The International Chamber of Commerce

Abstract

According to its constitution, the fundamental objective of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is ‘to further the development of an open world economy with the firm conviction that international commercial exchanges are conducive to both greater global prosperity and peace among nations’. This objective gives rise to three principal aims – the promotion of ‘international trade, services and investment, while eliminating obstacles and distortions to international commerce’; the promotion of ‘a market economy system based on the principle of free and fair competition among business enterprises’; and the fostering of the ‘economic growth of developed and developing countries alike, particularly with a view to better integrate all countries into the world economy’. 1 In other words, the ICC is an organisation whose actions are steeped in the liberal tradition of political economy. As such, it should come as no surprise that in the contemporary era it has been a staunch supporter of globalisation as a force for and source of both prosperity and peace. 2 On the other hand, the ICC has vehemently opposed protectionism of any sort, whether motivated by narrow economic interests or the satisfaction of wider societal needs and values. For this reason it has been critical of the failure of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to achieve concrete results during the Doha Development Round of negotiations. For this reason also it has not been convinced of the benefits of economic regionalism, although it has been at great pains to engage with regional projects such as the European Union. 3 The ICC’s aims are met via two main means – political advocacy and lobbying directed at national governments and at international organisations; and the provision of a range of practical services to business, including, for example, the International Court of Arbitration (ICA), ICC Commercial Crime Services and publications such as International Commercial Terms (Incoterms). 4 The relationship between these two sets of activities is quite clear, and is nowhere more