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Business
delivers appeal to G8 leaders
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| US
President George W. Bush, will host the G8 Summit at Sea Island, Georgia
on 8-10 June. |
Washington,
10 May 2004
- ICC today delivered a statement on behalf of world business to US President
George W. Bush, who will host the G8 Summit at Sea Island, Georgia on
8-10 June.
The statement is an
appeal to the leaders of the G8 to use their upcoming meeting to address
four key issues of interest to business: drawing developing countries
into the global economy, bringing the Doha trade negotiations to a successful
close, aiding security and cross-border business and protecting intellectual
property.
The ICC statement said: "One of the biggest challenges facing government
and business leadership is how to draw into the global economy those countries
that still remain on the margins. ICC calls on the G8 to continue to emphasize
the indispensability of good governance in promoting development and reducing
poverty, and to work closely with countries who wish to undertake reforms.
Business is very ready to make its contribution to that process".
The statement urges
the G8 leaders to recognize the current dangers inherent in growing protectionist
sentiment and in the ever-expanding practice of applying national laws
extraterritorially.
ICC said it greatly
regretted the failure of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún
last September to finalize the negotiating agenda of the Doha trade negotiations
and set the round on course for completion by the agreed dated.
"Fortunately,
early this year governments took some tentative, and much-needed, steps
to breath new life into the Doha round", the statement said. "As
a result, ICC believes that some momentum has been restored and is hopeful
that a window of opportunity has opened in which to make significant progress
in the negotiations by the time summer arrives - paving the way for a
WTO meeting at ministerial level to lock-in this progress."
"We call upon
the G8 heads to renew their pledge to take the lead in bringing the round
to a successful and early conclusion, and to commit themselves personally
to that goal", the statement said.
On the subject of
security, ICC stressed that new security measures must not obstruct world
trade and that business needs global security standards that minimize
costs.
The statement also
recognized piracy and counterfeiting as a huge global phenomenon and put
the estimated value of cro
ss-border sales of counterfeit goods at US $450
billion or approximately 6 percent of total world trade.
The ICC urged the
G8 to take the lead in programmes to combat intellectual property piracy.
"In particular, governments should give higher priority to fighting
piracy and counterfeiting by gathering more accurate data on the extent
of the problem, elaborating campaigns to raise public awareness of the
damage it does, improving cross-border cooperation and training of national
enforcement agencies, and exchanging information and best practice. Business
stands ready to assist and support governments to the maximum in the development
and execution of determined programmes to combat such harmful activity",
the statement said.
Many of the issues raised by the ICC's statement will be taken up at the
35th ICC World Congress in Marrakesh on 6-9 June 2004. The Congress theme
is: "Standing up for the global economy".
Click
here for congress website
Click
here to read full text of ICC statement on behalf of world business to
the Heads of State and Government attending the Sea Island Summit, 8-10
June 2004
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