International Chamber of Commerce
The International Chamber of Commerce is the most powerful and prominent organization acting on behalf of more than 7 000 member-enterprises of all business sectors in more than 130 countries of the world.
The main goal of the International Chamber of Commerce is the development of the open system of the international trade and investment within the market economy.
The International Chamber of Commerce develops plans, standards and codes, by which the international business is guided, and also represents the business at the highest level especially in such international organizations as the United Nations Organization, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and others.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) includes the headquarters in Paris, the national committees or the national boards of entrepreneurs, which are situated in 70 countries of the world.
The basis of the organization is its member-companies – business associations, enterprises and natural persons – that take the active part in the work of the ICC working at its standing commissions. The work of the commissions is based on the branch principle and includes all business spheres such as banking, energetics, insurance or electronic commerce.
International Chamber of Commerce in Russia
For the solution of the complicated problems that the world economy faces it is necessary to have the strong organization that is ready to work in close cooperation with the representatives of the business community, governmental and legislative bodies of different countries to find the appropriate solutions. The ICC is the World Business Organization with the powerful representation in all business spheres that is capable of solving and solves such problems. Now Russia can also contribute to the common business and this unique possibility is provided by the participation in the ICC work.
The decision to establish the ICC department in Russia was made in Moscow at the meeting of the ICC management with E.M.Primakov, prime minister in February 1999. Such initiative is important for both the international business community and the Russian business interests. It shows the necessity of the Russian participation in the world economic system.
The establishment of the structural ICC Russian national committee gives many advantages to the Russian enterprises and organizations. The work of the ICC in Russia will allow:
To make the direct contacts with the most powerful representatives of all main directions of the international business;
To cover constantly and properly discuss at the international level the problems of the Russian business;
To participate in the drafting of the international standards and codes and also the business rules and business ethics;
To participate in the dialogue that the ICC has with the United Nations Organization and the main intergovernmental organizations on behalf of the private sector.
ICC Russian national committee
In 1999 in spite of the complicated post-crisis situation in the country the ICC appeared in Russia. The “godfathers” of the Russian national committee (RNC) were Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Evgeny Primakov and ICC President Adnan Cassar; at their meeting in February 1999 they acknowledged the expediency of its establishment. In April 2000 the session of the RNC founders was held and in May the ICC World Council unanimously confirmed the establishment of this committee and accepted Russia to the World Business Organization, affirming by this the joining of Russian business to the world business community.
Since July 2000 the RNC has been registered as the non-commercial partnership.
O.V.Deripaska, president of the Russian industrial group “Sibirsky Alyuminy”, was elected the chairman of the ICC Russian National Committee.
Though the RNC is relatively “young” it has already taken some measures to assist the integration of the Russian business into the world business community:
The commissions on the banking, financial services and insurance, telecommunications and electronic commerce are established and they actively work; they allow the representatives of the Russian business interests to get rapid information about the new developments of the international control in this spheres, to participate in these developments promoting the Russian point of view. The example of such promotion is the active work of the representatives of the member-banks of the RNC at the commission meeting on the drafting of new bank documents of the ICC in November 2000 in Istanbul;
It organized the translation into Russian, editions and distribution of Inñoterms 2000 and Commentaries to them, the rules of the Arbitration Court, the rules of the documentary letter of credit usage and other generally acknowledged documents of the ICC in the world practice (the information about Inñoterms 2000 edition – the 2nd for 6 months – is published in the “Vedomosti” – 24.01.01). Now our businessmen need not use incomplete and inaccurate translations and renderings of these documents and this sharply enhances the reliability and efficiency of the concluded international contracts;
The Russian representative to the ICC International Arbitration Court has been appointed;
In Moscow the seminars for the Russian businessmen on the methods of the practical use of the ICC documents incl. the order, terms and conditions of the services of the ICC Arbitration Court are organized. For example, the seminar on the peculiarities of the ICC International Arbitration was held; A.M. Whitesel, deputy chairman of the ICC Arbitration Court, took part in this seminar. A set of lectures and publications at the regional editions (Vologda, etc.) has been planned to explain the practical usage of Inkoterms to the regional business;
The group on the electronic commerce making the translation of high quality and informing the concerned companies and the governmental bodies about the approved abroad ICC documents on these issues is organized; and now it is especially urgent when the first legislations on the electronic commerce are prepared in the State Duma and the government.
The special web site on the base of the RNC for the Internet-conferences of the experts in these issues and also the common informational site providing information about the ICC developments in this sphere to all interested people are being organized.
December, 2000, in Moscow the RNC participated in the 6th International Conference of the Ministers of Economy, Industry and Trade of the Munster negotiating process “East–West” where Maria Livanos Cattaui, ICC Secretary General, acted as a mediator of one of the parts of the conference;
The RNC presented to the EU Commission the information conforming the market character of the Russian economy and arguing for the unsubstantiated usage of the discriminatory procedures to the Russian export goods;
The informational consultation work on the conditions and possible consequences of the joining WTO for the Russian business, the expansion of the European Union including the euro expansion, the possible consequences for the Russian export if the Republicans take the power in the USA and clarifying the position of the Russian business on these problems in the mass media is being organized;
The RNC representatives will set out their position at the summit conference “Russia, the International Economy and the World Trade Organization” that is organized in Moscow on the 30th March 2001 by Russia, the EU and the WTO;
The cooperation with the State Duma and the economic ministries on the business development incl. the preparation for the Russian joining the WTO is adjusted;
The cooperation with the ICC National committees in other countries is organized to exchange the information and promote the direct contacts of businessmen (for example, the contacts between the Russian businessmen with the representatives of the business community of Saudi Arabia are established; such meetings with the representatives of the business circles of the Lebanon and Finland are being organized).
The number of members of the RNC has risen for 6 months from 16 to 31 members in January 2001 (the list is adjoined). The number of companies and organizations cooperating with the RNC has been considerably grown.
International Chamber of Commerce
38 cours Albert 1er 75008 Paris FRANCE. Phone: 33-1 49 53 29 44.Fax: 33-1 49 53 29 38.E-mail: ibcc@iccwbo.org Web: www.iccwbo.org, www.worldchambers.com
Russian National Committee
Address: 17, Kotelnicheskaya Naberezhnaya, Moscow
Phone: (095) 720-5080, fax (095) 720-50-81.E-mail: iccadmin@iccwbo.org Web: www.iccwbo.org