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28 April 2022 Following the launch of the Declaration for the Future of the Internet at the White House today, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued the following statement welcoming the new principles and calling for effective global multilateral cooperation. “An open, stable and trusted Internet that is global and interoperable is vital for business operations worldwide and a prerequisite to the effective functioning of public services such as education and health care as well as to the way citizens interact with their government. “ICC and its network of 45 million business worldwide share a core belief that ICTs

26 April 2022 The UNCTAD-led eTrade for all initiative marks a new milestone with the enrolment of the International Chamber of Commerce as its principal private-sector counterpart. A new strategic partnership between the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the eTrade for all initiative seeks to strengthen efforts towards more inclusive development outcomes from the digital economy. The partnership was announced on 25 April during the UNCTAD eCommerce Week held in Geneva and online, following a vetting process among the initiative’s 34 members. UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan welcomed the new role of ICC and said: “I am very proud to lead this unique global partnership

19 April 2022 As the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries, the International Chamber of Commerce has taken a leading role in advocating for business action in response to the war in Ukraine. Since the conflict’s onset, ICC has mobilised its global network and built historic collaborations with strategic partners to protect lives and livelihoods, support humanitarian efforts and promote business continuity and economic resistance. Condemning Russia’s violent action and breach of international law Following the Russian incursion into Ukraine on 24 February, ICC immediately issued a statement on behalf of the global business community, condemning Russia’s

8 April 2022 ICC has welcomed the launch of a new Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation by ICC United Kingdom, in response to the government’s ambition for the UK to have an open trading system with the rest of the world. In 2020, ICC launched the Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Singapore, to establish a globally harmonised, digitalised trade environment, in line with goals to foster inclusion and opportunity for those involved in international supply chains. In 2021, the World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization joined the DSI Governance Board as

7 April 2022 ICC has joined forces with the Canadian and Australian governments, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Fragomen, Talent Beyond Boundaries, and RefugePoint to launch the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility with the aim of encouraging and supporting the adoption of labour complementary pathways for refugees. The Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility is a new, multi-sectoral and multistakeholder initiative to increase refugee access to third country solutions via labour complementary pathways, through global dialogue and technical advice. Founding members gathered on 6 April for a virtual event to introduce the goals

1 April 2022 Following reports that the World Trade Organization is to cut the outlook for trade growth in 2022 by half, ICC has issued the following statement. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “The WTO’s anticipated projections are very much in line with the systemic disruption to trade that we’re seeing throughout our global business network. At a micro-level this means yet more production outages, fewer jobs created and a worrying increase in consumer prices. “As we’ve said consistently in recent weeks, governments and development banks need to take a far more proactive stance to cushion the real

30 March 2022 The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their partnership and boost public-private collaboration. Signed by ICC Secretary-General John W.H. Denton AO and FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, the MoU aims to promote responsible investments in line with countries’ priorities, enhance communications and public-private collaboration, and facilitate knowledge-sharing. It will support the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – with an emphasis on mitigating climate change and strengthening the resilience of agri-food systems and natural resources. As part of

21 March 2022 A new paper from the ICC World Chambers Federation Certificate of Origin Council calls on all economies negotiating Preferential Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to ensure that the Rules of Origin Chapter provisions include an equivalent multi system. The measure would allow traders to choose between third party certified origin and self-declared origin statement methods when satisfying their preferential origin data. The ICC WCF CO Council Recommendation – Dual system paper, noted and reviewed by the ICC Global Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission, recommends dual systems to ensure legal security for business, safeguard data quality, and promote harmonisation which

18 March 2022 ICC and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest in order to promote sustainable economic growth, revive global trade and advance the transition to a green economy. The two organisations already have a long history of cooperation across a variety of policy areas and initiatives, ranging from ICC’s input to the OECD initiative for safe international mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, to collaboration on whistle-blowing guidelines. The new memorandum of understanding will help reinforce and deepen collaboration between ICC and OECD in

15 March 2022 The International Chamber of Commerce and the World Trade Organization have today published the first-ever toolkit to help companies and government agencies adopt available standards to accelerate the digitalisation of trade processes. Drawing on stakeholder consultations through ICC’s Digital Standards Initiative over the past year, the report emphasises that one of the primary barriers to the adoption of paperless processes is a lack of awareness of existing standards for digital trade. Currently, fewer than 1% of trade documents are fully digitised globally – with a typical transaction requiring the exchange of 36 documents and 240 copies in hard-copy.