At the December 1 meeting of USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee, chaired by Scott Miller (director of national government relations with Procter & Gamble), members moved forward on planned USCIB recommendations on the international trade and investment agenda.
With the recent passage of three long-pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, the continued lack of progress in the WTO’s Doha Round and growing protectionist sentiment in many key markets, a USCIB task force is developing broad yet detailed recommendations for the United States and other governments on what is needed to spur greater liberalization of trade and investment. The recommendations are expected to be completed in February.
The committee held a discussion with Everett Eissenstat, trade counsel with the Senate Finance Committee, covering a wide range of trade issues including the recent APEC summit, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Russia’s accession to the WTO, Customs reauthorization, Trade Promotion Authority, Doha and other trade priorities for 2012.
In addition, the committee reviewed plans for a possible USCIB study of global production networks and their impact on U.S. competitiveness. Members also heard an update on USCIB’s work USCIB on investment issues, especially state-owned enterprises and competitive neutrality.
Staff contact: Rob Mulligan
