ICC QATAR BRIEF

INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE VOICE OF WORLD BUSINESS The International Chamber of Commerce is the voice of world business.

ICC champions open economies, rules-based cross-border trade and investment, the market economy system and global economic integration as essential contributors to sustainable and inclusive growth and prosperity. ICC’s global network comprises over 6 million members— companies, chambers of commerce and business associations—in more than 100 countries.

Because national economies are now so closely interwoven, government decisions have much stronger international repercussions than in the past. ICC expresses business views that support multilateralism as the best way to find effective solutions to global challenges, based on the principles of open markets and rules-based trade and investment.

A GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK ICC has direct access to national governments through its global network of national committees that brings together ICC member companies, business associations and chambers of commerce. This network represents ICC at the national level by acting as a liaison between ICC’s Paris-based international secretariat and ICC members. ICC national committees convey ICC global policy views to their respective governments. In turn, ICC’s international secretariat carries ICC policy directly to intergovernmental organisations on issues that affect business’ capacity to conduct cross-border transactions. Close to 3,000 business experts feed their knowledge and experience into crafting ICC policy. ICC activities cover a broad spectrum, from arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution to making the case for open international trade and investment and business self-regulation, offering training, and combating commercial crime.

WRITING RULES FOR BUSINESS ICC has a long history of developing voluntary rules, guidelines and codes to facilitate business and spread good practice. Examples of these include: Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance that seek to harmonise existing Supply Chain Finance market terminology to make it operational and usable in daily practice by banks and non-banks when processing, financing and mitigating risk in trade transactions. ICC Incoterms® rules: standard international trade definitions used every day in thousands of contracts to define the responsibilities of buyers and sellers. ICC model contracts that make doing international business easier, especially for small- and medium-sized companies that cannot afford big legal departments. The Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice: the global foundation for national self-regulatory systems that monitor marketing practices.

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INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

POLICY ADVOCACY ICC develops global business policy views on key issues that affect companies’ ability to trade and invest across borders, and meet the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly integrated global economy. These issues include: banking, commercial law and practice, competition policy, corporate responsibility and anticorruption, customs and trade facilitation, the digital economy, environment and energy, intellectual property, marketing and advertising, taxation, and trade and investment policy. ICC policy advocacy, which often takes the form of policy statements to influence intergovernmental discussions, is developed through ICC commissions, specialised working bodies composed of business experts. The strength and legitimacy of ICC policy derive from rigorous development through extensive consultation with member companies via the ICC global network. ICC policy recommendations are communicated to both national governments and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)— including the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization—and forums such as the G20. They are intended to reflect a broad business consensus as represented by ICC, while at the same time making a meaningful contribution to the policy debate from a global business perspective.

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ICC QATAR

THE VOICE OF WORLD BUSINESS IN QATAR ICC Qatar is the globally influential National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, the world business organization, in the State of Qatar. With a global network of over 6 million members in more than 100 countries, ICC helps businesses of all sizes to operate both internationally and responsibly through rule setting, policy advocacy and dispute resolution. ICC Qatar’s main objective is to represent, protect, facilitate and support the interest of the Qatar business community and expand their role in contributing to the national and global economy within the framework of both the QNV 2030 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

ICC Qatar currently represents a growing number of Qatar based businesses and works closely with local and foreign business chambers and key national associations. ICC Qatar aims to empowers our local members by providing advocacy, international networking opportunities and practical business tools. Nationally, ICC Qatar serves as a bridge between the government and businesses to drive a sustainable business friendly environment. Internationally, ICC Qatar represents the interests of the Qatar business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral forums within international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), where ICC is a permanent observer and the only voice of business at the General Assembly; the G20 through the B20 process; the World Trade Organization (WTO) through the Trade Dialogues process that were established at the request of the ICC and the historical ICC-led MC11 Business Forum, the first official private-sector event to be held alongside WTO Ministerial; and other intergovernmental bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) among many others.

Locally, ICC Qatar has established commissions on Banking, Energy and Environment and Arbitration and ADR and have provided members of each commission a say in policy recommendations advocated at both the global and local level as well as updates on the latest rules and practices in each respective industry through trainings and conferences.

ICC Qatar is looking to expand its local commissions further into Digital Economy, Trade and Investment Policy and Customs and Trade facilitation as well as increase member participation on commissions at the global level.

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GLOBAL ICC COMMISSIONS SUMMARY

ICC commissions are specialised working bodies composed of business experts nominated by ICC national committees that examine major issues of practical concern to world business and that work together to address cross-cutting subjects. They prepare policy products, including statements to inform and shape intergovernmental discussions and resulting policy, as well as rules and codes to facilitate international business transactions. ICC currently has 12 commissions covering major industries and sectors.

Commission on Banking - The ICC Banking Commission serves as a global forum and rulemaking body for banks worldwide, with particular focus on the financing of international trade; and to help policymakers and standard setters to create a regulatory framework that facilitates trade finance throughout the world. With 85 years of experience and more than 600 members in over a hundred countries, the ICC Banking Commission is the largest of ICC’s commissions.

Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation - The ICC Commission on Customs and Trade Facilitation is composed of more than 250 customs policy, transport and logistics specialists from all sectors of business in nearly 50 countries, from ICC member companies and business representative organizations. The objective of the Commission is to promote simplified customs and transport policies and procedures as well as other practical measures to facilitate international trade, and encourage efficient and competitive transport markets worldwide.

Commission on the Digital Economy - The ICC Commission on the Digital Economy draws upon a cross-section of business leaders and experts from 47 countries, including users, providers and operators of information technology. Their mission is to promote the global development of the digital economy and stable growth of its underlying information and communication technologies (ICT) platform through private sector policy leadership, regulatory advocacy and the promotion of best practice.

Commission on Trade and Investment Policy - The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) was founded in 1919 to promote trade and investment as vehicles to spread peace and prosperity. In keeping with this historic mission, ICC’s Commission on Trade and Investment Policy engages the ICC network to help define the multilateral trade agenda and actively promotes international trade and investment as engines for economic growth and job creation.

The Commission’s constructive role in representing business views is built upon ICC’s long history of authoritative involvement in international trade and investment policy. ICC was present at Bretton Woods and enjoys top-level consultative status with the UN and its specialized agencies. The mandate of the Commission is to break down barriers to international trade and investment so that all countries can benefit from improved living standards through increased trade and investment flows. The Commission provides a forum for business experts to examine trade and investment policy issues and draw up policy recommendations for governments.

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GLOBAL ICC COMMISSIONS SUMMARY

Commission on Commercial Law and Practice - The Commission on Commercial Law and Practice (CLP) facilitates international trade and promotes a balanced self-regulatory and regulatory legal framework for international business-to-business (B2B) transactions. The Commission’s mandate is to set global business standards for international B2B transactions and provide global business input on commercial rules developed by intergovernmental organizations. The Commission works with some of the key intergovernmental organizations in this area on a regular basis: UNCITRAL (the UN Commission on International Trade Law), UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Commission on Taxation - The ICC Commission on Taxation promotes transparent and nondiscriminatory treatment of foreign investments and earnings that eliminates tax obstacles to cross-border trade and investment. The commission is currently working on advocating for coherent and coordinated local implementation of the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project (BEPS) outcomes to help establish a consistent global tax system; providing further views into G20/OECD follow-up deliberations—including further discussion drafts on the BEPS Multilateral Instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties and the Inclusive Framework to support implementation of the BEPS package in developing countries; Leading global business input into the work of the UN Committee of Experts in Tax Matters and its subcommittee; Developing a Charter of fiscal rights for international investors, notably on the basis of the ICC Guidelines for International Investment and Identifying and promoting opportunities for fostering growth and cross-border trade in the area of international tax policy .

Commission on Competition - The ICC Commission on Competition ensures that business needs and the realities of markets are taken into account in the formulation and implementation of competition laws and policies. It also identifies key issues in competition policy facing the international business community and contributes the business voice to debates to resolve these. The Commission brings together over 300 leading experts in the field of Antitrust from 42 countries, working together to develop cutting-edge policy for business. As such, the Commission is recognized as a venue for exchange and innovation, and regularly shares the voice of business on antitrust issues with intergovernmental forums such as the European Commission, ICN, OECD as well as national antitrust regulators.

Commission on Arbitration and ADR - Throughout recent history, the development of arbitration worldwide and the increasing global interest in other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms have led to the development of a vibrant community of arbitration and ADR users and providers. The ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR represents this community through its members. The Commission currently has over 900 members from over 90 countries. These members include arbitration and ADR specialists from leading law firms, general counsel representing global and other corporations, prominent arbitrators and distinguished university professors.

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GLOBAL ICC COMMISSIONS SUMMARY

Commission on Environment and Energy - The ICC Commission on Environment and Energy draws upon a cross-section of business leaders and experts from around the world.

Their mission is to develop policy recommendations and tools to address major global environmental and energy issues, including climate change and green economy within the framework of sustainable development, and make a substantive contribution to key intergovernmental discussions in these areas.

Commission on Marketing and Advertising - The Commission on Marketing and Advertising examines major marketing and advertising related policy issues of interest to world business and brings together top experts on self-regulation and ethical best practices in advertising and marketing communications. ICC has been the major rule-setter in international advertising selfregulation since 1937, when the Commission issued the first ICC code on Advertising Practiceone of the most successful examples of business self-regulation ever developed. The Commission’s mandate is to promote high ethical standards in marketing through ICC international marketing codes for self-regulation. The Commission also advances world business positions and initiatives to address government actions that affect marketing and consumer protection. This includes monitoring marketing issues in industry and determining appropriate guidance, tools or codes to help business address these issues.

Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-Corruption - The ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption is a leading global private sector body that develops rules of conduct and best practices for fighting corruption and provides world business views on key corporate responsibility and anti-corruption issues. ICC has taken the lead among business organizations in denouncing corruption and developing rules to combat it. The ICC Rules on Combating Corruption constitute the cornerstone of ICC's anti-corruption work, serving both as a tool for self-regulation by business and as a roadmap for governments in their efforts to fight extortion and bribery. In addition to these flagship ICC Rules, the Commission has developed a suite of crucial anti-corruption tools for companies to use proactively as part of their integrity programmes. The Commission brings together over 300 members from 40 countries, representing multinational companies, law firms, trade associations, and small and mediumsized enterprises.

Commission on Intellectual Property - With nearly 400 business executives and private practitioners from 50 countries, ICC's Commission on Intellectual Property contributes the business voice to debates on key intellectual property issues facing the international business community. The Commission supports and contributes to ICC’s BASCAP project, an initiative uniting different sectors worldwide to fight against counterfeiting and piracy. As a representative of international business, ICC works closely with intergovernmental organizations involved in intellectual property policy-making, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as with other international organizations.

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