Business tells G8 it wants clear rules for global economy
London, 29 April 1998 - World business urged the national leaders attending the Birmingham Group of Eight Summit next month to push for comprehensive rules suited to the new globalized economy and to enlist business expertise in formulating them.
In a statement delivered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair as host of the Birmingham summit scheduled for 15-17 May, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) said: "As markets go increasingly global, so the need is rapidly growing for more global rule-setting. And that means more global decision-making and leadership."
The world business organization also said governments and business must do more to combat a growing perception in the public mind that globalization is a threat rather than an opportunity that has "already brought unprecedented advances in material welfare to billions of people."
ICC President Helmut Maucher, Chairman of Nestl, led the delegation of business leaders who called on Mr Blair at Number 10 Downing Street. ICC national committees in the capitals of the G8 countries meanwhile handed the statement over to their respective governments.
The ICC delegation included ICC Vice President Adnan Kassar, Chairman of Fransabank Group, Lebanon; the Past President, Rahmi M. Ko, Chairman of Ko Holding; and Patrick Gillam, Chairman of ICC United Kingdom and of Standard Chartered Bank.
The ICC statement said: "Governments and business must work more closely together, at national and international level, to design the multilateral rules for the worldwide marketplace which will be increasingly necessary for the smooth functioning and good management of globalization."
It said a welcome aspect of globalization was the imminent arrival of a single European currency. "The introduction of the euro will require governments and central banks across the world, but particularly in the G8 countries, to collaborate to ensure that this major development is handled efficiently and does not become a source of global financial volatility."
The Asian crisis had also demonstrated the need for a stronger framework of laws, rules and institutions to ensure the smooth running of an integrated world economy, the statement said. An ICC spokesman cited investment, competition policy, supervisory regulation of financial markets, and environmental and labour standards as areas that should be included.
The business statement said that intergovernmental organizations required sufficient resources and more authority to handle effectively "the complex and often interrelated global problems that are emerging as the new millennium approaches." However, there should also be institutional reform to tackle bureaucracy and duplication of tasks and responsibilities.
ICC called for closer business involvement in the activities of the UN and other intergovernmental organizations as part of the reform process. The ICC spokesman noted that this was consistent with last February's agreement between ICC and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to form a close global partnership to secure greater business input into the world body's economic decision-making.
The statement said: "As the creator of wealth and jobs, business has a huge amount of experience and expertise to contribute to agenda-building, to substantive decision-making, and to implementation.
"Globalization is a business-driven phenomenon and business is the natural partner of governments to help them in this task. As the representative body for world business, ICC urges the G8 countries to encourage a closer and more systematic dialogue between the principal intergovernmental bodies at the global level and the business community."
On business priorities for world trade, the ICC statement said growth in world trade and investment was an essential condition for the spread of wealth and job creation throughout the world economy. "One major lesson to be drawn from Asia's current financial crisis is the necessity to resist protectionist pressures and to keep markets open in order to restore much-needed confidence and stability."
Stressing the importance of increased flows of foreign investment as a stimulus to economic growth, ICC said foreign direct investment was playing a significant rle in contributing to the stabilization of economies affected by the Asian currency crisis.
The statement cited a survey of multinational companies carried out in February by ICC and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which revealed that 88% of companies polled intended either to maintain their existing plans for direct investment in East and South-East Asia or to increase their direct investments there over the short to medium term.
On the outlook for business over electronic networks, ICC said it was taking the lead among the business groups in preparing the basic rules of the road for electronic business. However, the necessary legal and regulatory framework to enable business and consumers to take full advantage of digital communications was not yet in place.
Business called on governments to remove existing legal obstacles to the expansion of electronic business, to ensure legal recognition of electronic transactions, and to protect intellectual property rights in digital environments.
Full text of the statement "Business and the global economy"
ICC Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy