Kenya. After extensive and,…
Vinblad Speaks on Business and Biodiversity at Columbia University   (2/12/2024) - USCIB Director for Environment and Sustainable Development Agnes Vinblad was invited to participate in an expert panel organized by the…

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Press Releases

Guy Ryder (UN) speaks at the USCIB High Level Roundtable during UNGA78 USCIB Publishes Reports with Business Recommendations to Help Scale UN SDGs (9/18/2023) - New York, N.Y., September 18, 2023 — With the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in full swing,…
USCIB Statement on Climate COP Outcomes and US Business (11/28/2022) - New York, N.Y., November 28, 2022—The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) sought an “Implementation Plus” approach in the…

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Op-Eds and Speeches

Op-Ed: Business Must Come Together to Respond to COVID-19 Now (3/30/2020) - Earlier this month, nearly 500 experts in public health, law and human rights wrote an open letter to U.S Vice…

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USCIB Calls for a Moonshot Mindset in the Business and Government Response to COVID-19 Virus (3/12/2020) - USCIB and Business Partners for Sustainable Development (BPSD) today called for a cooperative, unified, business and government response to the…

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Vice Chairs

Paul Hagen
Director
Beveridge & Diamond, PC

Catherine McKalip-Thompson
Manager of Sustainability, Infrastructure
Bechtel Corporation

Justin Perrettson
Head of Sustainability Partnerships, Scouting & Ventures
Novonesis

Staff

Agnes Vinblad
Director, Environment and Sustainable Development
212-703-5082 or avinblad@uscib.org

 

Business at OECD Releases Statement Ahead of OECD Ministerial Council

The OECD Ministerial Council is taking place June 7-8 under the theme, Securing a Resilient Future: Shared Values and Global Partnerships. In light of the Ministerial, Business at OECD (BIAC) has released a statement to the OECD with insights drawn from the forthcoming 2023 Business at OECD Economic Policy Survey. Some of the themes addressed in BIAC’s insights include business concerns about the war in Ukraine, which has exacerbated inflation rate developments, labor shortages and energy prices. BIAC also raises concerns about supply chains disruptions, the need for structural reforms around infrastructure, digitalization, regulatory burdens and green transition.

The Ministerial is taking place amid persistent tension in world affairs, including Russia’s illegal war in the Ukraine, which has resulted in insurmountable human suffering in the Ukraine, as well as humanitarian and economic crises globally. Additionally, economies around the globe continue to face challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges around climate change.

BIAC’s statement emphasizes that this “unsettled world order requires an ever-greater capacity and commitment to multilateral cooperation and collective progress on these common fronts. The engine of societal progress, the world economy, has been paying a high price for an increasingly unstable rules-based international system, and the past year has been challenging for many businesses. The OECD private sector remains committed to defend our common values and rules-based order and continues to support effective government action towards these goals.”

According to BIAC, in the current context, the success of our economies relies on successful diplomacy, meaningful international cooperation and effective multilateralism in support of pragmatic policies.

For more information, please see the links below:

BIAC Statement to the OECD on Securing a Resilient Future: Shared Values and Global Partnerships

2023 Business at OECD Economic Policy Survey

BIAC Year Highlights: How We Delivered Value to Our Members (May 2022-May 2023)

USCIB Participates in US-EU Trade and Technology Council Meeting in Sweden

USCIB Vice President for International Investment and Trade Policy Alice Slayton Clark was in Luleå, Sweden to attend the fourth meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a platform to advance Transatlantic cooperation and democratic approaches to trade, technology, and security.   

An official delegate, Clark served as a principal in the TTC’s Trade and Labor Dialogue (TALD), a selective exchange between business and unions on both sides of the Atlantic to explore policies related to the intersection of trade, labor and technology. The meeting in Luleå showcased an agreement on forced labor trade strategy principles reached between business and labor partners. The principles reflect inputs from USCIB members on the need for a “multifaceted” approach involving diplomacy, foreign assistance, capacity building, and supply chain due diligence to address the root causes of the problem. Because industry and unions could not reach agreement on the role of border enforcement as a trade tool, footnotes were inserted to reflect differences. 

“USCIB is pleased business and unions were able to agree through the TALD process on principles to address forced labor,” Clark asserted.  “Importantly, the document notes industry support for incentives rather than punitive border measures as trade tools of choice to prevent violative goods from being produced and entering into commerce in the first place.”    

Also discussed by TALD participants were trade and labor issues linked to the green transition, a topic of key concern to the US and EU and showcased in official visits to the green steel Hybrit plant in Luleå. USCIB initial views on the topic promoted a comprehensive strategy of trade, investment, education and training policies. USCIB will work with members to develop these points as the TALD green transition discussions continue in the months ahead.   

Importantly, the TTC meeting also produced a Joint Statement that reaffirms transatlantic alignment on the war in Ukraine, reform of the World Trade Organization, policies against economic coercion and pursuit of supply chain diversification. Many issues discussed at the meeting reflect transatlantic convergence on policies related to Russia and China. As such, according to Clark, the TTC continues to draw high level government participation including full engagement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commission Executive Vice President Margreth Vestager.     

Other key issues advanced in Luleå were the launch of principal level consultations to head off subsidy races for the semiconductor industry, a task force to address cooperation in quantum technologies, the development of a work program for the Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade, exploration of increased use of digital tools to enhance trade, continued cooperation on export controls, illegal diversion of technologies and sanctions, availability of critical minerals, and managing emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence.