From all of us here at USCIB, thank you for your support.

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1 Dear USCIB Members, Welcome to the latest edition of USCIB s Global Impact the newsletter providing you with an update on the work that USCIB does to represent your interests internationally. Over the past few months USCIB has been at the table along with many of our members participating in key intergovernmental deliberations in cities such as Istanbul, Lima, Beijing, and Rome all for the express purpose of ensuring that the voice of U.S. business is heard where policies and regulations affecting your bottom line are determined. I urge you to circulate Global Impact within your company and to your peers and ask that you encourage them to contact the policy staff to register comments or questions. From all of us here at USCIB, thank you for your support. Peter M. Robinson President & CEO, USCIB

2 USCIB Champions Regional Integration at APEC CEO Summit Beijing: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit November USCIB s President and CEO Peter Robinson and Helen Medina, senior director of product policy and innovation attended the summit and met with USCIB members and government officials to discuss American business priorities in the APEC region. While in Beijing, Peter hosted a bilateral discussion with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Charles Rivkin, where company representatives raised several concerns including: the need to move forward on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the importance of bilateral investment treaties, and the need to secure a high standard of intellectual property rights in the TPP agreement. In addition, USCIB, through the U.S. APEC Business Coalition, organized an event, Global Value Chains and Trade: Strengthening the Backbone for Greater Economic Integration Across APEC, where government and business leaders discussed the role global value chains (GVCs) play in bolstering Pacific Rim economies. During this discussion, companies identified a number of obstacles that APEC economies must overcome in order to leverage the benefits of GVCs: Forced localization requirements that impede the flow of goods and services; Restrictions on cross-border data flows, which limit cloud computing and e-commerce; Differences in customs procedures, which result in multiplied costs and time to reach the market; and Lack of regulatory transparency and additional regulatory barriers for products or services from country to country. USCIB will continue to work within APEC with our business and government partners in the coming Philippines host year to ensure that all of these issues remain on the agenda. Representing USCIB: USCIB s President and CEO, Peter Robinson and USCIB s Senior Director of Product Policy and Innovation, Helen Medina, along with representatives from several USCIB member companies such as Chevron, Dow Chemical, MasterCard, Microsoft, UPS, and Wal-Mart, to name a few. For more details on the APEC CEO Summit, click here or contact: Helen Medina (212) ; hmedina@uscib.org. USCIB Speaks for Private Sector Leading to Global Nutrition Conference Geneva: Open-Ended Working Group Negotiations on the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Outcome Documents September USCIB s Helen Medina attended this World Health Organization (WHO) hosted working group, along with other non-state actor representatives and Member State delegations, to approve the final drafts of the ICN2 Political Declaration and a Framework for Action, which will be up for adoption at the ICN2 being convened by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WHO this November in Rome. ICN2 will be addressing the persistently high twin threats of hunger and malnutrition around the world and this meeting marked the first time that USCIB has been invited to a negotiating session at the WHO. Helen worked to ensure that stakeholders acknowledge that the private sector plays a positive role in addressing nutritional issues. In August, USCIB submitted comments to the FAO consultation on the ICN2 Framework for Action Document, and those comments have been taken into consideration for the final draft. USCIB s position is that increased trade in agriculture and food increases the standard of living in developing countries and improves the performance of national

3 economies. It is also important that the ICN Framework for Action Document support policies that do not inhibit international trade and investment. During this working group meeting, USCIB worked with other private sector representatives to engage with U.S. and foreign government officials to deliver some of the following main messages: It is important to employ knowledge and evidence-based programs to combat global hunger and nutrition-related diseases; Any roles and responsibilities given to the various multilateral organizations involved in addressing global malnutrition should be clearly defined; and Fiscal policy is complex and often has unintended consequences, therefore taxes should not be used as incentives for healthy diets. USCIB will continue to monitor developments in the outcome documents negotiations and will provide comments when needed. USCIB will also be present at the ICN2 in Rome this November. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Senior Director of Product Policy and Innovation, Helen Medina. For more details on this meeting, click here or contact: Helen Medina (212) ; hmedina@uscib.org. Rome: ICN2 Outcome Documents Negotiations October Continuing the negotiations that took place in Geneva in September, discussions continued on the ICN2 outcome documents that will provide key priorities and technical assistance to governments and other stakeholders for improving nutrition worldwide. USCIB partnered with the Global Harvest Initiative at this Rome meeting to represent U.S. business interests at the negotiations. Businesses concerns in the Framework for Action included: Policies that deal with food pricing incentives; Marketing and labeling regulations; Language that puts a pejorative spin on processed foods; and Policies that are not inclusive of the entire agriculture industry. Business was also concerned that the political declaration for ICN2 contained some language on culturally acceptable food that might have produced negative trade implications, and pressed for the document s focus to remain on nutrition while leaving discussions about trade policy to the World Trade Organization. As a result of these efforts, negotiators deleted language in the political declaration that would have had a negative impact on trade. However, business is still concerned with certain issues in the Framework for Action, which recommends policies in international trade and investment. The U.S. government has reserved its position on the framework s paragraphs about recommended trade and investment action, and USCIB has been following up with USG to learn about any remaining issues with the framework before ICN2. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Senior Director of Product Policy and Innovation, Helen Medina. For more details on this meeting, click here or contact: Helen Medina (212) ; hmedina@uscib.org.

4 Representing U.S. Business on Internet Governance Issues Istanbul: Internet Governance Forum (IGF) September USCIB s Barbara Wanner attended this year s IGF under the aegis of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative. During the IGF, the business community upheld its position on supporting the extension of the authorization of the IGF beyond its five year mandate. Business also called for improvements to the IGF aimed at preserving its role as a unique multistakeholder laboratory for thoughtful, useful and non-binding considerations of complex Internet governance issues. There were strong endorsements from nearly all of the stakeholders supporting the continuation of an IGF that is evolving to address the challenges of an everchanging Internet. During the IGF, businesses main messages and initiatives included: IGF in not NETMundial While this year s NETMundial produced negotiated, nonbinding Internet governance principles, there has been pressure to remake the IGF into the NETMundial model. The business community maintains that the IGF does not lend itself to producing unitary, negotiated outcomes. Letter to the UN General Assembly A letter advocating an extension of the IGF s mandate for more than the customary five years was conceived by ICC-BASIS at the IGF Istanbul meeting and sent to the key members of the UN General Assembly Second Committee on October 30. Financial Support for the IGF The IGF Support Association was launched to support the continuation of the IGF through increased funding. Bolster Regional and National Internet Governance Forums Participants agreed to foster more robust Internet governance discussions at national and regional IGFs to bridge the digital divide. Workshops USCIB members made important contributions to several workshops focusing on issues such as evaluating multistakeholder mechanisms, privacy and trust, ICTs and trade, and the potential of cloud computing for emerging economies. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President of ICT Policy, Barbara Wanner, along with representatives of USCIB members such as Amazon, AT&T, BT, Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Intel, Oracle, The Walt Disney Company, 21 st Century Fox, VeriSign, Verizon, and Wiley Rein. For more details on the meeting, click here or contact: Barbara Wanner (202) ; bwanner@uscib.org. Busan: ITU Plenipotentiary Conference - October USCIB s Barbara Wanner, together with USCIB ICT Committee Chair Eric Loeb (Vice President of International External Affairs, AT&T) attended the 19 th ITU Plenipotentiary Meeting. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and its 193 Member States and 560 Sector Members concluded the 19th quadrennial Plenipotentiary (PP-14), in Busan, South Korea on November 7 where more than 2,500 delegates engaged in robust discussion of over 450 proposals during the three-week conference, which was from October 20 through November 7. The PP-14 addressed a wide range of issues, ranging from the ITU s Constitution and Convention, to telecommunications interoperability, to technical operation and governance of the Internet. The conference culminated in issuance of the PP-14 consensus-based Final Acts, which did not require a vote. In addition to issuing the Final Acts,

5 the PP-14 also elected a new Secretary General, Houlin Zhao of China. Also notable, Joanne Wilson of the United States was elected to serve on the Radio Regulations Board. In addition, the United States was elected to another four-year term on the ITU Council, the ITU s chief decision-making body. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President of ICT Policy, Barbara Wanner, along with representatives of USCIB members such as Boeing, BT, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel, ITIC, Microsoft, Qualcomm, The Walt Disney Company, VeriSign, Verizon, and Wiley Rein. For more details on the meeting, contact: Barbara Wanner (202) ; bwanner@uscib.org. USCIB Advocates for U.S. Business at the WCO and ICC on Customs Brussels: World Customs Organization (WCO) Harmonized System Committee (HSC) Meeting September USCIB s Kristin Isabelli attended the 54 th HSC meetings of the WCO as one of the HSC delegates for the ICC. The ICC has observer status at the WCO and as a result is active on the HSC as well as the Valuation Committee and the Trade Facilitation Working Group. Kristin served as a technical business expert representing the international business community, consisting of both USCIB and ICC members. During the meeting, there were two classification items decided that were in favor of business. They included decisions on an HP monitor and Light emitting diodes (LED) assemblies. In her role as an HSC delegate for the ICC, Kristin has in the past presented on the agenda items at HSC meetings and has worked with the Secretariat and the committee to answer technical questions that helped lead to the classification decision of these products. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Director of Customs and Trade Facilitation, Kristin Isabelli. For more details on the meeting, contact: Kristin Isabelli (202) ; kisabelli@uscib.org. Brussels: ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation Meeting October USCIB s Kristin Isabelli attended this meeting, which was hosted at the WCO headquarters in Brussels to highlight the strategic partnership between the ICC and the WCO. USCIB member and chair of the ICC Commission, Norm Schenk (UPS) emphasized the importance of Customs-Business partnerships. WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya served as guest speaker where he recognized ICC as the longest standing partner of the WCO and encouraged the ICC to share its insight in emerging new business models and provide advice on how border procedures should be improved to support a true business environment. WCO Deputy Director of Compliance and Facilitation, Heike Barczyk, also participated in the commission s deliberations on reducing barriers to cross-border trade. As global value chains and e-commerce are becoming more significant, ICC commission members also emphasized the importance of taking into account the experiences of SMEs while addressing bottlenecks hampering cross-border trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was also an item of discussion. While the TFA is a WTO agreement, 85% of the articles will have to be implemented by border agencies and the WCO Mercator Program offers a practical framework to ensure consistent implementation. The WCO has made it clear that they will move the ball forward on trade facilitation, regardless of what happens at the WTO with the TFA. USCIB will be supporting the WCO in any way that we can and will continue to work with the ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation on working together with customs around the world to drive economic growth. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Director of Customs and Trade Facilitation, Kristin Isabelli, along with representatives of USCIB members such as DIAGEO, FedEx, and UPS.

6 For more details on the meeting, click here or contact: Kristin Isabelli (202) ; Advancing an Open Trade and Investment Agenda Geneva: World Investment Forum October Organized by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), this biennial forum brought together heads of state, global CEOs and civil society leaders for dialogues on global investment-related challenges. This year s forum focused particularly on leveraging investment to support the UN s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and USCIB, together with the ICC, brought a pro-business, pro-investment perspective to the forum. On the first day of the forum, ICC leaders and UNCTAD Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi co-chaired the 11 th meeting of the Investment Advisory Council where USCIB s Shaun Donnelly made a strong pitch for bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements. ICC and USCIB Chairman Terry McGraw and ICC Secretary General John Danilovich also spoke at the forum s opening plenary. In addition, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson, Terry McGraw and John Danilovich met with WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo to discuss ways to restart the stalled Trade Facilitation Agreement. On the forum s second day, USCIB s Peter Robinson delivered plenary remarks, where he discussed the four key elements that would bolster private-sector support for sustainable development: good governance, economic growth, innovation and infrastructure. Peter and Shaun also took pay in key panel discussions on the role of bilateral and multilateral investment agreements and on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), where they explained the overall importance of international investment agreements and highlighted USCIB s strong opposition to any sectoral carve-outs from ISDS protections. However, NGO opposition to ISDS remains strong. USCIB will continue to confront these issues at forums such as UNCTAD and in free trade agreement negotiations, and will continue to leverage our international networks BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) and ICC to mobilize international business support of these policies. Representing USCIB: USCIB s President and CEO, Peter Robinson and Vice President of Investment and Financial Services, Shaun Donnelly. For more details on the meeting, click here or contact: Shaun Donnelly (202) ; sdonnelly@uscib.org. Paris: BIAC Investment Committee Meeting October USCIB s Eva Hampl represented USCIB at this meeting which included formal and informal dialogue with the key government delegations to the OECD Investment Committee meeting. Key issues on the OECD investment agenda that were discussed included members concerns regarding NGO campaigns against international investment agreements (IIA) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The Policy Framework for Investment (PFI), which is currently being reviewed, was also discussed. Five draft chapters were made available prior to the meeting: Investment; Investment Promotion and Facilitation; Responsible Business Conduct; Infrastructure; and Green Growth. One key issue that members highlighted in the investment chapter is that the section on IIA should underline the importance of IIAs and ISDS as key factors for countries to attract FDI and ensure a predictable and fair treatment of investors. Eva pushed the message that the investment key messages as well as the comments on the PFI needed to emphasize the importance of investment, and ISDS as a vital component of that. USCIB and BIAC believe that the PFI insufficiently makes that point, frequently utilizing anti-investment rhetoric. As the PFI is intended to set the tone as to how the OECD will approach investment issues, providing business input in this regard is vital.

7 Representing USCIB: USCIB s Director of Investment, Trade and Financial Services, Eva Hampl. For more information, contact: Eva Hampl (202) ; ehampl@uscib.org. Geneva: Green Economies Dialogue at the WTO Public Forum October USCIB and the USCIB Foundation s Green Economies Dialogue initiative presented a Working Session on trade and development titled The Role of Trade in the Post 2015 Development Agenda: Green Growth and Disseminating Solutions during the WTO Public Forum. This year s WTO Public Forum theme was How Trade Benefits Everyone and the Working Session presented perspectives on trade as a vehicle for technological innovation, global value chains, job creation and environmental solutions, all as they relate to the UN Post 2015 Development Agenda. Discussions highlighted the potential benefits and contributions that multilateral trade systems and approaches can deliver in developed and developing countries, especially through private sector technology and expertise relevant to environmental challenges via trade. Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission to the WTO Christopher Wilson served as the keynote speaker where he reflected on how new trade-let initiatives on green, sustainable growth, such as the Environmental Goods Agreement, can contribute. USCIB has joined with other business groups to form the Coalition for Green Trade and has signed an open letter to WTO negotiators calling for the swift passage of the Environmental Goods Agreement. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President of Strategic International Engagement, Norine Kennedy along with representatives of USCIB members such as General Electric and Greenberg Traurig. For more details on the meeting, click here or contact: Norine Kennedy (212) ; nkennedy@uscib.org. Elsewhere in the World.. Peter Robinson and USCIB staff were also present at a variety of meetings at the UN, ILO and the ICC where we were monitoring developments that could potentially have a direct impact on our members. Vienna: OECD VAT Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting September USCIB s Carol Doran Klein attended this meeting of the OECD VAT TAG to discuss draft business-to-consumer VAT guidelines covering services and intangibles. This work is important to the USCIB Tax Committee because of the intersection of these issues with the OECD s work on the digital economy. The OECD hopes to publish a discussion draft of the guidelines in early December of this year. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President and International Tax Counsel, Carol Doran Klein. For more information, contact: Carol Doran Klein (202) ; cdklein@uscib.org. Paris: ICC National Committee Advisory Board and Task Force on Quotas Meetings September USCIB s Peter Robinson attended the inaugural meetings of the ICC National Committee Advisory Board and Task Force on Quotas, two newly created ICC groups that were formed following the ICC World Council and Permanent Heads meeting that took place in Geneva this past June. The Task Force on Quotas will be taking into consideration ideas submitted from all ICC National Committees for the quota/contribution system of ICC. The National Committee Advisory Board will be providing guidance to ICC Secretary General John Danilovich on the strategic direction of the organization and will be meeting four times a year. Representing USCIB: USCIB s President and CEO, Peter Robinson.

8 For more information, contact: Jessica Berti (212) ; Lima: International Labor Organization (ILO) Americas Regional Meeting October USCIB s Ronnie Goldberg attended this year s 18 th ILO Americas Regional Meeting as part of the U.S. government delegation where nearly 500 governments, worker and employer delegates agreed to the Lima Declaration, a series of measures to promote the fight against informality (the informal economy that is unregulated and untaxed) and inequality in the region. In particular, the Lima Declaration urges governments to adopt the following ILO-supported policies over the next four years and beyond: Policies that promote an enabling environment for the creation and development of enterprises; Policies to diversify production based on industrial transformation towards products with high value added; and Regional integration policies to promote wider trade markets and investment with an emphasis on infrastructure to increase the region s competitiveness. The Employers Group, which also consisted of Jorgen Ronnest, International Organization of Employers (IOE) vice president; Alberto Echavarria, employer vice president of the regional meeting; and Alexander Furlan, IOE vice president for Latin America, emphasized that most countries in the Americas should take decisive action through structural reforms to boost economic growth. The Employers Group also asked governments to undertake reforms that diversity production structures into sustainable and intensive knowledge- and technologybased activities that generate added value and quality jobs. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Senior Counsel and IOE Vice President for North America, Ronnie Goldberg. For more details on the meeting, click here or contact: Ronnie Goldberg (212) ; rgoldberg@uscib.org. Geneva: UN Committee of Tax Experts Meeting October USCIB s Carol Doran Klein attended this meeting of the UN Committee of Tax Experts where modifications to the Article 9 commentary of the UN Model Convention were discussed. The UN adopted the commentary, however, they deleted the word "broad" so the commentary will read "seeks consistency", instead of "seeks broad consistency", which was one of the principal comments that we made in a USCIB letter that was submitted to the UN prior to the meeting. Addressing the final point we made in our letter, there was also a discussion on the record concerning OECD/G20 countries respecting the commitments they make as part of the OECD/G20 BEPS process. So, countries should not be using the UN to undercut those commitments. It remains to be seen how the UN Manual will move forward, but the outcome of this meeting on the Article 9 commentary was an improvement over the draft. USCIB will continue to monitor these developments. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President and International Tax Counsel, Carol Doran Klein. For more information, contact: Carol Doran Klein (202) ; cdklein@uscib.org. Bonn: UN Climate Negotiations October USCIB s Norine Kennedy attended the Bonn Climate Conference, the first session since the U.N. Climate Summit in New York and a further stepping stone to the Paris 2015 Climate Change Agreement. In this last negotiating session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) prior to the Conference of Parties in Lima in December, governments discussed nationally determined pledges, commitments and information requirements (known as INDCs) that would comprise the new legally binding framework, along with related measures on adaptation, technology, investment and

9 finance. Governments are also seeking to animate additional commitments and actions from governments and non-state actors, including business, in the time remaining before During the opening session, Norine delivered a statement on behalf of business and industry, where she made the following points: All states as well as the private sector and other stakeholders must participate in the new UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) accord to be delivered in Paris in 2015; All sectors of the economy must be enlisted; and Each national government and the UNFCCC should enlist the diverse expertise of the business community to apply innovative solutions to the climate change challenge on mitigation and adaptation arenas. Norine also served as rapporteur for a Discussion with ADP Co-Chairs on proposals to integrate and anchor the role of business and other non-state actors in the Paris 2015 Agreement and met with members of the French delegation on plans for the concluding 2015 Paris conference, and the role of business therein. New business issues that USCIB will be watching include: proposals for a quantitative target for shifting investment from brown to green technologies; how to measure and reflect private sector investment and finance relating to climate change; and information and reporting implications for business arising from the INDCs. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President of Strategic International Engagement and Environmental Affairs, Norine Kennedy. For more information, contact: Norine Kennedy (212) ; nkennedy@uscib.org. Lima: Government of Peru Global Stakeholder Dialogues November USCIB s Norine Kennedy was invited to represent international business at stakeholder discussions convened by the Government of Peru in preparation for COP20. The purpose of these consultations, held on November 5 6 in Lima, was to bring important local constituencies together with international organizations representing business, NGOs, labor and other groups that have been active in the UNFCCC. Norine spoke on behalf of the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF), an international coalition of 26 national and regional multisectoral business groups that are advocating for substantive business engagement in the UNFCCC. She underscored the global value and supply chain connections that link large companies with SMEs in developing countries, and the international market impacts of proposed international climate measures and carbon markets. While in Lima, Norine met with representatives of major Peruvian business groups, including CONFIEP (Peruvian Employers), ADEX (Peruvian Exporters) and the Lima Chamber of Commerce. Among the issues discussed were the challenges raised by social and economic formality to full business involvement in climate action. In Peru, more than 40% of the economy is considered informal. BizMEF will host the Lima Business Dialogue at the Lima Chamber of Commerce on December 7. Representing USCIB: USCIB s Vice President of Strategic International Engagement and Environmental Affairs, Norine Kennedy. For more information, contact: Norine Kennedy (212) ; nkennedy@uscib.org.

10 Upcoming USCIB Representation Around the World Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Rome, Italy; October, 2014 Helen Medina COP 20 Lima, Peru; December, 2014 Norine Kennedy UN Forum on Business and Human Rights Geneva, Switzerland; December, 2014 Ariel Meyerstein OECD Committee on Digital Economy (CDEP) Meetings Paris, France; December, 2014 Barbara Wanner