ICC is a world business organization and only representative body that speaks with authority on behalf of enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world. ICC was founded in 1919.
ICC promotes an open international trade and investment system and the market economy. Its conviction that trade is a powerful force for peace and prosperity dates from the organization’s origins early in the last century. The small group of far-sighted business leaders who founded ICC called themselves “the merchants of peace”.
Because its member companies and associations are themselves engaged in international business, ICC has unrivalled authority in making rules that govern the conduct of business across borders. Although these rules are voluntary, they are observed in countless thousands of transactions every day and have become part of the fabric of international trade.
ICC also provides essential services, foremost among them the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the world’s leading arbitral institution.
Within a year of the creation of the United Nations, ICC was granted consultative status at the highest level with the UN and its specialized agencies.
Business leaders and experts drawn from the ICC membership establish the business stance on broad issues of trade and investment policy as well as on vital technical and sectoral subjects. These include financial services, information technologies, telecommunications, marketing ethics, the environment, transportation, competition law and intellectual property, among others.
Today it groups thousands of member companies and associations from over 130 countries. National committees in the world’s major capitals coordinate with their membership to address the concerns of the business community and to convey to their governments the business views formulated by ICC.
