Category: Press Releases and Statements

NFTC Welcomes Administration’s Trade Agenda Outlined During House Ways and Means Committee Hearing

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Council Chairman Alan Wolff Testifies Before Committee, Highlights Importance of TPP to Future Rules Governing Global Trade

Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s remarks on the U.S. trade agenda before the House Ways and Means Committee this morning. During the second panel of the hearing, Alan Wolff, NFTC Chairman, Co-chair, International Trade Practice Group, Dewey & LeBoeuf and former U.S. Deputy Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, delivered testimony.

“Ambassador Kirk highlighted many issues of priority for the NFTC and our members. In particular, we are encouraged by the Administration’s efforts to implement the Colombia and Panama free trade agreements as soon as possible, just as it worked toward swift implementation of the Korea agreement,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We also welcome Ambassador Kirk’s remarks on the Administration’s push to terminate Russia’s Jackson-Vanik Amendment status and to establish permanent normal trade relations, conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and restore Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) this year. The NFTC has already drafted a bill on the latter, which we plan to offer for Congressional consideration.”

During his testimony before the committee, NFTC Chairman Alan Wolff highlighted the TPP as a model for structuring future global trade rules and as a platform for making progress on 21st century trade issues, including services and state-owned enterprises (SOE). Wolff also called for modernizing international trade rules governing cross-border data flows and emphasized the need to restore TPA. To follow is an excerpt from Wolff’s testimony:

“TPP is the world’s only live and exciting trade negotiation in which the United States is involved. One thing that I wish to convey is that those TPP participants that employ state-owned enterprises have an interest in disciplines being put into place on how these government enterprises compete in commercial markets. Participating countries in TPP should negotiate with full awareness that it is more than a vague possibility that some other country will have a larger SOE that will distort competition in a manner harmful to their interests. TPP is exciting and important because it has the real potential to set the future rules for trade in a way that I regret the WTO has not been able to continue at this time. I hope that TPP will become a good template for the new rules that ultimately govern global trade through the WTO.”

 

Click here to read his full testimony.

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 Obama Administration’s Corporate Tax Proposal

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today commended the Obama Administration for recognizing the need for lowering the corporate tax rate, but expressed disappointment that the Administration’s framework would, unlike other countries, impose additional tax on the foreign earnings of U.S. companies trying to compete in foreign markets ultimately hindering U.S. global competitiveness.

NFTC Vice President for Tax Policy Catherine Schultz released the following statement:

“The NFTC is pleased that the Administration has acknowledged the need for corporate tax reform, however, this proposal does not address the need for comprehensive reform to ensure global competitiveness of worldwide American companies.

“While the majority of developed countries have lower corporate tax rates and do not impose home country taxation of foreign earnings, we are disappointed that the Administration is continuing to move in exactly the opposite direction by continuing to support imposing additional U.S. corporate income tax on foreign earnings. In fact, the President’s own Bowles-Simpson Commission recommended abandoning the worldwide system of taxation and moving to a territorial system. Additionally, by eliminating many of the provisions that enable worldwide American companies and their employees to compete globally, the Administration’s plan will hurt U.S. jobs at a time when the U.S. economy cannot afford a further retrenchment. The Administration’s framework would also move the U.S. further out of sync with the rest of the world.

“Countries around the world are modernizing their tax systems to enhance the ability of their locally-headquartered companies to serve foreign markets. The Administration’s proposal tinkers around the edges and would move the United States in the opposite direction of our trading partners – making U.S.-headquartered companies even less competitive than today and discouraging new companies from headquartering in the U.S.

“A reduction in the corporate rate is welcomed, but further reform of the tax system is needed to modernize our outdated international tax law in a manner that promotes U.S. economic and job growth.”

 

 
 

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 Announcement of March 15 Implementation Date for KORUS FTA

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Washington DC– The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today applauded the Administration on its announcement that the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) will enter into force on March 15, 2012. The NFTC released the following statement:

“With the KORUS FTA implementing legislation signed by the President exactly four months ago, the NFTC welcomes today’s announcement and commends the Administration for working with the South Korean government toward swift implementation of this important agreement.

“Once the agreement enters into force, American companies, workers, farmers and ranchers will begin to reap the benefits of the FTA, which will increase U.S. competitiveness in a critical market, create and support thousands of American jobs and boost the U.S. economy, in addition to strengthening ties with a key geo-strategic partner.

“We urge the Administration to keep this momentum going and work as efficiently as possible to work with the Colombian and Panamanian governments to implement the U.S.-Colombia and U.S.-Panama FTAs as soon as possible.”

 

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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 Releases Paper Outlining New Ideas for Advancing Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Global Trade Liberalization

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released, “A 21st Century Work Program for the Multilateral Trading System,” a paper outlining new ideas to advance the multilateral trade agenda and modernize global trade rules. The paper includes specific recommendations for moving beyond the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and encouraging the United States and other global economies to pursue an active and results-oriented multilateral trade agenda.

The NFTC, which promotes open markets and U.S. engagement in the world on behalf of its member companies – including Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, General Electric, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Procter & Gamble, United Technologies and Wal-Mart – has been supportive of an ambitious conclusion to the Round for more than a decade, but as talks have stalled, the association has outlined a new approach for a way forward.

“After more than a decade of negotiations that have not led global trade negotiators to an outcome, it’s time for fresh ideas to break the diplomatic logjam and find ways to move global trade liberalization forward,” said NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin. “The NFTC and our member companies believe deeply that the WTO is a valuable institution and the right place to modernize global trade rules, but we need new approaches around which trade negotiators can coalesce.”

The NFTC paper recommends that the WTO pursue the following key initiatives:

  • Conclude a trade facilitation agreement;
  • Negotiate a services agreement;
  • Take steps to discuss and address 21st Century global challenges, including optimizing the digital economy and movement of information across borders, improving global health outcomes and lowering obstacles to the development and adoption of clean technologies; and
  • Consolidate trade liberalization under the WTO framework.
The paper also features a detailed “Analysis of WTO-consistent Approaches to Plurilateral and non-MFN Trade Agreements,” which was developed by Ambassador Stuart Harbinson, Senior Advisor to NFTC’s WTO Project and Bart De Meester, both of whom are with Sidley Austin’s Geneva office. The analysis provides insight on what can be accomplished legally under WTO rules by a coalition of nations “through agreements that would either condition additional commitments on the participation of a ‘critical mass’ of countries or which would not confer benefits of new commitments on countries which declined to participate in such agreements.”

“We are eager to work with the Administration to help drive an ambitious multilateral trade agenda at the WTO on behalf of the American business community,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “We believe this paper helps provide a roadmap for action.”
 

 
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 File Amicus Briefs with Supreme Court in Major Alien Tort Statute Cases

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Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage on Friday filed two amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in major Alien Tort Statute (ATS) cases, one in support of the defendant in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, and the other supporting a petition for certiorari in the case of Rio Tinto v. Alexis Holyweek Sarei. Joining in the Kiobel brief were the American Petroleum Institute (API), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB), the Organization for International Investment (OFII) and the American Insurance Association. API, OFII and the National Mining Organization joined the Rio Tinto brief.

With a conflict among Circuit Courts on corporate liability and the standard for finding liability under the ATS, the Kiobel brief endorses the Second Circuit’s ruling on corporate liability and further argues that “even if the Court were to reject that contention, the judgment should be affirmed on the alternative ground that establishing aiding and abetting liability requires pleading and proving purpose to facilitate the direct violator’s unlawful conduct, not mere knowledge of the conduct.” The Kiobel brief also argues that the ATS can create friction with other countries because by asserting “the extraterritorial jurisdiction by U.S. courts over such conduct could provoke discord, not promote harmony, within the international community.”

In addition, the brief in the Rio Tinto case supports the defendants brief for a re-hearing en banc of a panel’s ruling that Rio Tinto had failed to exhaust domestic remedies in the case. As corporate liability is under review by the Supreme Court in the Kiobel case, the cert petition in this case asks the Court to address whether U.S. courts should recognize a claim under federal common law based on aiding and abetting liability and whether the defendant acted purposefully to aid the violations. The cert petition points out the deep divisions among circuits over whether liability requires mere knowledge of a violation or purposeful assistance of a violation, and urges the Court to limit liability to a finding of purpose. The brief concludes that the case should be dismissed under a standard of purpose by citing the dissent of Ninth Circuit Court Judge McKeown that “the complaint fails to allege the necessary purpose to survive the motion to dismiss.”

The argument in both the Kiobel and Rio Tinto briefs is centrally important to the U.S. business community because virtually all corporate ATS cases have been lodged on the ground that companies aided and abetted violations committed by the governments of countries in which they have operations.
 

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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
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 and USA*Engage Statement Opposing Senate Banking Committee’s Vote on Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012

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Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and USA*Engage today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s vote to approve the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012, which would impose additional U.S. unilateral sanctions on Iran.

“Like clockwork, the Senate Banking Committee today reported legislation, the Iran Sanctions Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012, that yet again would impose further unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions on entities with economic ties to Iran,” said Bill Reinsch, President of the NFTC and Co-Chair of USA*Engage. “Despite the demonstrable failure of sanctions to achieve their stated goal and the adverse consequences they carry for ordinary Iranians, Congress persists in limiting the Administration’s ability to engage in frank negotiations with Iran unburdened by the accumulated dead weight of sanctions on autopilot.”

Reinsch continued, “For example, a provision in the bill sanctions the sale of communications technologies that the Iranian government could use to abuse the human rights of the citizenry; yet another provision calls for the U.S. Treasury to expedite the licensing of the same communications technologies for the use of Iranians to freely and safely communicate internally and globally. Perhaps it is time to let negotiations take place without measures that effectively prevent diplomatic progress.”

At best, if economic sanctions are truly multilateral and clearly but one part of a concerted diplomatic offensive, they may be a useful tool in changing the calculations of a sovereign government regarding such a strategic decision as the acquisition of nuclear weapons. It is hard to see, on the other hand, how a virtual embargo aimed at bringing a nation’s economy to ruin will change such calculations for the better.

“To date, the Administration has been able to make sanctions a multilateral tactic. Congressional insistence on more crippling sanctions enshrined into law, coupled with their bureaucratic implementation, in reality constitute an obstacle to strategic negotiation free of self-defeating preconditions,” said USA*Engage Director Richard Sawaya. “Once enshrined in law, what are in fact only tactics take on lives of their own, immune to the complex realities that Iran’s history and position in the region entail. The first casualty is what is always in short supply – intelligence. We recommend that Congress adopt new watchwords – enough already.”

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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.
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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 Applauds the WTO Appellate Body Ruling on Chinese Export Restrictions of Raw Materials

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Washington DC – Following today’s announcement by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body affirming that Chinese export restrictions on raw materials violate global trade rules, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) released the following statement:

“The NFTC applauds the WTO Appellate Body’s ruling on Chinese export restrictions of raw materials, as it confirms once again the importance of the WTO in imposing market-based discipline on the world trading system.

“Export restrictions such as those by China cited in this case are a form of protectionism, disrupting global supply chains with the potential to create artificial shortages and raise world prices of downstream goods – ultimately undermining the integrity of the trading system.

“Today’s ruling also has implications beyond its immediate impact because of other raw material export restrictions on rare earth minerals that China maintains. These raw materials are vital in the production of technology-based inputs to an increasing number of everyday products, making this an issue that affects a broad swath of U.S. technology-based companies.”
 

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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 and CEE Express Concern with President Obama’s Proposal to Consolidate Trade, Commerce Agencies

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Washington, DC– Following President Obama’s announcement of his proposal to merge six trade and commerce agencies – the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch and Coalition for Employment through Exports (CEE) President John Hardy, Jr. released the following statements.

“While the NFTC respects the intent of President Obama’s efforts to streamline the federal government and increase efficiency, his proposal to consolidate these key trade and commerce agencies, particularly USTR, could interfere with efforts to engage key stakeholders, including the U.S. business community, and to maximize trade, economic growth and job creation,” said Reinsch. “Congress has historically been reluctant to combine USTR with other functions, preferring to have our chief trade negotiator concentrate on negotiating rather than be burdened with broader programmatic responsibilities. Considering this and given the current political climate in Washington, we do not anticipate that Congress, especially the Members of the House, will approve the President’s request for broad reorganization authority.”

“While we have yet to see extensive details on the proposed consolidation announced today, CEE believes any efforts beyond collocating these agencies will most likely result in reduced responsiveness to the needs of U.S. exporters – both small- and medium-sized businesses and large worldwide American companies,” said Hardy. “In our experience, we have found that smaller, more nimble agencies are better able to respond to the needs of American business – a reality that this proposal seems to ignore. Additionally, in this proposal the President emphasized the need to provide further support for small businesses. The best method for achieving this goal is to push for a quick reauthorization of Ex-Im Bank.”

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 Ministerial

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Washington, DC – Jake Colvin, National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Vice President for Global Trade Issues, released the following statement from Geneva during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference:

“This week, the WTO demonstrated its value as an institution through several important initiatives. NFTC congratulates WTO members for formally approving Russia’s accession application. We appreciate the hard work of U.S. negotiators to conclude this process and look forward to working with the U.S. Administration and Congress to revoke Jackson-Vanik so that the United States and Russia can take full advantage of the new trading relationship under the WTO. NFTC is also encouraged by agreement on a new government procurement text, and hopes that this successful conclusion of talks will spur other countries to redouble their efforts to subscribe to the GPA.

“Despite these achievements, the WTO stands at an important crossroads following this week’s conference. Countries have acknowledged that the Doha Round stands at an impasse, but the real challenge for negotiators will be to find new pathways to allow progress on meaningful trade liberalization.

“Heading into next year, countries have an opportunity to capture under the WTO framework growing enthusiasm surrounding a range of issues increasingly critical to economic growth and development. Issues from trade facilitation to services commitments to innovation and the digital economy would benefit from the development of new understandings and disciplines under the WTO. Member countries must demonstrate that the WTO is a flexible enough institution to deal with these kinds of critical issues in a timely fashion. We look forward to working with the U.S. Government and negotiators around the world in 2012 to identify pathways to advance and conclude meaningful trade liberalization.”
 

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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