Category: Press Releases and Statements

NFTC Releases Statement on 2008 State of the Union Address

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Washington, DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch today released a statement in response to the President’s State of the Union address.
 
“The NFTC applauds the President for continuing to push ahead with the U.S. free trade agenda, and we echo the President’s call for Members of Congress to consider and approve without further delay free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

“All three agreements will boost U.S. export growth and guarantee U.S. manufacturers, farmers and service providers unprecedented access to these markets, which is vital to the strength of the U.S. economy. These agreements also incorporate the environmental and labor standards included in the bipartisan consensus on trade reached by the Administration and Congress last spring.

“As an organization representing some 300 companies in a wide range of industries that drive U.S. and international economic growth, we call on Congress to seize the opportunity to level the playing field by maximizing the benefits of our economic relations with these three nations – benefits these countries already enjoy.

“We urge the House and Senate leadership to make these agreements a legislative priority in the coming weeks by setting into motion the formal Congressional review process, with committees of jurisdiction scheduling hearings and considering the FTAs as soon as possible.”

Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
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.

NFTC Applauds Administration Effort to Modernize U.S. Export Control Regulations

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Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today welcomed news that the President signed off on a set of directives aimed at reforming the U.S. export control system.  In response NFTC President Bill Reinsch released the following statement:
 
“I applaud the Administration for initiating an effort to modernize U.S. export controls in a way that both protects our national security interests and encourages economic competitiveness and innovation.
 
“This is not the first time an Administration has launched export control reforms.  Ultimately, their success or failure depends on prompt aggressive implementation by a sometimes unenthusiastic bureaucracy. It will take a firm hand and strong management by the National Security Council to ensure that the President’s decisions are quickly adopted by the State and Commerce Departments.
 
“I hope this effort succeeds.  If the United States is to remain a competitive global leader in innovation well into the 21st century, it is essential that we have an export control system that strikes that delicate balance between keeping America safe and ensuring that U.S. companies are able to export goods to markets abroad.”
 
The NFTC is a member of the Coalition on Security and Competitiveness, a group of prominent trade and industry organizations whose recommendations formed the basis for much of the President’s decision.

 Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
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.

NFTC Welcomes New Chairman John Mullen, CEO, DHL Express

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Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today announced the appointment of its new Chairman, John Mullen, Chief Executive Officer for the Express division of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), the parent company of DHL, effective January 22, 2008. Mullen oversees DHL’s global operations, which includes a presence in more than 225 countries and territories. DHL Express, the market leader in the international express and logistics industry, operates a fleet of 420 aircraft and 72,000 vehicles and employs 124,000 people worldwide.
 
“We are extremely pleased to welcome John Mullen as our new Chairman. As the CEO of a company with expansive international operations, John understands the importance and complexities of global commerce and our open-rules based trading system,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “He will be an immeasurably valuable asset to the NFTC and our member companies.”
 
Mullen is also a member of the Board of Management of DPWN, the world’s largest transport and logistics group. Prior to being named worldwide CEO of the Express division, Mullen was the CEO of U.S.-based DHL Americas. Before joining DHL, Mullen spent 10 years with the TNT group, holding various senior leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer for two years and Chief Executive Officer of TNT Express Worldwide for three years.
 
“With protectionist sentiments growing, the Doha Round outcome uncertain and much work left to be completed in the U.S. Congress on the three pending FTAs, now is a critical time for the NFTC to work with policymakers to illustrate and underscore the benefits of trade to domestic and international economic growth,” said Mullen. “I look forward to working with the NFTC to help lead these efforts.”
 
Mullen will succeed Dinesh Paliwal, President, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Harman International, who served as Chairman of the NFTC since 2005.
 
“We wholeheartedly extend thanks to Dinesh for all of his contributions to help advance the longstanding, pro-trade mission of the NFTC,” said Reinsch. “During his tenure as Chairman, Dinesh was critical to our efforts to press for passage of FTAs with Oman and Peru, as well as Vietnam PNTR and other trade-related legislation. We appreciate his leadership and service to the organization and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

 
Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
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.

USA*Engage and NFTC Submit Comments to SEC on Concept Release

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Call Commission’s Activity on Enhanced Access to Company Disclosures ‘Inappropriate’
 
Washington DC – USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today sent formal comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recommending that the Commission reconsider its proposal to further develop mechanisms to facilitate greater access to companies’ disclosures concerning their business activities in or with certain countries designated as “state sponsors of terrorism.” In comments sent to the SEC, the associations noted that U.S. companies operating in such countries are conducting legal, legitimate business, and that the proposed mechanism actually punishes those companies who are most transparent.
 
“The proposed SEC tool is inherently flawed, and while the Commission is seeking comments on how to improve it, the fact is that it should have never been created,” said NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch. “To have the SEC selectively posting the names of companies legitimately doing business is inappropriate, in part because it would discourage companies from reporting any activity in excess of what is absolutely required under securities law.”
 
The letter points out that “a web tool based on company disclosures is further flawed because there is no standard by which to report the nature or extent of business on a country-by-country basis across companies. As a result, companies with more robust reporting mechanisms would be penalized for voluntarily disclosing additional information.”
 
The letter also emphasizes that it would be “arbitrary for the Commission to provide enhanced access to information in this case but to ignore requests for the same enhanced access for companies doing business in countries on the State Department’s list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ contained in its Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Tier 3 Countries named in the Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, countries subject to enhanced U.S. export controls for reasons of weapons proliferation, or in the case of Sudan or future situations where the U.S. Government has declared that genocide is taking place.”
 
The associations, collectively representing small and large businesses that help to generate U.S. economic growth and development, also argue “regardless of the intent or method of enhanced access that the Commission would provide, the inevitable result of any disproportionate access would be to suggest a bias against companies that are highlighted.”
 
The letter points out anecdotally that some of the companies listed on a previous iteration of the SEC tool resulted in “their precipitous exit from legitimate sales, distribution and service relationships out of a desire on the part of management to disassociate themselves with whatever business caused the additional attention, even when that business was legitimate and legal under local and international law and immaterial to the company’s operations. These precipitous exits expose these companies to penalties and lawsuits by business partners for breaches of obligations.”
 
In closing, USA*Engage and the NFTC highlight that “it is inappropriate for such a company to be identified by a tool of the Commission when it is conducting legitimate business… It would be both unusual and inappropriate for the Commission to pursue this matter further.”
 
For a copy of the comments, please click here.

 
 
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 policy-makers, 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 world wide.
 
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.
 
 

USA*Engage Applauds New GAO Report Questioning Effectiveness of U.S. Sanctions Against Iran

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Washington, DC – USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch today released the following statement in response to a report released this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), titled “Iran Sanctions: Impact in Furthering U.S. Objectives Is Unclear and Should Be Reviewed.” The report calls into question the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions against Iran and recommends that Congress and the Administration garner the appropriate information and tools to regularly evaluate their impact.
 
“We commend the GAO for producing this report and for asking the tough questions about unilateral sanctions that the NFTC and USA*Engage have been asking policymakers for more than a decade. Consistently, we have questioned why Congress does not more adequately scrutinize unilateral sanctions, the ways in which they are implemented, and whether they actually achieve intended results.
 
“Since the mid-1990s, when the USA*Engage coalition was formed, we have argued that ‘feel good’ unilateral sanctions guided by emotional impulse and the need to ‘do something’ are often ineffective and counterproductive. Unilateral sanctions, we’ve said, should be the last tool used in the U.S. foreign policy toolbox. That kind of go-it-alone approach alienates the United States from our allies whose support would be at the very least useful in putting increased multilateral pressure on sanctioned regimes or individuals.
 
“While the report focuses specifically on Iran, it more importantly raises the specter that U.S. sanctions policy is in need of reform, as called for by champions of diplomacy like Senator Richard Lugar and former Rep. Lee Hamilton.
 
“We have long been calling for the recommendations included in this report, primarily that Congress and the Administration, in the name of accountability, should evaluate and reevaluate our sanctions policy. Congress must require, and the Administration must establish, metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of sanctions.”
 
The GAO report concludes, “…the overall impact of sanctions, and the extent to which these sanctions further U.S. objectives, is unclear. On the other hand, some evidence, such as foreign firms signing contracts to invest in Iran’s energy sector and Iran’s continued proliferation efforts, raise questions about the extent of the sanctions’ impact. Moreover, U.S. agencies do not systematically collect information on the direct results of the multiple sanctions they implement, or their data do not provide specific information on Iran sanctions. These agencies have not conducted a baseline assessment of the impact of the sanctions. Collecting data on the results of multiple sanctions against Iran and conducting an overall baseline assessment is challenging, given all the agencies involved and the complexities of collecting some of the necessary information. However, without an overall assessment of the sanctions’ impact and subsequent reviews on a periodic basis, the Congress and the Administration will continue to lack important information for developing effective strategies to influence Iran’s behavior.” The report can be found here: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0858.pdf.  
 
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 policy-makers, 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 world wide.
 
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.
 
 

USA*Engage Marks Decade of Advocacy with Re-Launch of Web Site

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Features New Resources on U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 
Washington DC – USA*Engage today re-launched its Web site, www.USAEngage.org, with new tools, issues pages, publications and other resources, which underscore the importance of diplomacy, trade and engagement between the United States and the international community.
 
“Ten years ago, U.S. foreign policy seemed to turn frequently to unilateral sanctions,” said USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch. “Today, the pendulum seems to be swinging back in the same direction. This new Web site will be an excellent tool as we seek to reinforce the benefits of U.S. engagement and diplomacy in the world.”
 
Since its inception more than a decade ago, USAEngage.org has been widely recognized as a resource for information about U.S. unilateral sanctions policy. The redesigned Web site features new issues pages cataloging USA*Engage’s work on its priority issues as well as important publications from unaffiliated organizations. These priorities include: State and Federal sanctions; Diplomacy, Trade & Aid; Engaging Cuba; Rethinking Iran; the Alien Tort Statute; Export Controls Policy; and Visa Policy.
 
The site also includes new navigation and drop-down menus, making articles, legislative updates and publications easier to access. All information posted on the Web site prior to the beginning of 2008 can still be accessed through the site. An archives section preserves access to, and the format of, the coalition’s activities from 1997-2001.
 
Site visitors can also sign up on the homepage to receive timely updates on USA*Engage’s work.
 
The original USA*Engage Web site, which was launched in 1997 as an educational tool for policymakers to illustrate the diplomatic and economic costs of a U.S. foreign policy too reliant on unilateral sanctions, was one of the very first sites designed and used specifically for issue advocacy.
 
The new www.USAEngage.org web site was designed by Free Range Studios.
 
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 policy-makers, 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 world wide.
 
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.

NFTC, USA*Engage Release Statement on Sudan Bill

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Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch today released a statement regarding the President’s signing of a bill Monday that aims to pressure the Sudanese government to end the genocide in Darfur through economic sanctions.
 
“The bill the President signed into law, effectively limiting the scope of state and local government efforts to divest from companies with ties to Sudan, clearly and narrowly defines the actions state governments may take with respect to divestment.
 
“While we opposed the bill and believe it to be unconstitutional, it nonetheless represents one of the more thoughtful approaches to divestment as it sets strict criteria and conditions which must be met if a state or local government plans to divest. The bill’s detailed provisions will make some legislation currently being considered by state legislatures around the country even more dubious from a constitutional perspective than they already are.
 
“Despite its flaws, the bill is an improvement over earlier versions as a result of serious and thoughtful work by both parties.  We encourage states considering divestment legislation to take careful note of the new provisions to ensure that their proposed bills are in accordance with the law.”
 
In August 2006, the NFTC filed a lawsuit to challenge an Illinois Sudan divestment law, and in February 2007 a federal judge declared the law unconstitutional.
 

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 policy-makers, 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 world wide.

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.

NFTC Applauds Senate Ratification of German, Belgian Tax Treaties

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Washington, DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released a statement applauding the U.S. Senate for ratifying tax treaties with Germany and Belgium before adjourning for the year.

“We commend the Senate for removing previous holds on the treaties and ratifying them, allowing for expeditious implementation of reforms included in the new protocols,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “Both treaties will enhance economic development and investment ties with Germany and Belgium, and lead to greater transparency between our countries. We thank the Senate leadership for making the treaties a high priority during this legislative session.”

The NFTC has long been an advocate for the expansion and strengthening of the U.S. tax treaty network as a means to ensure the continued global competitiveness of U.S. companies. “By eliminating excessive foreign taxes, double taxation and other impediments to the flow of capital, these tax treaties are vital to ensuring U.S. companies’ ability to compete on a level playing field with foreign competitors,” said Reinsch.

The NFTC supports reform of U.S. treaty policies to allow for a zero withholding rate on related-entity dividends, and these treaties move closer to that goal. Both the German and Belgian tax protocols lower the ownership threshold required to receive the benefit of the zero dividend withholding rate from 100 to 80 percent.

The treaties also include enhanced tax treaty arbitration processes. For example, the German Protocol provides for mandatory arbitration of certain cases that cannot be resolved by the “competent authorities” within a specified period of time, a provision that is the first of its kind in a U.S. tax treaty.

“The NFTC is hopeful that the Treasury Department will send the Canadian Tax Protocol to the Senate early next year. Upon receiving the proposal, we encourage Members to review and ratify it swiftly so that the United States can reap the economic benefits that many competitor nations already enjoy,” Reinsch concluded.

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Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
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.

USA*Engage and NFTC Urge Administration to Press for Supreme Court Review of Alien Tort Statute Cases

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Washington DC – USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today joined five other prominent trade associations in urging the Administration to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of the consolidated South African apartheid cases brought under the Alien Tort Statute. In letters to Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, the associations urged the Cabinet officials to recommend to the Solicitor General that the government file an amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari to be filed by the defendants in the case – Khulumani v. Barclays National Bank and Ntsebeza v. Daimler Chrysler, Nos. 05-2141 and 05-2326 [Second Circuit].
 
“Given the importance of this case, and the urgency of prompt Supreme Court review, we hope you will recommend that the government not await an invitation from the Court to present its views,” the associations asserted.
 
The case was originally dismissed in November 2004 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently, the Second Circuit vacated that dismissal on October 12, 2007, “in a decision that, among other things, wholly ignored the stated position of the U.S. government regarding the negative impact that the litigation would have on U.S.-South Africa relations.”
 
According to the letter, whose signatories also include the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, the Corporate Council on Africa, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Organization for International Investment and the U.S. Council for International Business, there are a number of compelling reasons for the Supreme Court to hear the case as soon as possible. Among them, the associations argued, “The apartheid cases are based on allegations that the corporate defendants, including many major U.S. companies, aided and abetted violations of international law by the former South African government by doing legal business in South Africa.”
 
“The promiscuous use of the Alien Tort Statute by plaintiffs to bring before U.S. courts actions that occurred solely in other countries interferes with the conduct of foreign policy by the Executive Branch and impinges on the sovereignty of other nations, the associations stated. Further, the letter noted, “corporate liability for aiding and abetting ultimately has the same effect as a unilateral economic sanction by signaling to the private sector in which countries they should conduct business and in which they should not.”
 
“This litigation has very real implications for the nature of our relations with South Africa, and other key allies who are concerned about the use of the Alien Tort Statute,” said NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch. “We urge the Administration to acknowledge the importance of the lawsuit with respect to U.S. foreign policy, by supporting the certiorari petition to be filed by the defendants.”
 
For copies of the letters, please click here.

 
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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 policy-makers, 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 world wide.
 
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.
 
 

International Business Community Urges WTO Members to Exert Leadership, Conclude Doha Round

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NFTC and Other Key Stakeholders Urge Negotiators to Achieve Successful, Commercially Meaningful Outcome
 
Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today joined 36 other leading business organizations from 19 developed and developing economies in a joint statement calling on world leaders and World Trade Organization (WTO) members to exert needed leadership to achieve a balanced and commercially meaningful outcome to the Doha Round of WTO negotiations.
 
“The international business community stands firmly behind achieving a timely, balanced and ambitious conclusion to the Doha Round. In the ‘Call to Leadership’ we are releasing today, business groups from 19 developed and developing economies urge our respective national leaders to demonstrate political leadership on the Doha Round by making the tough decisions necessary for success,” said Mary Irace, NFTC Vice President of Trade & Export Finance. “Concluding the Doha Round with a commercially meaningful result will strengthen the multilateral rules-based trading system and serve as a powerful engine of global economic growth and development.”
 
Describing the Doha Round as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity of enormous promise and relevance,” the international business community representatives assert that the time for final action is now.
 
“While each of our organizations has politically sensitive issues and economic concerns at home, we stand united in our support for concluding an ambitious and balanced outcome to the Doha Round centered on providing more open, transparent and predictable conditions for trade in agriculture, industrial goods and services, and we recognize that both developed and advanced developing nations must contribute meaningfully toward a successful conclusion,” read the statement.
 
In addition, the business groups highlight the Chairmen’s texts on agriculture and industrial goods as a major step forward in the negotiations. The NFTC welcomes the recognition that refinement of these texts, and an accompanying text on services, should serve as the basis for the final negotiations. It will also be important to ensure good agreements on trade facilitation and rules as part of the final outcome.
 
For a copy of the statement, please click here.
 
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Advancing Global Commerce for Over 90 Years
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.