iF October DIGITAL September-October 2020 | Page 39

International Affairs Division INTERNATIONAL POLICY During the discussion, U.S.-Iraq Business Council President Steve Lutes announced the Council’s plans to organize a virtual U.S.-Iraq Economic Summit later this year. With the goal of strengthening the bilateral economic relationship across key sectors like energy, finance, healthcare, infrastructure, ICT, agriculture, this virtual event will bring together American and Iraqi stakeholders from the private sectors and both governments for high-level discussions and networking opportunities. The roundtable also featured an announcement by Council board member TRAC Development Group for a donation of 500,000 surgical masks to support Iraq’s ongoing response to COVID-19. EXIM Chair Kimberly Reed, and other high-ranking U.S. government officials. During the meeting, U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant welcomed the prime minister’s overarching message of reform with the goal of diversifying and opening Iraq’s economy to more U.S. investment and commercial activity. Following the discussion, several U.S. energy companies signed formal memoranda signaling their plans for new projects that will expand the bilateral economic relationship. The roundtable occurred on the occasion of the prime minister’s visit to Washington for a meeting with President Trump on August 20. The Prime Minister’s trip coincides with the second meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, for which the Council recently submitted a report comprised of input from our members that reflected the potential to grow the bilateral economic relationship and provided recommendations to make progress on some of the biggest challenges keeping companies from growing their commercial activities and investments in Iraq. For further information on the U.S.-Iraq Business Council, please contact Vice President of Middle East Affairs Steve Lutes ([email protected]). Chamber Comments on Proposed Labor Petition Guidance for USMCA The U.S. Chamber of Commerce submitted comments on August 15 to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in response to its solicitation for public comments on the “Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement Procedural Guidelines for Petitions Pursuant to the USMCA” published in the Federal Register. The USMCA established monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure iF Magazine | www.iFMagazine.net 39