AACCLA

AACCLA’s 24 American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) are independent, non-profit, business organizations based in 28 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Their primary objective is to promote trade and investment between their countries and the United States. Collectively, AmChams represent over 20,000 U.S. and local companies and executives managing the bulk of U.S. investment in the region. As members of AACCLA, AmChams are affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business federation in the world.

AACCLA serves as:

• a reliable source of information on regional trade and investment issues;
  
• a critical point of communication between the AMCHAMs, members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. government;
  
• a vehicle for companies based in the U.S. to reach one of the largest business federations in the hemisphere;
  
• a coordinator of face-to-face interaction between business and government leaders of the Western Hemisphere; and
  
• a resource for publications produced by the AMCHAMs, including: membership directories, business guides, investment profiles, and magazines.
  

AACCLA’s Mission
AACCLA’s mission is to promote trade and investment between the United States and the countries of the region through free trade, free markets, and free enterprise.

AACCLA’s Objectives

• Advance the Free Trade Area of the Americas
  
• Champion U.S. programs to boost trade and investment
  
• Build grassroots support in the U.S. for our trade and investment agenda
  
• Network the AMCHAMs through our communication tools
  
• Leverage our business network to ensure disaster preparedness
  

Policy

AACCLA is a strong advocate of policies that facilitate free trade and economic development in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The AACCLA Secretariat in Washington, DC serves as a liaison between the private sector and the U.S. Government and lobbies to improve trade relations within the hemisphere by:

• meeting with U.S. Congress members and congressional staff, Administration officials, and foreign government representatives;
• testifying before key U.S. congressional committees;
• hosting business conferences featuring key players on international trade;
• generating support from the U.S. business community; and
• providing research and analysis for educational purposes.

Program Of Work Summary

This section provides the 25 policy action items that make up AACCLA’s 2016 Program of Work in our seven core priorities:

Trade

• Advocate on the key trade-related issues of the hemisphere, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Bilateral Tax Treaties (BTT), Services of the Caribbean (SOCA), Northern Triangle Financing, and the Brazil-U.S. Economic Partnership Agreement, and look for ways to engage nontraditional trading partners.
• Work to establish a concrete proposal that would solidify AACCLA’s formal position on the TPP.
• Share BTT background letters and information with Leadership Circle members.

Trade Facilitation

• Advocate for full implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade (WTO) Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
• Leverage the tools created by Global Express Association and the Latin American Association of Express Delivery Companies network to advocate for the importance of the TFA.
• Seek to leverage the resources created by the Global Trade Alliance and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to drive forward WTO Trade Facilitation projects.
• Share best practices for ways each country can improve the training of customs officials, including sharing the experiences of AmCham Costa Rica and AmCham Mexico.

Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation

• Ensure that all advocacy related to IP utilizes and highlights the importance of innovation.
• Gather and disseminate information regarding successful IP programs implemented by AmChams, including AmCham Panama, AmCham Costa Rica, and AmCham Mexico.
• Engage the network of AmChams as the U.S. Chamber prepares its Special 301 report submission.
• Work with the AmChams to build country-specific innovation fact sheets to help empower finance and trade ministers.

Contributions of U.S. Business

• Reinforce the current corporate social responsibility (CSR) work being done in the region by continuing the partnership with the U.S. Chamber Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, while ensuring the timeline fits with AmCham programs.
• Help coordinate CSR activities by adding greater recognition of CSR projects through monthly media outreach, especially highlighting work done by Leadership Circle members.
• Share AmCham best practices, including the event experience hosted by AmCham Mexico and the program designed by AmCham Venezuela.

 Rule of Law

• Launch the 2nd Rule of Law Dashboard Report and provide one-pagers to the relevant AmChams.
• Coordinate a launch event of the Dashboard in Washington, D.C., with the relevant AmChams so that they, too, can create local momentum.
• Build a network of third-party validators for the report.
• Identify ways to work with Transparency International and other institutions to highlight the high standards by which U.S. companies operate abroad.
• Advocate for increased transparency in government procurement processes and in government spending.

Cross-Border Data Flows

• Share best practices and talking points, especially from the experiences of AmCham Chile and AmCham Brazil, regarding forced localization legislation.
• Continue to ensure that the U.S. Chamber’s Center for Global Regulatory Cooperation and the Chamber’s policy experts are available and responsive to the AmChams as needed.
• Work with Leadership Circle members to create a strategy paper that AmChams can use to effectively engage in the cross-border data flows conversation.

Health Care

• Design a policy platform and best practices manual for use by the AmChams, drawing Leadership Circle member expertise.
• Develop an event series that can be replicated in the region that builds greater awareness around building a partnership across sectors and across government.
• Work toward formalizing a partnership with the PAHO Foundation.