ICC News

In view of rising trade tensions caused by proposed tit-for-tat tariff increases, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued the following statement. ICC Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “Open markets underpinned by the rules-based multilateral trading system have been a vital driver of prosperity across the world over the past 50 years. Any erosion of that system will come at quite a cost to us all. “Tariff hikes will inevitably impact small businesses that often rely heavily on imported goods and services. Longstanding US trade policies, such as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), have been shown to play a

Achieving the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires US$2.5 trillion each year in developing countries. How can private sector resources best be leveraged? While levels may still be below their pre-financial crisis peak, international investment has grown substantially in the last decade, projected to have increased to nearly US$1.8 trillion in 2017. Much of this owes to the changing geography of the global economy. By 2016, foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from developed countries in the Asia-Pacific reaching their highest level since 2008. China is now the second largest investing country in the world. Moreover, governments are increasingly recognising

The Annual Meeting of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission gets underway in Jakarta this week. This major forum gathers the world’s who’s who of the trade finance industry and provides participants with exciting opportunities throughout its duration. Here are 5 things we can expect at the meeting: 1. Networking with industry leaders   The list of speakers and delegates at the Annual Meeting reads like the Who’s Who of the trade finance world; gathering close to 600 trade experts, banking professionals, business leaders, lawyers and government officials all under one roof. And with a range of periphery events, in

Recent months have seen governments around the world lay out proposals for taxing the digital economy. ICC recommends that any measures be developed on the basis of international tax rules and seek an alignment with global efforts. Yesterday, the European Commission released two legislative proposals for taxing of digital firms ahead of the European Union (EU) leaders’ summit on 22-23 March, where the issue will be discussed further. The previous week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report on “tax challenges arising from digitalisation” and signalled that more than 110 countries will work to build a consensus

Three global business heads have been named winners of the Oslo Business for Peace Award for exceptional contributions to peace building through business initiatives. The 2018 laureates are Lori Blaker, president and CEO of TTi Global; Edgar Montenegro, founder and CEO of Corpocampo; and Martin Naughton, founder of Glen Dimplex Group. Dubbed the Nobel Prize of business by international media, the Oslo Business for Peace Award is awarded annually to exemplary business leaders who foster peace and stability for the greater good of society through their everyday business efforts. Commenting on the announcement, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce John Danilovich

Tirana, 27 December 2017: At the end of the first 100 days of government, the Minister of State for the Protection of Entrepreneurship gathered in a technical meeting the main stakeholders related to the business climate improvement in Albania such as private sector representatives – both foreign and domestic investors -; representatives from the public sector – such as officials from line ministries and related governmental agencies. Minister Qato presented for the audience a set of selected proposals collected through direct and written consultations with various business interest groups during the last three months. The set of proposals – divided into subcategories-

The Hague, 8 December 2017: The Integrity Advantage and Collective Action have been the two themes of the ICC’s International Integrity and Anti-Corruption Conference, a yearly multi-stakeholder conference and an initiative of ICC Netherlands. More than 200 participants gathered in the Peace Palace in The Hague on the 8 of December 2017, to gain insight from speakers including Richard Bistrong, a formerly prosecuted sales and marketing executive, Jan Hommen, former CEO of both KPMG and ING Bank, Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman, and Roel Nieuwenkamp, Chairman of the OECD Working group on Corporate Social Responsibility. Albania was present at this event with a diverse profile of speakers including

Tirana, 1 December 2017: We are 2-3 weeks away from the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference [MC11] in Buenos Aires on 10-15 December where we have a genuine chance of making progress towards a more robust global rules framework to support digital trade. Our current trade rules were designed for a pre-digital world so businesses support the urgent need to confirm the application of a global framework that guarantees a level playing field beyond national borders. Digital trade is worth $25 trillion a year to the global economy, with retail e-commerce growing at 1% every two weeks, and contributes 31 million jobs. Technology

Tirana, 23 November 2017: The global business community is clear on the vital role of the multilateral trading system in enabling economic growth, sustainable development and job creation. One area of particular priority, which ICC believes has real potential to deliver on the imperative to make globalisation more inclusive is e-commerce. Recent years have witnessed remarkable developments in the digital economy, creating unprecedented opportunities for cross-border trade. Studies show that micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that use online platforms are about five times more likely to export than those in the traditional economy. Entrepreneurs in developing economies are already at the

Tirana, 22 November 2017: ICC Albania and Albanian Association of Banks (AAB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy organized a technical workshop on COSME programme, an EU financial instrument available for SMEs, which took place on the 22nd of November 2017 at Xheko Imperial Hotel. The workshop was organized with the aim of providing financial institutions in Albania with the unique opportunity to become an EU financial intermediary. This event was opened by Ms. Evisi Kopliku – COSME National Coordinator at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. While addressing her welcome remarks Ms. Kopliku said: ‘’COSME is an EU