ICC

[|International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)] was founded in 1919. The objective of the ICC is, according to its website, "to serve world business by promoting trade and investment, open markets for goods and services, and the free flow of capital". Through its various committees and commissions, the ICC works in areas spanning arbitration, banking, competition, e-business, Customs and trade regulations, financial services and insurance, taxation, trade policy, and transport and logistics. In these areas, the ICC undertakes research, and develops standards and guidelines that can be applied by the private sector worldwide. It is one of the largest representative business organizations in the world with hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries, spanning every sector of private enterprise. A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues. The UN, the [|World Trade Organization], and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through the ICC.

=Work related to trade facilitation= Many of the rules, standards and guidelines developed by the ICC have a trade facilitation impact. Relevant work includes the ICC Incoterms, the ICC Customs Guidelines, and the ICC Uniform Customs and Practices for Document Credits (UCP). The following committees/commissions of the ICC are of particular importance.
 * The Committee on Customs and Trade Regulation focuses on obstacles to trade related to Customs policies and procedures, and works on issues such as Customs reform, modernization, and transparent, simplified and harmonized Customs policies and procedures.
 * The Commission on Banking Technique and Practice is a leading global rule-making body for the banking industry, producing universally accepted rules and guidelines for international banking practice, notably letters of credit, and demand guarantees for bank-to-bank reimbursement. ICC rules on documentary credits; UCP 600 are recognized as the most successful privately drafted rules for trade ever developed.
 * The Commission on Commercial Law and Practice facilitates international trade and promotes a balanced self-regulatory and regulatory legal framework for international business-to-business transactions, by creating model contracts that facilitate trade between countries at all stages of development and between companies of all sizes and sectors.

=ICC instruments covered in this wiki=
 * ICC Customs Guidelines ||
 * ICC Incoterms ||
 * ICC Model International Sale Contract ||
 * ICC Recommendations on Mutual Recognition ||
 * ICC Rules of Conduct ||
 * ICC Uniform Customs and Practices for Document Credits (UCP) ||