Category: Press Releases and Statements

NFTC Submits Comments on TTIP Agreement

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Washington, D.C. – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today, in response to a Federal Register request by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, submitted comments regarding the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.

To follow is an excerpt of the NFTC’s comments. For the full text, click here.

“The United States and the European Union are the world’s largest economies, with each generating over $15 trillion in GDP and together producing half of the world’s output. Each is also the other’s largest trading partner, with more than $1.5 trillion in goods, services, and income receipts annually. Together we lead the world in maintaining and shaping the rules based global trading and investment system that powers growth, prosperity, and jobs at home and in every country on earth.

“As noted in prior comments, NFTC urges the Administration to negotiate an agreement that will:

• Maintain strong political commitment to a successful conclusion and oversight of technical negotiations to assure a timely and ambitious result.

• Set clear criteria to ‘do no harm’ that would backtrack on existing U.S. high standards set in U.S.-Korea (KORUS) free trade agreement and other bilateral or multilateral agreements or result in any new barriers to trade and investment between the US and EU or against third parties.

• Build on groundbreaking disciplines on “21st century” trade and investment issues developed in the context of current Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

• Bring a “whole of government” commitment to include the range of U.S. and EU independent governmental and sub-federal entities.

• Increase regulatory cooperation to maximize existing and future regulatory compatibility and equivalence wherever possible, recognizing industry developed testing and voluntary consensus standards. …

“… NFTC fully backs an ambitious TTIP that addresses tariff and non-tariff barriers and regulatory issues as appropriate, though the remainder of these comments will focus on several priority areas that we believe are essential to address in the negotiations:
(1) boosting participation in the global digital marketplace;
(2) enhancing the transatlantic framework for Intellectual Property rules and protections and bolstering collaboration vis-à-vis third countries and global forums;
(3) facilitating global mobility; and
(4) improving disciplines on state-owned enterprises. …”

 

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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 Statement on WTO Director-General Selection Process

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Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin released the following statement in reaction to the announcement by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo has been identified as the candidate for the next WTO Director-General around whom consensus can be built:

“NFTC congratulates Ambassador Azevedo on today’s announcement. We admire his extensive experience and deep familiarity with international trade institutions and processes on behalf of Brazil and the focus he has placed on consensus-building in Geneva.

“The next head of the WTO faces two critical tasks in steering the membership toward a successful outcome to the ministerial conference this December in Indonesia and building consensus toward a broader agenda to modernize trade rules for the digital age. We look forward to the conclusion of the selection process and working to further the important work of the WTO over the coming months.”

Following this announcement, under WTO rules, a General Council meeting will be convened no later than May 31, when member countries will be asked to formally take a decision to appoint the new Director-General. See the WTO’s outline of the Director-General selection process at: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_selection_process_e.htm

Jake Colvin is available for comment. If you’d like to schedule an interview, please contact Jennifer Cummings at jcummings@fratelli.com or 202-822-9491.

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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 Welcomes Nomination of Michael Froman as U.S. Trade Representative, Penny Pritzker for Secretary of Commerce

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed President Obama’s announcement that he will nominate Michael Froman as the next U.S. Trade Representative and Penny Pritzker for U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

NFTC President Bill Reinsch released the following statement:

“With Mike Froman’s background and great depth and breadth of knowledge on trade matters, President Obama could not have made a better choice for our next U.S. Trade Representative. The TPP and U.S.-EU trade negotiations are at the forefront of the U.S. trade agenda this year, and it is essential that we have a trade ambassador with experience negotiating and finalizing trade agreements. Mike Froman – who played a critical role in the final stages of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement – is a proven closer of agreements. I have no doubt that he will be a tremendous leader in advancing the U.S. trade agenda.

“We also welcome today’s announcement on the nomination of Penny Pritzker for Secretary of Commerce. This position is vital to U.S. economic growth and job creation and with Pritzker’s extensive business leadership experience, she will be a great fit for the position.”

 


About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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 Welcomes Japan’s Participation in TPP Negotiations

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released the following statement in response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) partners’ announcement that Japan has been accepted as a party to TPP negotiations:

“We welcome Saturday’s announcement and the intensive bilateral consultation that has occurred in the past months between the United States and Japan on a range of seemingly intractable issues,” said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Initiatives Chuck Dittrich. “Skepticism over making meaningful progress on a range of key agricultural, manufacturing and services trade and investment barriers now has the potential to give way to real progress, which, in turn, will give greater economic meaning to the TPP.”

“The recent U.S. announcement that its support for Japan entering the TPP negotiations will take place alongside parallel intensive bilateral negotiations of non-tariff measures addressing insurance, autos, transparency investment, IPR, standards, government procurement, competition policy, express delivery and SPS underscores the complexity of opening the Japanese market, but also suggests there is a real window of opportunity to do so,” Dittrich continued. “This parallel process will need to yield concrete positive results to facilitate both conclusion of the TPP and favorable action by Congress to approve the agreement.”

“One of the issues not discussed in the bilateral talks, or in the TPP negotiations, has been the growing concern over policy measures designed to affect exchange rate relationships to alter global terms of trade,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “While the United States has been accused of this because of its quantitative easing policy, U.S. policy has been aimed at stimulating domestic demand – a necessity in view of the global recession and welcomed by our trading partners. Other nations have been guilty of actions that effectively transfer the costs of their growth to other countries. This is a growing global problem that is beyond the capacity of the TPP talks to address, but it must eventually be dealt with, either in the IMF or the WTO, or both.”

“Robust engagement is the only way to increase economic benefits of global trade and investment, and the NFTC welcomes Saturday’s news as a step in the right direction. We will continue working with our member companies and the U.S. government to address the broad range of issues with all the parties to the negotiations,” Reinsch concluded.
 

 

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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 Welcomes Bipartisan Immigration Reform Legislation

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed the introduction of bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

“The bill is an important step forward in recalibrating U.S. immigration policies to allow us to attract and retain the world’s top talent to grow the American economy and create jobs,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We are encouraged by the bipartisan support for immigration reform and applaud the ‘Gang of Eight’ Senators for their efforts.”

“The draft addresses several issues that affect the ability of the United States to serve as a destination for global innovators, professionals, entrepreneurs, students and researchers,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin. “It is a welcome development, and we look forward to working with the Administration and Congress as the process unfolds to make certain new policies improve the long-term competitiveness of the United States.”

Over the past several weeks, the NFTC Foundation has held discussions with business and university leaders at the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University on how current U.S. immigration and visa policies impact American innovation and economic competitiveness, which helped underscore the importance of reform. The group will hold a total of four discussions this year, thanks to a grant from the GE Foundation, to provide input into the national conversation about immigration and visa policy.

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About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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 Supreme Court’s Decision in Major Alien Tort Statute Case

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage today welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum case. NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch released the following statement.

“We welcome the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum case, which holds that the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) does not apply to conduct occurring outside the borders of the United States.

“While the Court was silent on the issue of corporate liability, the decision rules out claims in U.S. federal courts against multinational companies for aiding and abetting human rights abuses by governments of countries in which they have operations.

“The Court also provided much-needed clarity on the issue of extraterritoriality, concluding that ‘nothing in the text of the statute suggests that Congress intended causes of action recognized under it to have extraterritorial reach’ and ‘there is no indication that the ATS was passed to make the United States a uniquely hospitable forum for the enforcement of international norms.’

“The Court’s decision is a win for companies’ ability to conduct business globally and critical to other pending ATS cases.”

In October and February 2012, the NFTC filed two amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in support of the defendant in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum.

To read the Court’s decision, click here.

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
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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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USPTO Honors Global Innovation Forum Members for Efforts to Address Humanitarian Needs

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Washington DC– The Global Innovation Forum, a project of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Foundation, today applauded Gilead Sciences, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble, three companies honored last night with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patents for Humanity program awards. All are members of the Global Innovation Forum and were among 10 companies selected to receive awards in this first-ever competition.

“USPTO’s Patents for Humanity program is pioneering policymaking that improves the enabling environment for innovation to meet common global challenges like development, public health, climate change and food security,” said Global Innovation Forum Executive Director John Stubbs. “Patents alone do not put innovation in the hands of people in need. Delivering technology to hard-to-reach markets around the world requires extraordinary effort, and this program should be commended for recognizing that work by leading American innovators.”

“We are honored to be included among this impressive class of recipients,” said Gregg Alton, Executive Vice President for Corporate and Medical Affairs at Gilead Sciences. “Our access program, built on the strength of U.S., Indian and international patent law, demonstrates that intellectual property can work to empower access to medicines. Our generic partners in India and Africa really share this award with us – their contributions to manufacturing innovation have saved millions of lives.”

“Powerful software that can interpret and make sense of the changing world around us requires an intensive and long-term investment in research,” said Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft. “Microsoft can make these investments and provide innovations like Infer.NET free of charge for non-commercial activities because we can commercialize our most inventive discoveries. Supported by strong patent protections, the extraordinary thinkers represented in all categories of the USPTO Patents For Humanity award have the resources they need to tackle complex humanitarian problems and make a difference in our world.”

“On behalf of P&G employees and our many partners, we’re thrilled to receive one of the first Patent for Humanity awards for our innovative P&G water purification packets,” said Dr. Greg Allgood, Director and Founder of the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. “Now, we’re more determined than ever to scale-up our efforts so that we can save one life every hour in the developing world by providing 2 billion liters of clean water every year by 2020.”

Patents for Humanity is the USPTO’s flagship program that creates business incentives for using patented technology to address global challenges in health and standards of living. Last year, participants submitted applications to USPTO describing how they have addressed humanitarian needs with patented technology in the fields of medicine, food and nutrition, clean technology, and information technology. After a rigorous selection process, USPTO announced last night recipients at an awards ceremony held in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room. In addition to recognition of their work, recipients were awarded a certificate for accelerated processing of select matters at the USPTO. More information on the Patents for Humanity program is available here:
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/patents_for_humanity.jsp

About the NFTC Foundation
The National Foreign Trade Council was founded in 1914 and is the oldest and largest trade association devoted entirely to advocating an open, rules-based international trade system. NFTC promotes open markets and U.S. engagement in the world on behalf of its member companies, which include Abbvie, Caterpillar, eBay, General Electric, Hanes Brands, IBM, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart. The Global Innovation Forum is a project of NFTC’s educational arm, the NFTC Foundation, which brings together diverse groups of stakeholders to create a better understanding of how the innovation ecosystem and public policy can improve the lives of workers, families and communities.
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NFTC Releases Draft Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2013

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released its draft bill, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Act of 2013, developed to initiate and facilitate debate over the objectives of future trade agreements and ensuring an efficient “fast track” process for Congressional consideration of implementing legislation. This draft legislative text is an updated version of the NFTC’s draft Trade Negotiating Authority Act of 2009.

“Trade promotion authority is critical to U.S. trade policy, and with the renewal of TPA legislation at the forefront of the trade agenda this year, we hope to jumpstart the debate with the release of our new draft legislation,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “The global trading system has seen significant changes since the last TPA bill was signed into law. Our draft legislation includes new negotiating objectives that address the challenges and realities of today’s global trading system, including forced localization, cross-border data flows and intellectual property rights, just to name a few.”

The new fundamental negotiating objectives cited in the draft bill include:

  • Ensuring that regulations in the United States and abroad are coherent, science-based and arrived at transparently;
  • Enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights by ensuring that U.S. standards of protection and enforcement are incorporated in new trade agreements;
  • Ensuring that U.S. companies have full access to global supply and distribution chains;
  • Modernizing rules, standards and practices governing the flow of data and information across borders;
  • Harmonizing customs and other border measures to facilitate trade;
  • Ensuring high levels of environmental protection and respect for fundamental labor rights;
  • Strengthening rules against forced localization through practices and laws that force companies to source goods and services or transfer technology as a condition of doing business;
  • Strengthening World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to prevent market-distorting export restrictions;
  • Promoting transparency and non-discrimination in government procurement systems; and
  • Improving health outcomes by creating competitive opportunities for a full range of U.S. products (innovative and generic) and services.
Additionally, the draft legislation acknowledges that multilateral negotiations are moving toward a two-track system within the WTO in which countries willing to undertake greater liberalization can do so on a non-MFN basis without being held back by those unable or unwilling to participate and calls for tougher enforcement of the “substantially all trade” requirement for free trade agreements. The bill also focuses bilateral objectives on countries that would provide the greatest economic benefit to the United States, in addition to encouraging harmonization of the rules in various bilateral and regional agreements.

Procedurally, the bill would renew trade promotion authority for five years with the option to extend it at regular five-year intervals if the President requests and the Congress does not disapprove. It would also create a special rule for the TPP negotiations, permitting the fast-track procedures to apply to implementing legislation for a TPP agreement only if one were submitted within a year of the date of enactment of the bill.

The bill also creates an Office of Trade Analysis within USTR and establishes a petition process within the Executive Branch for considering proposals to remove U.S. nontariff trade barriers.

Click here to read the full text of the bill.

Click here to read a summary of the bill.

Click here for a list of major changes from the 2002 law.

 

About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- 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’s Global Innovation Forum Holds Immigration Discussion at the University of Texas at Austin

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Washington DC– As part of its discussion series on immigration, themed “Goodbye Global Innovators?,” the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Foundation’s Global Innovation Forum recently held a roundtable discussion at the University of Texas at Austin on policy issues surrounding the ability of the United States to attract and retain top global talent, particularly students, entrepreneurs, researchers and high-skilled workers. The event, which took place last Wednesday, featured two panel discussions – “The Impact of U.S. Visa and Immigration Policies on American Businesses and Entrepreneurs” and “The Impact of Visa and Immigration Policies on Innovation, Research and Life in University Communities” – in addition to a luncheon featuring remarks on “The Impact of U.S. Immigration and Visa Policies on U.S. National Interests.”

“In Austin and at another recent event at Duke University, we’ve had the opportunity to hear from entrepreneurs, students and top business and academic leaders about the often negative impact that U.S. immigration and visa policies have on American innovation and economic competitiveness. We heard clearly that the United States needs to do more to attract and retain the talent needed to foster U.S. economic growth, create jobs and strengthen America’s innovation leadership,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin.

 

Business and university leaders, students and entrepreneurs from the region participated in the event. In addition to NFTC President Bill Reinsch and Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin, speakers included:

  • Ryan Erickson, Director of Political Research, Partnership for a New American Economy;
  • Admiral Bob Inman;
  • Rose Jennings, Director, Employment Law, AMD;
  • Chetan Kapoor, CEO and Founder, Agile Planet, Inc.;
  • Columbia Mishra, Ph.d. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, and President, Graduate Student Assembly, University of Texas at Austin
  • Drew Scheberle, Senior Vice President, Talent and Workforce Development, Austin Chamber of Commerce;
  • Ting Shen, Co-founder and CEO, NanoLite Systems, Inc.;
  • Erika Sumner, Co-Founder, Social Good TV, and Innovation & Community Advocate;
  • Jeremi Suri, Professor and Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and
  • Andrew Thorley, Assistant Director, International Student and Scholar Services, International Office, University of Texas at Austin.

The NFTC’s Global Innovation Forum discussion series on immigration and American competitiveness is part of a national innovation initiative made possible by the GE Foundation. This event was held in partnership with theUniversity of Texas at Austin,Austin Chamber of Commerce and Partnership for a New American Economy. The series was launched last month at Duke University.

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About the NFTC Foundation
The National Foreign Trade Council was founded in 1914 and is the oldest and largest trade association devoted entirely to advocating an open, rules-based international trade system. NFTC promotes open markets and U.S. engagement in the world on behalf of its member companieswhich include Abbvie, Caterpillar, eBay, General Electric, Hanes Brands, IBM, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart. The Global Innovation Forum is a project of NFTC’s educational arm, the NFTC Foundation, which brings together diverse groups of stakeholders to create a better understanding of how the innovation ecosystem and public policy can improve the lives of workers, families and communities.
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