What ICC
did for business in 1997
Financial Services
ICC and the Financial Leaders Group publicly urged governments to meet a December
deadline for agreement on liberalizing financial services. The pressure by 100
chief executives helped to produce agreement on schedule.
Internet
A regulatory vacuum was filled when ICC issued guidelines for ensuring trustworthy
digital transactions over the Internet, marking a crucial step forward in business
self-regulation of electronic commerce.
Climate
change
A 100-member ICC delegation at the Kyoto climate change conference mobilized
support for business insistence that voluntary industry actions are the best
way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing economic growth.
WTO
ICC consolidated its privileged access to senior government negotiators at the
World Trade Organization by instituting annual working sessions with WTO ambassadors.
Trade
facilitation
Building on its successful campaign to place simplification of trade procedures
on the WTO agenda, ICC fed business knowhow into the WTO’s work on facilitating
the passage of goods and services across frontiers.
Customs
Under ICC’s working alliance with the World Customs Organization, ICC experts
briefed customs administrations on how business would like to see customs procedures
modernized. Speedy customs clearance is a major issue for member companies.
DOCDEX
A global service for resolving international disputes over documentary credits
went into operation. Documentary credits, used by banks all over the world to
finance trade, are governed by ICC rules.
Asia
Soon after opening an Asian regional office in Hong Kong, ICC signalled determination
to
strengthen its presence in Asia by staging its triennial Congress in Shanghai,
attended by hundreds of business leaders from all over the world.
Arbitration
The first major revision of ICC rules of arbitration in 20 years makes them
more flexible and user-friendly in order to meet the needs of an increasingly
complex global business arena. The new rules were introduced in April to come
into force in 1998.
Commercial
crime
ICC Commercial Crime Services saved members $13 billion in losses from fraud.
Its Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau set up a global alliance of anti-counterfeiting
organizations to combat organized crime’s growing activity in this area.