ICC News

15 December 2021 ICC has today announced the formation of a new Legal Reform Advisory Board (LRAB) to support the legal harmonisation efforts of the ICC Digital Standards Initiative. As part of our drive to promote inclusion and create opportunity for all parties involved in the international supply chain, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) launched the Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) in 2020 in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Singapore, with the vision to establish a globally harmonized, digitalised trade environment. The new Legal Reform Advisory Board will work under the auspices of the DSI Governance Board

14 December 2021 A major independent report published today by ICC spotlights the need for a significant overhaul of global trade rules if governments are to meet their stated aim of accelerating the adoption of circular business models. A major independent report published today by ICC spotlights the need for a significant overhaul of global trade rules if governments are to meet their stated aim of accelerating the adoption of circular business models. The study – The Circular Economy and International Trade: Options for the World Trade Organization – highlights that while international trade has a vital role to play in promoting resource

6 December 2021 ICC has published updated guidance for responsible environmental marketing communications to help marketers and advertisers make truthful and useful environmental claims. As consumers become more interested in the environmental footprint of the products they buy, the updated ICC Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications (the “ICC Framework”) helps marketers evaluate environmental communications to maintain consumer confidence in these claims. The ICC Framework helps marketers craft environmental messages that adhere to the basic global principles of truthful, honest and socially responsible communications. The climate crisis has sparked growing momentum on climate action globally, including collective efforts by governments and

25 November 2021 ICC crowned four chamber champions as winners of the 2021 World Chambers Competition, the only awards ceremony of its kind to recognise innovative projects undertaken by chambers from around the world. Held in conjunction with the 12th World Chambers Congress, the World Chambers Competition has served as a platform to inspire the creation of pioneering and beneficial chamber solutions for business communities worldwide since its inception in 2003. Lima Chamber of Commerce (Peru), Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Luxembourg), the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce (United Kingdom) and Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Germany) were all named category

23 November 2021 ICC has today joined a global coalition of industry associations in urging members of the World Trade Organization to keep the Internet free of tariffs ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12). Supported by 73 industry associations active across six continents, the Global Industry Statement on the WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions urges WTO Members to renew the Moratorium until the 13th Ministerial Conference. The statement reads: “Allowing the Moratorium to expire would be a historic setback for the WTO, representing an unprecedented termination of a multilateral agreement in place nearly since the WTO’s inception – an

18 November 2021 ICC, in collaboration with Fung Business Intelligence and supported by McKinsey & Company, has today launched a report outlining a new vision for the global trade finance ecosystem. The report is based on a year-long effort by the ICC Advisory Group on Trade Finance to raise awareness and address the challenges facing micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), particularly in the emerging markets, in accessing the trade finance needed to support their growth and the global recovery. According to the Asian Development Bank, the trade financing gap reached US$1.7 trillion in 2020, an increase to 10% of global

17 December 2021 We’re concluding our year with a round-up of key achievements on behalf of 45 million businesses in over 100 countries. From helping businesses weather the COVID-19 crisis to preparing a resilient rebuild, we’ve had a busy year making business work for everyone, every day, everywhere. From leveraging our real economy expertise to drive an effective response to enabling greater inclusion in the global trading system, here are 6 ways we’ve worked to enable peace, prosperity and opportunity for all this year.    1. Shaping an effective response to COVID In January, ICC published ground-breaking research, showing that unequal access to ​COVID vaccines carried greater downside risk to a global recovery than ​previously estimated and​ called

14 December 2021 ICC has welcomed a statement made today by the Trade Ministers of Australia, Japan and Singapore announcing significant progress in the ongoing e-commerce negotiations within the World Trade Organization. The statement notes that ‘good convergence’ has been achieved on eight issues — specifically: online consumer protection; electronic signatures and authentication; unsolicited commercial electronic messages; open government data; electronic contracts; transparency; paperless trading; and open internet access. The Ministers have set out the objective to secure convergence on the majority of issues left open to discussion by the end of 2022. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said:

10 November 2021 ICC has published a major report setting out proposals to tackle the longstanding challenge of defining and setting common standards for sustainable trade and associated financing. The paper – developed in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group through a global consultation exercise involving over 200 banks and corporates – outlines the first-ever standardised framework and assessment methodology to qualify the sustainability profile of trade transactions. Unlike other asset classes, such as bonds, no standards currently exist to allow financial institutions to grade the sustainability performance of trade finance transactions – the global market for which is currently valued

9 December 2021 Diversity is a complex and intersectional issue, and while incremental progress has been made, much remains to be done. With next week’s ICC Miami Conference on International Arbitration just around the corner, Christian Albanesi, Mateo Noseda Zorrilla de San Martín, Charlene Warner and Somin Lee of Linklaters take the opportunity to reflect upon the progress achieved so far and the challenges still to come. The Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (ERA Pledge) was launched in May 2016. Since its introduction, the ERA Pledge has garnered over 4,000 signatories from law firms, institutions, organisations, and individuals in over 113 countries committed