Category: Press Releases and Statements

NFTC Blog Post: “The Art of the Leak”

Posted on by dcadmin
Washington DC–Today, in a blog post, titled “TPA: Power to the People,” Bill Reinsch, President of theNational Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), wrote:
“Once again, to the surprise of nobody, the anti-trade folks are demonstrating their skill at the art of the leak – find and make public documents that reveal government positions, exaggerate the significance of both the documents and the positions, attack the positions knowing that government cannot fully respond without breaching its own confidentiality rules, and then conclude that the entire agreement under negotiation is fatally flawed.

“It’s a clever strategy – although it has yet to be successful – because it puts government on the defensive, distracts the negotiators, and slows down the process, thereby creating more time for new attacks. Unfortunately, it badly distorts the debate and focuses it away from the real issues.

“First and most important, trade negotiating documents reflect each side’s positions. Do they agree? Of course not. If they did, there wouldn’t be anything to negotiate. Are they overstated? Of course they are. Governments take more extreme positions in order to give themselves maneuvering room as the process moves on. The negotiating process is about narrowing those differences, or in some cases it’s about acknowledging that differences cannot be reconciled and moving on to other topics. Making these documents public rarely produces surprises, since governments’ positions are generally well known.

“For example, see Public Citizen’s comment on the most recent Transatlantic Trade Partnership (TTIP) leak: ‘Taken in their entirety, the U.S. proposals are affirmatively hostile to the precautionary principle.’ There’s a surprise. The United States has opposed the precautionary principle in multiple fora for decades. It’s a Luddite affectation designed to disguise protectionism.”

About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.Follow us on:

NFTC Applauds House Passage of Legislation to Protect Trade Secrets

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Washington DC –The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today applauded House passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, legislation that will help protect the trade secrets of American companies.
 
 
“For companies of all sizes, trade secrets are a critical part of their intellectual property, and this bill will help protect them. This legislation also will strengthen the U.S. government’s hand when negotiating with other nations to ensure adequate trade secrets protection for U.S. companies in those countries, including in trade negotiations,” said Jake Colvin, NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Initiatives and Executive Director of its Global Innovation Forum.
 
 
“We commend members of the House on both sides of the aisle for working together to pass this important legislation, and we look forward to the President signing it into law,” said Colvin.
 


About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.Follow us on:

 

 

 

New Study Details the Impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China

Posted on by dcadmin
The Coalition for Green Trade today released the results of a new study detailing the effects that a World Trade Organization (WTO) Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) would have on the economy of China and the country’s ability to meet its environmental goals.

Overall, the study, “Value of an Environmental Goods Agreement: Helping China Meet Its Environmental Goals,” finds that full implementation of an EGA accord to eliminate tariffs on green technologies by China – the largest producer of these technologies participating in the EGA negotiations – would have a positive impact on the Chinese economy and environment.

The study was principally prepared by Dr. Joseph F. Francois and Laura M. Baughman of the Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC. They find that full implementation by China of an ambitious EGA:

  • Increases China’s GDP and national income by billions of dollars;
  • Increases exports by nearly $27 billion, up by 9.8 percent;
  • Increases real spending of roughly $22 billion annually on environmental goods; and
  • Results in gains of approximately $659 billion annually in economic benefits linked to improved environmental quality, based on the literature assessing cost-benefit ratios for investment in improved environmental conditions.
In July 2014, the United States and a group of other countries launched EGA negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in an effort to improve access to important green and energy efficient technologies, among other objectives. The United States and the 16 other WTO members participating in the EGA talks account for at least 86 percent of global environmental goods trade.

The Coalition for Green Trade is composed of a broad range of associations – including the U.S. China Business Council, which provided advice and outreach in support of this report – and companies doing business in the United States who seek to remove barriers to global trade in environmental technologies.

[Click here for English version of the study]
http://www.nftc.org/default/GIF/Value-of-the-EGA-ENGLISH.pdf

[Click here for Chinese version of the study]
http://www.nftc.org/default/GIF/Value-of-the-EGA-CHINESE.pdf

 

 

 

NFTC Releases Policy Brief on “Charting New Pathways for the WTO”

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Washington DC – Today, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) released a new policy brief on “Charting New Pathways for the WTO.” The brief outlines the U.S. business community’s priorities for the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the pursuit of a digital trade agenda and a micro, small and medium-sized business agenda.

“This is an exciting time in Geneva,” said Jake Colvin, NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Initiatives and Executive Director of its Global Innovation Forum. “There is a new opportunity to align business and development interests at the WTO around policy agendas that ensure access to the digital economy and support the competitiveness of small businesses and entrepreneurs in the global trading system.”

In the brief, NFTC details how WTO members could align development and business interests to facilitate access to the global marketplace around new small business and digital trade agendas.

The brief outlines how the WTO could build on existing disciplines to improve the global digital economy, including by:

  • Ensuring a default of openness in information flows and that businesses can provide digital services on a cross-border, non-discriminatory basis;

  • Guiding the development of best practices around national data privacy, security, lawful access to information and other issues that impact the digital economy in ways that regulate appropriately in the interest of the public good without hindering access to the global digital marketplace, being more trade restrictive than necessary, or creating unnecessarily divergent or conflicting rules; and

  • Defining appropriate protections for Internet intermediaries; among other recommendations.
The NFTC also suggests priorities for a micro, small and medium-sized business WTO work plan to achieve objectives including:
  • Deepen transparency initiatives to ensure that regulations and procedures are easily understood and accessible, including provisions for single portals for access to regulations and required filings;

  • Further improve physical trade lanes, including by facilitating the transit of the low-value, low-risk packages that characterize many micro and small business’ shipments through expedited procedures and increase of de minimis thresholds; digitizing customs forms and procedures; maximizing market access for transportation and logistics services providers; and improving market access for goods; and
  • Address standards and conformity assessment issues to ensure that rules and regulations are compatible across economies; among other priorities.
“Today’s global economy demands modernized trade rules for the 21st century and beyond, and there is an opportunity for creating new pathways for the world’s economies at the WTO,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Technology and innovation have transformed the way the world does business, and it is time for world trade rules to reflect this reality and its implications for global commerce.”

 

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About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.Follow us on:

 

 

 

NFTC Statement on Departure of U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington DC – Today, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) issued the following statement in response to the announcement that Todd Stern, United States Special Envoy for Climate Change, will step down from his position next month.

“We appreciate Todd’s efforts over the past seven years to advance global environmental accords, including the landmark agreement reached in Paris last year, while ensuring that those agreements support American innovation,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin. “Todd has a keen understanding and awareness of how these agreements impact U.S. businesses and has been an advocate for advancing American innovation through green trade.”

“We thank Todd for all of his many contributions,” said Colvin. “We congratulate and welcome his successor, Jonathan Pershing, and we look forward to continue working with him in his new capacity.”

The NFTC co-chairs the U.S. business community’s Coalition for Green Trade, which is composed of a broad range of associations and companies doing business in the United States who seek to remove barriers to global trade in environmental technologies, and has participated in Conference of Parties to ensure that multilateral climate negotiations do not undermine global trading frameworks that support American innovators.

About the NFTC

Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.

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NFTC, USA*Engage Welcome Obama Administration Actions to Facilitate U.S.-Cuba Trade and Travel

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington DC – Today, in response to the Obama Administration amending several regulations that currently and unnecessarily limit trade and travel between the United States and Cuba, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage released the following statement. 

USA*Engage Vice President Richard Sawaya said: 

“We applaud the announcements made today and the Administration’s continued efforts to restore relations with Cuba and the Cuban people. By lifting restrictions in a number of areas – from allowing dollar transactions to putting in place measures to facilitate commerce, including new shipping and importation rules – the Administration is taking important steps to move the U.S.-Cuba relationship forward.”

 

NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin said: 

“The new trade and travel rules announced today will go a long way in helping to remove unnecessary roadblocks to the flow of commerce and people between Cuba and the United States. We have long advocated for lifting the U.S. embargo, and the new rules address some of its most onerous restrictions.”

 

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About USA*Engage
USA*Engage (www.usaengage.org) is a coalition of small and large businesses, agriculture groups and trade associations working to seek alternatives to the proliferation of unilateral U.S. foreign policy sanctions and to promote the benefits of U.S. engagement abroad. Established in 1997 and organized under the National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org), USA*Engage leads a campaign to inform policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public about the counterproductive nature of unilateral sanctions, the importance of exports and overseas investment for American competitiveness and jobs, and the role of American companies in promoting human rights and democracy worldwide.

 

About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914 – The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.

Follow us on: