ICC Czech
Republic is formed
Prague,
10 September 1999
- Business in the Czech Republic today inaugurated its own national committee
of the International Chamber of Commerce, joining the only business organization
that spans the entire world and includes companies and business association
from every sector.
ICC Czech Republic joins
ICC at a time when the world business organization is focusing on central Europe
as a region heading for rapid economic development as its leading countries
negotiate their accession to the European Union.
In May 2000, ICC holds its
world congress in Budapest, hosted by ICC Hungary, the first national committee
in the region when it was founded in 1996. Formalities for the creation of ICC
Poland are now in their final stage. With the creation of ICC Czech Republic,
the organization now has 68 national committees and groups.
ICC, which has over 7 000
member companies and business associations throughout the world, draws up rules
that banks and traders worldwide apply every day to reduce costs and uncertainties
in international trade. As ICC Czech Republic opens for business ICC is about
to issue Incoterms 2000 - basic trade definitions that have been updated to
come into force on 1 January 2000.
ICC Secretary General Maria
Livanos Cattaui attended today's inauguration in the presence of Industry and
Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr. Mrs Cattaui said: "More than ever in this era
of globalization, Czech companies need fast and easy access to essential information
about trade facilitation and cross-border payments systems. Membership of ICC
puts them in direct touch with the business experts who make the rules."
ICC, whose International
Secretariat is in Paris, promotes an open international trade and investment
system and the market economy. It is currently pressing governments to set a
strict three-year deadline for completion of the new round of trade negotiations,
to be launched at the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization
in Seattle at the end of November.
In a joint statement with
other business organizations, Secretary General Cattaui said this month: "Politicians
and trade diplomats should be made aware that a vast constituency of business
interests is convinced that a new broad-based trade round is just what the doctor
ordered for the world economy."
Founder members of ICC Czech
Republic include the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic, Skoda Auto a.s.
The Czech Export Bank, the Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship CR, and
Bata a.s. Thomas J. Bata, Chairman of the Bata Shoe Foundation, flew in from
Canada to be present at the inauguration.