Category: Press Releases and Statements

U.S.-South Africa Business Council Denounces Apartheid Lawsuit

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington DC – Following a preliminary hearing held this morning in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York on a lawsuit for monetary damages against more than 100 American and European companies that did business in South Africa between 1948 and 1994, J. Daniel O’Flaherty, Executive Director of the U.S.-South Africa Business Council, termed the lawsuit “outrageous.”

“American business has nothing to be ashamed of for its conduct during the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. On the contrary, American companies made a major contribution to undermining apartheid,” stated O’Flaherty. “Today, U.S. companies are making a vital contribution to South Africa’s economic and social development and to meet its most urgent need – the creation of more jobs.”

“The lawsuit does nothing to advance the real and present needs of the victims of apartheid. For the past eight years South Africa has given hope to the world by putting its past behind it and setting an example of reconciliation. This lawsuit represents a step backward,” he continued.

O’Flaherty pointed out that after 1977 most U.S. companies doing business in South Africa conformed closely to a code of conduct, the Sullivan Principles, and after 1986 were required by U.S. law to disobey South Africa’s apartheid laws.

William A. Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, cited the danger of proliferating suits in American courts to address the misdeeds of foreign governments. “The increasing use of a 1789 statute, known as the Alien Tort Law, to bring lawsuits against companies in U.S. courts is an abuse of the American legal system,” he said. “American companies should not be held legally accountable for the behavior of foreign governments over which they have no control.”

The US-South Africa Business Council has established a litigation support group to assist U.S. firms with this lawsuit.

 

Robert L. Mallett To Become Chairman of the U.S. – South Africa Business Council

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Washington DC – The U.S.-South Africa Business Council is pleased to announce Robert L. Mallett as its new Chairman. Mr. Mallett is the Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Pfizer Inc. Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Mallett served as Deputy Secretary of Commerce under then-Commerce Secretary William Daley.

“I am delighted to welcome Robert Mallett to the Business Council; Robert will bring insight to the Council both through his business and previous Commerce experience, which I think is most valuable,” said outgoing Chairman Lewis Booth. “The U.S.-South Africa Business Council enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Robert Mallett in his capacity as Deputy Secretary of Commerce. His extensive experience in U.S.-South Africa bilateral government and business relations will serve our members well.”

“I always appreciated the work of the Council while I served in government, and I am sure that I will enjoy serving and working with all of the members of the Council as its new Chair. I consider it an honor to have been asked,” said Robert Mallett.

The U.S.-South Africa Business Council supports the entry and success of U.S. companies in the South African market and represents their interests to the United States and South African governments. The Business Council is working closely with the White House and other U.S. government agencies, especially with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office on plans for a free trade agreement between the United States and South Africa and the Southern Africa Customs Union. The Business Council is sponsored by the National Foreign Trade Council.

Mr. Mallett succeeds Mr. Lewis Booth as Chairman. Mr. Booth, formerly Ford Motor Company’s President for Asia-Pacific and Africa, recently became Senior Advisor in charge of Corporate Strategy for Mazda Motor Corporation.

Mr. Mallett graduated from Morehouse College in 1979 and received his law degree from Harvard University in 1982. He is based in New York City.

Shirley Puccino Appointed New NFTC Board Member

Posted on by dcadmin

November 6, 2001

Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council announced today that Shirley Puccino was elected to the NFTC board, effective immediately. Puccino is chief operating officer for U.S. operations of CIGNA International, Expatriate Benefits, which provides group benefits and specialized services to expatriate employees of multinational companies based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

“The Council is particularly pleased to welcome Shirley and Cigna to the board because of their extensive experience and involvement in international human resources management,” said Bill Reinsch, President of the NFTC. “This is an important element of the NFTC’s work, and we have a great deal to gain from Shirley’s depth of knowledge and experience in the area.”

A health care insurance professional with 20 years of experience, Puccino jointed CIGNA from Aetna U.S. Healthcare. Throughout her career she has had various management roles including sales, customer relations, underwriting, and operations. Most recently she served as general manager and executive vice president of Aetna’s middle market segment. Puccino has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Scranton.

“Considering today’s environment, the importance of the NFTC’s work increases every day,” said Puccino. “A more productive workforce is key to rebuilding a strong global economy. I look forward to working with the NFTC and my fellow board members on human resource issues and critical trade issues we face.”

CIGNA International, the global business division of CIGNA Corporation markets life, accident and health insurance and employee benefits, including health care and pensions, in major markets around the world.

Contact: Eric Thomas
              Emily Kelley
             (202) 822-9491

Michael H. Jordan Elected New NFTC Chairman

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Washington DC – The Board of Directors of the National Foreign Trade Council announced today that Michael H. Jordan was unanimously elected to the position of Chairman of the NFTC, effective immediately. Jordan is a General Partner of Global Asset Capital, LLC, a venture capital firm, a partner of Beta Capital Group, LLC of Dallas, Texas, a trustee of the Brookings Institution, and former Chairman and CEO of CBS Corp., formerly Westinghouse Electric Corp.

“We are very happy to welcome Michael H. Jordan as the new Chairman,” said NFTC President William Reinsch. “He is a solid and proven leader who has been the guiding force in a number of successes in the private sector. His enthusiasm and expertise will serve the NFTC well.”

Jordan retired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation (formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation) on December 31, 1998 after having led one of the most comprehensive transformations of a major U.S. corporation. Before joining Westinghouse, Mr. Jordan was a partner with Clayton, Dubilier and Rice, a private investment firm based in New York City. Prior to that he spent 18 years with PepsiCo in a variety of positions, including President and Chief Financial Officer. From 1964 to 1974, Jordan was a consultant and principal with McKinsey & Company. Before entering the private sector, he served a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Navy. A graduate of Yale University in 1957, Jordan received his MS in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1959.

“With the economy in its current state, it’s crucial that we support and promote international trade and engagement – making NFTC’s work ever more important in helping to promote economic growth and vitality,” said Jordan. “These are issues worth fighting for, and I look forward to the challenge.”

Mr. Jordan succeeds Richard J. Swift, Chairman & CEO of Foster Wheeler Corporation who served as NFTC Chairman for three years and was honored at the NFTC’s Annual Dinner on October 10 in New York City.
 

Contact: Eric Thomas
              Emily Kelley
             (202) 822-9491

 

Supreme Court Rules Massachusetts Burma Law Unconstitutional; Judgment of First Circuit Court Affirmed

Posted on by Jake Colvin

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) hailed today’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the Massachusetts “Burma Law” as “a victory for the U.S. Constitution.”

The Massachusetts Law was designed to deny state contracts to any company doing business in Burma. The Court ruled unanimously that the Burma Law impermissibly intruded on the federal government’s authority and was preempted by federal law regarding Burma.

“We are very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision, which reaffirms the federal government’s predominant role in foreign policy and should help put an end to state and local efforts to make foreign policy,” said Frank Kittridge, President of the NFTC. “The Court’s opinion, written by Justice Souter, relied upon Congress’s “clear mandate” in federal Burma legislation to have the President “speak for the United States among the world’s nations,” noting that Congress’s “invocation of exclusively national power belies any suggestion that Congress intended the President’s effective voice to be obscured by an state or local action.”

The Court went on to state that “the President’s maximum power to persuade rests on his capacity to bargain for the benefits of access to the entire national economy without exception for enclaves fenced off willy-nilly by inconsistent political tactics.”

“The NFTC filed its suit because of concerns among U.S. businesses and agriculture that the mounting patchwork of state and local sanctions was threatening to seriously hurt U.S. interests – while at the same time threatening a coherent U.S. foreign policy,” said Kittridge. “Over 30 sub-federal sanctions laws are now on the books in states and cities across America. It is time for those jurisdictions to begin the process of rescinding those measures.”

“We continue to share concerns over human rights abuses in Burma, but those concerns can best be addressed through a coordinated, multinational effort. Our system of government was not designed to allow the fifty states and tens of thousands of municipalities to conduct their own individual foreign policies,” Kittridge concluded.

Read the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Crosby v. NFTC.

Test Case Filed Contesting Validity of State and Local Sanctions Laws

Posted on by Jake Colvin

Washington, D.C. — The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today filed suit in the United States District Court in Boston, Massachusetts to enjoin Commonwealth of Massachusetts officials from enforcing the “Massachusetts Burma Law,” (7 M.G.L.A.ßß 22G-M). The law effectively prohibits companies that do business in the Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma) — or whose parent companies have business dealings in that nation — from providing goods and services to Massachusetts state agencies.

“We regard this law suit to be an important test case that will determine the very significant, perplexing and continuing issue concerning the constitutionality of state and local sanctions,” said Frank Kittredge, President of the National Foreign Trade Council and Vice Chairman of USA*ENGAGE. “We believe the interests of all affected parties, including the Commonwealth and its citizens, will be served by an authoritative and prompt resolution of this issue.”

“The Massachusetts Burma Law directly intrudes on the exclusive power of the national government to determine foreign policy, discriminates against companies engaged in foreign commerce, and conflicts with the policies and objectives of the federal statute imposing sanctions on the Union of Myanmar,” Kittredge continued. “This is a clear constitutional issue, and we believe there are strong grounds to overturn the law.”

The NFTC legal challenge is based on three premises:

    1.The United States Constitution vests complete responsibility for the conduct of foreign relations with the federal government.
    2.The Massachusetts Burma Law violates the Foreign Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits state laws that discriminate against foreign commerce, burden foreign commerce, or impede the federal government’s ability to speak with one voice when regulating commercial relations with foreign governments.
    3.The Massachusetts Burma Law conflicts with the sanctions enacted by Congress and the President to implement a federal strategy for encouraging political change in the Union of Myanmar.

“The constitutional problem created by the Massachusetts Burma Law is a serious one, and the proliferation of similar laws in states and cities throughout the country creates a problem not only for business, but for the ability of the United States to conduct a coherent foreign policy,” Kittredge continued. “We share concerns over reported human rights abuses in the Union of Myanmar, and encourage the United States to seek multilateral solutions to problems that exist throughout the world. However, our system of government was not designed to allow the fifty states and hundreds of municipalities to conduct their own individual foreign policies.”

The NFTC has, for most of this century, represented the interests of hundreds of companies in free international trade. NFTC has filed the suit on behalf of its 580 members because the law establishes a “restricted purchase list” which currently includes over 30 of the NFTC’s member companies — preventing these companies from competing on an equal basis for contracts with Massachusetts state agencies or require that they cease doing business in the Union of Myanmar.

Address by Nelson Mandela to the National Foreign Trade Council

Posted on by Jake Colvin

Mr Chairman, Directors and Members of the National Foreign Trade Council and the United States- South Africa Business Council, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

May I first thank you sincerely for giving us the opportunity to meet you and share views with the distinguished leaders of business in the United States gathered here tonight.

I would also like to extend to you our appreciation of the interest and concern for our country which you have demonstrated and continue to sustain, and which, I am convinced, will develop into an enduring partnership.

As I look around this room, I see many familiar faces. Some of us have met during my previous visits to your country, and some of us have met in South Africa.

Tonight, however, we meet under very different circumstances. South Africa’s first democratically elected government has been in office for just over four months. For the first time in our history we have a government whose legitimacy is recognised by every section of our society and throughout the international community.

In our previously divided country, an enduring national consensus has been forged on the interim constitution and the broad objectives of reconstruction and develop-ment. It cuts across racial and political affiliations. It is founded on a deep and shared conviction that the only way forward is to reconcile our nation nd improve the well-being of all its people.

Our Government of National Unity is based on and expresses this consensus and shared commitment. It is operating well and is on course for the achievement of our national goals. After months of careful planning and preparation we have begun in earnest the reconstruction and development of our country.

These months of preparation and planning have been necessary because the legacy of deprivation bequeathed by apartheid is so widespread and so systematic. The RDP is an all-encompassing process of transforming our society to improve the lives of all South Africans. It requires reform of institutions so that they will be more repre-sentative and so that they will be more efficient and effective in the use of our national resources. Its feasibility depends on economic growth which generates employment, develops human resources, and provides increased revenue for the funding of the programme.

The government has marked out certain clear and unshakeable principles in its approach to the RDP. The criterion of affordability is central to this. Fiscal and fi-nancial discipline is therefore beyond argument. In order to use the existing resour-ces efficiently, we are restructuring government priorities and expenditure within the existing budget. Further resources for the programme will have to come from economic growth, and measures to promote growth are therefore essential elements of the RDP.

There is an intimate relationship between the processes of political and economic transformation. The success of the RDP is crucial to the survival and development of our newly-won democracy. Unless we successfully address the question of econo-mic growth, development and equitable distribution of wealth and income, the prospects for guaranteeing the stability of our democratic settlement will not be good.

The success of our RDP will also have an important impact on the whole of the Southern African region, and we have already gone a long way in establishing good relations with our neighbours.

What role can you play in these endeavours, which are based on values that we all share?

It is now some three years since we urged potential investors to begin serious preparations to enter the democratic South Africa whose advent was only a matter of time. Although we know it would still be some time before we had a democra-tically elected government, we recognised that such preparations needed to be made as early as possible.

The conditions are now ripe for practical work to start. We do appreciate that many companies have already taken major steps in this direction, and we urge that this should be accelerated.

This is not to say that foreign investments on their own will solve our economic problems. They will however play a central and valuable role in our economic development. And we do have confidence that you will join us in the partnership to help transform South Africa into a growing economy based equity.

Urging you to invest in our country we are not engaging in special leading. That is why I speak of a partnership, to signify a relationship of mutual benefit.

We are acutely conscious of the fact that the whole world is competing for investment capital. We are therefore keenly aware of the importance an economic and social climate that will create opportunities for investors.

Our Government of National Unity, founded on an unprecedented consensus and committed to the policies I outline earlier, provides such an environment. The Na-tional Economic, Development and Labour Council which are setting up expresses a new relationship of partnership between business, labour and government, and will promote joint strategies to ensure a vibrant and growing economy.

Within this broad framework the South African Government is further committed to the following: a stable and predictable policy and regulatory framework that promotes investment, reduces protectionism, and increase investment opportunities for all; the abolition of exchange controls and the dual currency system as soon as objective conditions allow; the rapid conclusion of tax agreements with the United States; and implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round on trade arrange-ments.

We are extremely encouraged by the expression of confidence and willingness to help, shown by the US Administration. This manifests itself in such areas as the admission of South Africa to the Generalised System of Conferences, and in the preliminary discussion between officials of the two governments on mobilising private sector resources to help in South Africa’s reconstruction and development.
We are confident that, given our success in managing South Africa’s ?, the American business community will not be found wanting. It is because we do appreciate that the causes of the conflict of the past are well-understood. In the same vein, the fact that these problems have now been largely removed would be well-appreciated.

I therefore submit that there is no longer any basis for reticence. South Africans have demonstrated with distinction their ability to manage political and economic change. All of you will, and should, make your investment decisions based upon the real opportunities you seek and find in South Africa, without allowing the past to obscure those opportunities from your sight.

Your relationship with South Africa in the past was shaped by opposition to apart-heid. To invest at this time in South Africa would be to express your confidence in the democracy we are establishing and at the same time to act as guarantor of its consolidation and development.

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the National Foreign Trade Council for its hospitality and for having had the foresight last year to establish the United States – South Africa Business Council. We also express our gratitude to the Council for the important work it does to promote trade and investment both here and in South Africa.