Chapter News

E-privacy: MEPs Look at New Rules to Safeguard your Personal Details Online

The EU could soon have new privacy rules to take account of new practices such as internet-based messaging and allow users better control of their privacy settings, especially when it comes to cookies. Parliament's civil liberties committee discussed the plans by the European Commission on 11 April. Marju Lauristin, the MEP responsible for steering the rules through Parliament, said that if companies providing communication services wanted to be trusted they needed to ensure confidentiality. Most Europeans continue to value their...

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Member News

Election Results for 2017 WTCA Board of Directors

The World Trade Centers Association is pleased to announce the results of the 2017 election of its Board of Directors. Please join us in congratulating the following newly elected and re-elected directors: Asia Pacific Region (6) Mr. Vijay Kalantri (WTC Mumbai) Ms. Catherine Lee (WTC Nanjing) Mr. Balaram Menon (WTC Bengaluru) Ms. Jiuling Xiong (WTC Beijing)  Mr. Jianrong Yang (WTC Shanghai, newly elected)  Mr. Walter Yeh (WTC Taipei, newly elected) Europe Region (8) Mr. Rustu Argit (WTC Istanbul) Mr. Rolf Draak (WTC...

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Chapter News

Building a More Resilient and Inclusive Global Economy

Lagarde: Thank you, Jean-Claude Trichet and Guntram Wolff, for your kind introductions. And thank you to Bruegel for hosting this event here at the wonderful Bibliothèque Solvay. As I experience this beautiful building, it reminds me that good architecture is not about geometry or design in the first instance—it is about fostering human relationships in private and in public spaces. I hear about this often from my son who is an architect—and I also thought about it when reading about the...

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Brexit News, Chapter News, News, Trade & TTIP Related

Europe Is Still a Superpower

Europe Is Not Only Still a Superpower: it's going to remain one for decades to come. By Andrew Moravcsik | Foreign Policy Magazine | April 13, 2017 Sixty years after the Treaty of Rome, many view Europe as a spent force in global politics. Conventional wisdom states that world politics today is unipolar, with the United States as the sole superpower. Or perhaps it is multipolar, with China, India, and the rest rising to challenge Western powers. Either way, Europe’s role...

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Chapter News, Uncategorized

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Announces Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework is Open for Business

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the newly launched Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework is now accepting self-certifications. The Framework provides companies a mechanism to comply with Swiss data protection requirements when transferring personal data from Switzerland to the United States in support of transatlantic commerce. “The Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework supports U.S. economic growth by ensuring that Swiss and American businesses can transfer data and deliver innovative online products and services under enhanced data protection,” said Secretary Ross. “It...

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Chapter News

Werner Hoyer: Multilateralism Crucial for a Functioning Global Economy

Europe faces considerable challenges, EIB President Werner Hoyer warned in his speech at the Columbia University in New York on 10 April 2017. “Brexit confirmed the severity of the disenchantment,” said President Hoyer. “Some European citizens may have taken for granted the Union and some of the values it represents.” But multilateralism remains crucial for a functioning global economy in his view. “Going forward, an important factor will be the strength of multilateral institutions”, he said and called for equal...

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Chapter News, News

Trade recovery expected in 2017 and 2018, amid policy uncertainty

Growth in the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to rebound this year from its tepid performance in 2016, but only if the global economy recovers as expected and governments pursue the right policy mix, WTO economists reported. The WTO is forecasting that global trade will expand by 2.4% in 2017; however, as deep uncertainty about near-term economic and policy developments raise the forecast risk, this figure is placed within a range of 1.8% to 3.6%. In 2018, the...

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Member News

DS-Concept Names John Stillwaggon CEO, USA

DS-Concept, a leading international trade finance firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of John Stillwaggon to the position of CEO, USA.  In this role, he will be responsible for leading the region’s strategy, growth, and profitability, while managing overall operations.  The position reports into Rene Pastor, President of Global Commercial Operations, located in the firm’s German HQ office. According to Mr. Pastor “John has shown steady growth within our organization, both in originating new business, as well as in...

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Chapter News

MEPs Propose Cutting Food Waste

Environment MEPs put forward a number of possible measures to cut the EU 88 million tonnes per year food waste by half by 2030 on Tuesday. MEPs called on the European Commission to lift existing restrictions on food donations and stressed a solution is needed for the confusion created for many consumers by the “best before” and “use by” labelling. “In developed countries food is wasted mostly at the end of the chain, at distribution and consumption. Everyone has a...

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Member News

Commentary: Border tax would smack U.S.

This Article was previously published at the Orlando Sentinel and was published on our website with permission by the author. Speaker Paul Ryan and other leading House Republicans are pushing a tax plan that would exempt income from exports from U.S. corporate taxes while denying tax deductions for the costs of imported inputs of goods and services into U.S. production. This proposed “border adjusted tax” could cause cascading harm to U.S. consumers, workers, manufacturers, retailers and, indeed, the entire U.S. economy. In effect,...

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