Category: Press Releases and Statements

USA*Engage and NFTC Release 2006 Elections Analysis

Posted on by dcadmin

Highlights Changes in Views on U.S. Trade and International Engagement in 110th Congress


Washington, DC – Today, USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) released a 2006 Elections Analysis, comparing the voting records of departing Members of Congress with the statements of incoming Members on international trade, immigration and foreign policy issues.

Key findings of the Elections Analysis include:

  • In 8 of the 10 Senate races analyzed, successful candidates mentioned trade explicitly on his or her website when discussing campaign issues. Based on these websites and other statements, USA*Engage estimates that 5 of the successful candidates are clearly less-inclined towards free trade and engagement than the incumbent based upon his or her historical voting record. Two incoming Senators advocated policies that could be construed as more inclined towards free trade and/or international engagement than his or her predecessor.

  • In the House races analyzed, only 29 out of 53 successful candidates made any mention of international trade in the section on his or her website devoted to key campaign issues.

  • Of the 29 House races in which trade was featured in the “on the issues” section of the successful candidate’s website, only 10 winners appear to advocate policies that are clearly less-inclined towards free trade and engagement than his or her predecessor.

  • Of the 29 House races, 6 candidates advocated policies on their websites or in other statements that could be construed as more inclined towards free trade and/or international engagement.

  • 37 out of 53 successful House candidates discussed immigration or border security. Platforms among successful candidates ranged from building fences and deporting illegal immigrants to supporting comprehensive immigration and border reform to defeating “rabidly anti-immigrant” forces in the United States.

“Frankly, international trade was just not a decisive issue in most of the campaigns,” said William A. Reinsch, President of the National Foreign Trade Council. “And while we have lost a few key champions of trade and engagement, I am optimistic that there will be opportunities for Congress to support a positive international economic agenda that will benefit American companies and workers.”

“One positive trend in the report is the desire of a number of incoming Members to build diplomatic bridges with our allies and open channels of communication with our enemies,” continued Jake Colvin, Director of USA*Engage. “We hope that the new Congress will be inclined to take a fresh look at some of our sanctions programs as well as the important trade and economic issues we face. We look forward to working with new Members on these important issues.”

Click here to view the report.

NFTC Announces U.S.-South Africa Business Council to Move to Corporate Council on Africa

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington, DC ­- The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today announced that effective December 1, 2006, the U.S.-South Africa Business Council, a member-driven organization of U.S. companies with business, trade and investment interests in South Africa currently run by the NFTC, will move to the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).

 

“The NFTC has been home to the U.S.-South Africa Business Council for the past 13 years, and together we have made progress advocating trade policies that would help expand and maximize the potential benefits of market liberalization across the region for both U.S. and South African businesses and workers,” stated NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “The Corporate Council on Africa will continue to bring strong leadership to the Business Council in 2007 and beyond.”

 

Since its inception in 1993, the U.S.-South Africa Business Council has been a leading voice for members of the U.S. business community interested in building a robust and mutually beneficial commercial relationship between the United States and South Africa. The Business Council has spearheaded efforts to urge for the negotiation and passage of a U.S.-South African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which would broaden and make permanent trade benefits the benefits SACU countries currently receive under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

 

“We welcome the opportunity to take on this very important advocacy effort. The Corporate Council on Africa is uniquely poised to lead the U.S.-South Africa Business Council given our key organization-wide objective to strengthen the commercial relationship between the United States and the entire African continent,” said Stephen Hayes, CCA President. “We thank the NFTC for its leadership and look forward to carrying on the Business Council’s mission.” 

 

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 Members of Congress and Dialogue on U.S. Trade Policy

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch today issued the following statement regarding the results of the midterm elections and the implications for U.S. trade policy.

 

“We look forward to continuing an open dialogue on trade issues with all members of Congress. We will continue to push for support and enactment of policies that promote an open, rules-based global trading system and which bring the current round of multilateral trade negotiations to a successful conclusion. The U.S. economy and American workers win when members of Congress work across the aisle to pass legislation that expands market access and opportunity for U.S. businesses around the world.”

 

“Throughout both sessions of the 109th Congress we have worked to build bipartisan support for trade legislation that has come before both houses. That will not change.”

 

“Only a little more than a decade ago, the U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated the great spirit of bipartisanship when they passed NAFTA by a vote of 234-200, with 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor of the agreement. It is that bipartisan spirit for enacting important U.S. trade policy that we hope to see in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to working with the new leadership and advocating for broad bipartisan support on trade agreements aimed at opening market access for U.S. businesses.”

 

“Given the momentum building for approval of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), the granting of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam, and renewal of expiring trade preferences, those are our top priorities for the next several weeks. We call on Congress to use the limited days left in the legislative calendar to approve PNTR before Vietnam completes its accession to the WTO. Without congressional approval, upon Vietnam’s accession, other WTO member nations will receive the full benefits of tariff reductions and other concessions that the nation made. The United States will not.”

 

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.

New Study Reports Use of U.S. Unilateral Sanctions on the Rise

Posted on by dcadmin

Washington, D.C. – New unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States are on the rise, according to a study by Professor Michael P. Malloy commissioned by USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC). This new Study of New U.S. Unilateral Sanctions: 1997-2006 reports that although the United States has imposed or threatened significantly more sanctions on countries during this period than in years past, these new sanctions tend to be more targeted than those prior to 1996.

“We are pleased that both Congress and the President have made an effort to take a more targeted approach to sanctions as opposed to imposing broad-based unilateral measures,” said NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch. “The reality is that sanctions, no matter how well-intentioned, have the potential to add innumerable complications to our foreign policy and the good faith efforts of U.S. businesses trying to comply with and enforce what are often cumbersome rules.”

The study is a follow-up to a 2002 sanctions report commissioned by USA*Engage, which showed a decline in the imposition of U.S. unilateral sanctions. The new analysis by Professor Malloy, of University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, catalogs 125 new unilateral sanctions against 47 countries between 2002 and June 2006. During the same period, U.S. unilateral sanctions were lifted in whole or in part from 15 states. The new report also reveals that from 2001 to 2006, the imposition of sanctions against individuals and non-governmental organizations increased, generally as a response to heightened concerns about the threat of terrorism.
 

In addition, the study shows that during this five-year period, Congress imposed new unilateral sanctions at a rate more frequent than the President, and Congress in particular continues to demonstrate an interest in pursuing broader unilateral sanctions. This summer senior U.S. Senators, backed by the Administration, thwarted such an effort to impose broad sanctions against Iran, as proposed in an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill. These sanctions, if enacted, would have undermined multilateral diplomacy by isolating the United States from our allies around the globe.

“Though we are optimistic about the shift towards a more targeted approach, we will continue to press the Administration and Congress to consider the full impact of future unilateral sanctions proposals,” continued Reinsch. “Nobody would doubt the appropriateness of targeted sanctions aimed at freezing terrorist assets or for other important national security reasons. But as the lengthy catalog of sanctions and economic levers in this study shows, there is a patchwork of measures and potential measures already on the books. The U.S. Government needs to consider any new sanctions with great care.“

A complete copy of the new study is available at www.usaengage.org.

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, 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.

 

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.

 

New ITSSD Article on Brazil, IPRs and Innovation

Posted on by dcadmin

In a new article appearing in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Economic Development (IJED) (www.spaef.com/IJED_PUB/v8n1-2.html ), which is preceded by three expert commentaries, Lawrence Kogan of the Institute for Trade, Standards and Sustainable Development (ITSSD) explains why it is in Brazil’s and other ‘BRIC’ nations’ best interests to pursue a national innovation policy premised on IP-based scientific and technological innovation rather than IP opportunism.

 

The article discusses how, in today’s evolving global knowledge society, patents and trade secrets are economically valuable assets that are important to domestic as well as foreign investors, especially knowledge and technology-rich internationally focused companies. Furthermore, the article analyzes numerous studies that collectively describe how the establishment of a market-friendly national enabling environment that includes strong recognition and protection of temporary but exclusive private intellectual property rights will enable Brazil to attract the research and development-related foreign direct investment and technology transfers, and to realize numerous other incidental spillover benefits, that will dramatically improve its domestic industries, enhance its educational and health systems and satisfy its national innovation needs.

 

The article is entitled, Rediscovering the Value of Intellectual Property Rights: How Brazil’s Recognition and Protection of Foreign IPRs Can Stimulate Domestic Innovation and Generate Economic Growth ©.

 

The full article, abstract, table of contents and commentaries are accessible at:  (http://www.itssd.org/white_papers.htm ).

 

The executive summary is accessible at: (http://www.itssd.org/pdf/ITSSD-BrazilPaper-ExecSummaryI.pdf )

 

 

USA*Engage and NFTC Release Trade and Engagement Report Card for 109th Congress

Posted on by dcadmin

WASHINGTON, DC – USA*Engage and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today issued their report card for the 109th Congress, which grades Members on their voting records on key issues affecting trade, unilateral sanctions and global engagement.

“We commend Congress for passing important trade legislation this session, including free trade agreements with Bahrain, Oman and the Central American countries, as well as overwhelmingly reaffirming our commitment to the World Trade Organization,” said NFTC President and USA*Engage Co-Chair Bill Reinsch, who also applauded Senators for their votes against an amendment to impose new sanctions on Iran. “Thanks to strong bipartisan leadership by Senators Warner, Biden, Hagel and Levin, good policy won the day and this legislation – which would have been detrimental toU.S. diplomatic efforts – was defeated.”

He added, though, that in some ways the results were disappointing from the standpoint of global engagement. “The China enforcement bill [H.R. 3283] was particularly worrisome, as many Members who voted against it simply wanted to make already bad legislation even worse,” said Reinsch, who also sounded a cautionary note on U.S. sanctions policy: “It is an easy vote to approve sanctions on a regime like the one on Burma. However, Members must examine whether unilateral sanctions are having their intended effect and consider what other damage they might be doing to ordinary people in the target country. U.S. values and foreign policy objectives are better pursued through diplomacy and engagement.”

The 109th Congressional Trade and Engagement Report Card was prepared at the request of USA*Engage and NFTC member companies and associations. The organizations have tabulated and analyzed Congressional voting patterns on trade and engagement since 1997. The Report Card scored Senators on 12 votes and House Members on 14 votes, and weighted the vote on CAFTA twice.

Two House Members – Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Vic Snyder (D-AR) – received an A+ with the highest score of 14, while Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) received an A+ with a score of 12.

Jake Colvin, Director of USA*Engage, noted that the votes on visa issues and free trade agreements demonstrate that open markets and engagement are important to large majorities of Members, though bipartisanship on some trade issues had slipped from earlier sessions of Congress. “Overall we remain optimistic about the prospects for increased bipartisan support for trade and engagement.”

Colvin concluded, “There are a number of important issues that we expect to come before Congress in November and in 2007 – from granting normal trade relations to Vietnam to extending trade preferences for developing countries to considering pending free trade agreements – that warrant and require strong bipartisan support.”

A complete breakdown of the voting records and individual grades is available at http://www.usaengage.org/MBR0088-USAEngage/default.asp?id=152

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 (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, 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.

Seven States Consider Sanctions Legislation As NFTC Moves against Illinois Law on Sudan

Posted on by dcadmin

International Trade
Seven States Consider Sanctions Legislation
As NFTC Moves Against Illinois Law on Sudan

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Aug. 7 filed a lawsuit challenging an Illinois law imposing sanctions against companies with ties to Sudan, saying that six other states have enacted similar legislation and seven more states were considering related punitive measures, including Texas and California.

Joining the NFTC as plaintiffs in the llinois case (NFTC v. Topinka) were eight boards of public employee pension funds, along with nine individuals.

William A. Reinsch, president of the NFTC, said that the lawsuit–filed in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois–was meant to send a signal to other states that the U.S. Constitution limits the conduct of foreign policy to the federal government and not the states.

“We believe the Constitution intends that the president should have the flexibility to craft foreign policy that combines incentives and disincentives intended to change the behavior of foreign governments, like Sudan, and that sanctions imposed by individual states or local governments inevitably end up tying the president’s hands,” Reinsch said. “The Illinois law inflicts pain for no gain, with the pain falling particularly on the pension funds of police officers and firefighters who have put their lives on the line to protect the citizens of Illinois.”

Reinsch told reporters that the lawsuit against Illinois’ “Act to End Terrorism and Atrocities in Sudan,” which took effect on Jan. 27, rests on a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 that a Massachusetts law applying sanctions against Burma was unconstitutional because it could undermine the president’s ability to conduct effective diplomacy (Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, U.S., No. 99-474, 6/19/00).

The NFTC, which represents some 300 U.S. companies with interests in international trade and investment including The Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc., Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Microsoft Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp., said that eight Illinois pension funds had joined the NFTC as plaintiffs in the case because the Sudan sanctions law will force them to divest of some mutual funds and other equities and accept lower yields in alternative investment vehicles, primarily in the bond market.

Winston & Strawn LLP has been retained by the NFTC to litigate the case.


Injunctive Relief Sought


The NFTC and the other plaintiffs also plan to file a motion for injunctive relief to prevent the continued implementation of the Illinois law during the course of the lawsuit, officials said.

Under the Illinois law, banks and other financial institutions will be required to certify that their borrowers have no direct or indirect business ties to Sudan, and it will prohibit the state from using such institutions as depositories for state funds unless they can so certify.

The NFTC said that a U.S. company, for example, could be considered a “forbidden entity” if an affiliate in Europe operates a hotel in Khartoum or a joint venture in China sells a household product to a distributor in Sudan.

Under the law, public employee pension funds in Illinois will also be prohibited from holding shares of companies designated as forbidden entities and are being required to liquidate their holdings of equities and international mutual funds that contain shares of such entities.

“The ultimate losers will be the individual and corporate taxpayers who serve as the state’s definitive guarantors of all pension obligations,” the NFTC said.


Seven States Consider Similar Laws


Six other states–Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Oregon–have enacted legislation imposing sanctions against Sudan or terrorism-supporting countries, according to the NFTC, and seven additional states are considering similar measures: California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Legislation now before the California Senate, for instance, would prohibit the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Treasurers’ Retirement System from investing in companies with active business operations in Sudan and would require them to sell or transfer their existing holdings by Jan. 1, 2008.

The legislation (AB 2941) was approved by the state Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement in June of this year, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill for later this month.

A bill pending consideration in the Texas state House (HB 815) would prohibit state funds from being invested in equities or obligations of private corporations or other private business entities doing business in Sudan.

Several related measures, however, have died in committee in a number of states, including Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, and New York.

Then-President Clinton banned U.S. trade and investment with Sudan by Executive Order in 1997, and Congress codified those sanctions in 2003 as part of the so-called Sudan Peace Act.End of article graphic

Seven States Consider Sanctions Legislation As NFTC Moves against Illinois Law on Sudan

Posted on by dcadmin

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Aug. 7 filed a lawsuit challenging an Illinois law imposing sanctions against companies with ties to Sudan, saying that six other states have enacted similar legislation and seven more states were considering related punitive measures, including Texas and California.

Joining the NFTC as plaintiffs in the llinois case (NFTC v. Topinka) were eight boards of public employee pension funds, along with nine individuals.

William A. Reinsch, president of the NFTC, said that the lawsuit–filed in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois–was meant to send a signal to other states that the U.S. Constitution limits the conduct of foreign policy to the federal government and not the states.

“We believe the Constitution intends that the president should have the flexibility to craft foreign policy that combines incentives and disincentives intended to change the behavior of foreign governments, like Sudan, and that sanctions imposed by individual states or local governments inevitably end up tying the president’s hands,” Reinsch said. “The Illinois law inflicts pain for no gain, with the pain falling particularly on the pension funds of police officers and firefighters who have put their lives on the line to protect the citizens of Illinois.”

Reinsch told reporters that the lawsuit against Illinois’ “Act to End Terrorism and Atrocities in Sudan,” which took effect on Jan. 27, rests on a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 that a Massachusetts law applying sanctions against Burma was unconstitutional because it could undermine the president’s ability to conduct effective diplomacy (Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, U.S., No. 99-474, 6/19/00).

The NFTC, which represents some 300 U.S. companies with interests in international trade and investment including The Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc., Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Microsoft Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp., said that eight Illinois pension funds had joined the NFTC as plaintiffs in the case because the Sudan sanctions law will force them to divest of some mutual funds and other equities and accept lower yields in alternative investment vehicles, primarily in the bond market.

Winston & Strawn LLP has been retained by the NFTC to litigate the case.

 

Injunctive Relief Sought


The NFTC and the other plaintiffs also plan to file a motion for injunctive relief to prevent the continued implementation of the Illinois law during the course of the lawsuit, officials said.

Under the Illinois law, banks and other financial institutions will be required to certify that their borrowers have no direct or indirect business ties to Sudan, and it will prohibit the state from using such institutions as depositories for state funds unless they can so certify.

The NFTC said that a U.S. company, for example, could be considered a “forbidden entity” if an affiliate in Europe operates a hotel in Khartoum or a joint venture in China sells a household product to a distributor in Sudan.

Under the law, public employee pension funds in Illinois will also be prohibited from holding shares of companies designated as forbidden entities and are being required to liquidate their holdings of equities and international mutual funds that contain shares of such entities.

“The ultimate losers will be the individual and corporate taxpayers who serve as the state’s definitive guarantors of all pension obligations,” the NFTC said.

 

Seven States Consider Similar Laws


Six other states–Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Oregon–have enacted legislation imposing sanctions against Sudan or terrorism-supporting countries, according to the NFTC, and seven additional states are considering similar measures: California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Legislation now before the California Senate, for instance, would prohibit the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Treasurers’ Retirement System from investing in companies with active business operations in Sudan and would require them to sell or transfer their existing holdings by Jan. 1, 2008.

The legislation (AB 2941) was approved by the state Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement in June of this year, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill for later this month.

A bill pending consideration in the Texas state House (HB 815) would prohibit state funds from being invested in equities or obligations of private corporations or other private business entities doing business in Sudan.

Several related measures, however, have died in committee in a number of states, including Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, and New York.

Then-President Clinton banned U.S. trade and investment with Sudan by Executive Order in 1997, and Congress codified those sanctions in 2003 as part of the so-called Sudan Peace Act.End of article graphic

NFTC Urges WTO Negotiators to Go the Extra Distance to Restart Doha Trade Talks

Posted on by dcadmin

Calls for Getting Back to First Principles and Ambitious Objectives

Washington, DC – The NFTC today issued the following statement regarding situation in the WTO’s Doha Round of trade negotiations:

Mary Irace, NFTC Vice President for Trade and Export Finance, today urged WTO Members to go the extra distance to restart the suspended Doha Round negotiations.

Irace, who has just completed an intensive series of meetings with ambassadors and other senior officials in delegations to the WTO, noted, “The disappointment of the business community at the failure to make a break through on agriculture is clearly shared by WTO representatives in Geneva. At this critical moment we could see the enormous promise of the Doha Round just slip away. Failure would create serious risk and uncertainty in the global economy which would hurt prospects for world growth and development, and potentially sap business confidence.”

Following her meetings in Geneva, Irace noted, “I am impressed that delegations are already reengaging to try to find a way forward. The suspension of the talks was a wake-up call. Do WTO Members want a credible multilateral trading system that expands trade with widespread economic benefits?  Or will WTO Members pursue a harmful zero-sum approach to global trade policy making which reduces growth and economic opportunity? The NFTC believes it is time to get back to basics and push for real trade opening as a way to raise living standards worldwide.”

“The NFTC considers that success will require political will and vision from all the major partners. Certainly the US and the EU have critical roles to play, but so do advanced developing countries where the lion’s share of global growth will occur over the next 20 years. It is time that all those countries with a stake in open markets stood up to be counted. This certainly includes China as the world’s number three trader, but it also means that smaller developing and developed countries must play a bigger role in the search for an ambitious outcome,” Irace stated.

“Paring back ambition is clearly not the way forward. A major outcome with commercially meaningful results is the only way to build a strong foundation for the global economy in the years ahead,” Irace added.

 

 

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.