The FINANCIAL — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on May 12 hosted the 2015 Global Supply Chain Summit: Connecting Businesses to Global Markets, an event showcasing the critical link between global supply chains and business’ ability to be economically competitive.
“Over the past 20 years, global supply chains have changed the way we do business, and they are now essential to enhancing the competitiveness of any business,” said Ann Beauchesne, senior vice president for National Security and Emergency Preparedness at the U.S. Chamber. “With rapid globalization we see that almost 60 percent of international trade is in intermediate products, which means that operating an efficient supply chain is essential to competing on the global stage.”
Keynote speakers and panel participants at the 2015 Global Supply Chain Summit highlighted the importance of global supply chains, outlined the issues that impact their efficiency, and created a dialogue for experts to chart a path forward and find solutions that break down the barriers to supply chains, according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“There are still major barriers at global borders that inhibit the free flow of goods, whether it is global customs, security, regulatory, infrastructure, or even corruption issues. These barriers hold back economic growth,” Beauchesne said. “Reducing red tape and unnecessary barriers in the global supply chain will decrease the cost of trade, improve purchasing power, and make our small and medium sized companies more competitive.”
Beauchesne was joined by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, U.S. Small Business Administration Administer Maria Contreras-Sweet, U.S. Customer and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, Representative Charles Boustany (LA-3), and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan Bruce Hirsh, among others.
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