Business and Industry Advisory Committee

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The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD was formed in 1962 to enable business and industry to have an official input into OECD policy making through an independent organization. BIAC represents the ‘principal industrial and employer’s organizations in OECD countries’ including US Council for International Business (USCIB), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). [1]

In 2007, more than 2300 business representatives were actively involved in the work of the OECD through the BIAC. They aimed to:

  • Positively influence the direction of OECD policy initiatives
  • Ensure business and industry needs are adequately addressed in OECD policy decision instruments
  • Provide members with timely information on OECD policies and their implications for business and industry[2]

BIAC ‘offers business and industry an excellent opportunity to participate in inter-governmental discussions on policy issues, thus giving the business community a chance to shape the development of long-term policies in OECD countries.’ It has a Trade Committee which plays an active role in the WTO negotiations, ‘identifying areas for further liberalization by governments’. The committee is chaired by Nancie S. Johnson, Vice President of DuPont Government Affairs (US) (who also chairs USCIB’s trade policy committee).[3]

BIAC has been an important promoter of free trade and agreements such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and a multilateral investment agreement.[4]


References

  1. eBIAC: The Voice of the Business Community at the OECD, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, 28 May 2003.
  2. BIAC About us
  3. Ibid.; BIAC Priorities for the WTO Doha Negotiations and Recommendations to the OECD, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, 20 February 2003, p. 3; Priorities for OECD and WTO Work: BIAC Submission on Trade-Related Issues to the OECD, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, June 1998, p. 2
  4. Sharon Beder, Suiting Themselves: How Corporations Drive the Global Agenda, Earthscan, London, 2006, chapters 7 and 9.