Last month, ICC delivered a statement on behalf of world business to President Bush, who is hosting the Group of Eight summit at Sea Island, Georgia on June 8-10.  The statement was 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.

At the May ministerial meeting in Paris of the 30-nation OECD, representatives of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) warned governments against using the ongoing outsourcing debate as a justification for protectionism and government interference into the economy.

Despite increased security, crime is a continuing menace to international trade. Cargo fraud, banking swindles, product counterfeiting, cybercrime, even ship hijackings and piracy are all on the rise.

Ten years after the North American Free Trade Agreement came into force, where do the U.S., Canada and Mexico stand? Have the hopes (and fears) engendered by NAFTA come to pass? What have been the agreement’s unanticipated consequences? And what, if anything, should the three nations do to deepen their partnership?