Contact: Madonna Jarrett
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Director, Global PR & CEO Communications
+1 212 492 3738

Berlin, April 25, 2007—At today’s first-ever G-8 Business Summit, the chairman of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) William G. Parrett, also CEO of Deloitte, urged the leaders of the Group of Eight nations to maintain their commitment to the open flow of international investment across borders, realizing countries still need to address local issues such as national security.

"Governments need to take action at the highest level to avoid investment protectionism if we want to encourage the free flow and benefits of international investment," said Mr. Parrett, who represented the United States in the G-8 business preparatory meeting, which was organized by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).  "They need to affirm, in word and practice, their commitment to open, cross border investment."

The Berlin summit brought together the heads of top business federations from Germany, which hosts this year's G-8 leaders summit in Heilgendamm this June and the other G-8 nations along with the trans-European business federation Business Europe. The business leaders signed the "G8 Business Declaration: Joint Statement of the G8 Business Organizations," which will be presented to the G8 Government leaders, proposing ideas to address trade and investment issues, innovation challenges such as intellectual property rights and climate protection. They were scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later today.

Investment protectionism has been on the rise both in the G-8 nations and elsewhere, and curtailing such measures was among the top priorities spelled out by the business leaders in a joint statement. Parrett pointed to a number of recent measures that he said needlessly interfered with foreign mergers, acquisitions and greenfield investment under the guise of security concerns.

Parrett said that business recognized that the world had changed dramatically since 9/11 and that governments must pay more attention to national security issues. "But a legitimate concern for national security needs to be balanced against the benefits of allowing foreign investment," he said. "Blocking a foreign takeover for reasons of national security should be an extremely rare occurrence and should be taken as a measure of last resort, only when all other rules or tools that are designed to protect national security are not adequate or effective. Further, blocking international investment should not be used as a means to give unreasonable commercial advantage for domestic businesses."

Parrett called upon the G-8 governments to support annual updates by the OECD of measures to restrict investment on grounds of national security and the extension of this study to the use of informal barriers to investment. He urged that the business community be fully engaged in helping identify such informal barriers.

The business leaders focused on a number of other issues they considered required attention by their governments at the Heilgendamm summit. These included completion of the WTO's Doha Round, fostering intellectual property rights, enhancing efficient capital markets, strengthening environmentally friendly technologies and facilitating private sector participation in African development. 

Peter M. Robinson, president of USCIB, drew attention to the need for immediate action by the G-8 governments to protect intellectual property rights and stamp out product piracy. "Right now, the issue has moved far beyond movies and music," he said. "Nowadays no industry, and no country, is immune from counterfeiting and piracy. Government action is urgently needed at the highest levels to stamp out this scourge."

About USCIB
The United States Council for International Business promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment.  Its membership includes more than 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion.  As the American affiliate of several leading global business groups, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, its member firms, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is an organization of member firms around the world devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice, focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 140 countries. With access to the deep intellectual capital of approximately 135,000 people worldwide, Deloitte delivers services in four professional areas—audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services—and serves more than 80 percent of the world's largest companies, as well as large national enterprises, public institutions, locally important clients and successful, fast-growing global growth companies. Services are not provided by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Verein, and, for regulatory and other reasons, certain member firms do not provide services in all four professional areas.

As a Swiss Verein (association), neither Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Each of the member firms is a separate and independent legal entity operating under the names "Deloitte," "Deloitte & Touche," "Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu" or other related names.