IADC, BROA detail MLC implementation issues
IADC and the British Rig Owners Association (BROA) recently jointly responded to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006. IADC and BROA, the trade association for British owned and managed rigs operating on the UK Continental Shelf, wrote in support of prior comments submitted by the UK Chamber of Shipping and addressed potential impacts of MLC ratification and implementation within the UK. The joint letter included annexes that addressed:
• Crew accommodation regulations;
• Food and catering regulations;
• Medical care regulations;
• Shipowner liability; and
• Other comments on MLC and MODU operations.
The groups’ concerns are derived from the fact that MODUs are subject not only to their flag State’s maritime regulations and maritime enforcement but also to the laws of the nation on the continental shelf of which they operate. These regulations can create conflict between requirements of local land-based regulators and those of the MLC/flag State.
Trans-Pacific Partnership has IADC support for investment in services
IADC was among 22 organizations that wrote to US Trade Rep. Ron Kirk in June in strong support for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that would aim to liberalize cross-border trade and investment in services.
The benefits of raising the level of trade and investment in services across the Pacific has the potential to ripple through the manufacturing and agricultural sectors as well, given the “TPP includes disciplines and market-access commitments that support the services sector, building upon high standards achieved through existing bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between the US and its trading partners,” the letter stated. The services sector accounts for 70% of world economic output and 70% of employment.
The organizations suggest the TPP should address:
• High standards achieved in services, financial services, investment and intellectual property in recent FTAs;
• New and increasing challenges in the international economy, which have the potential to distort trade and investment and undermine the competitive opportunities for US enterprises;
• Express delivery services to strengthen and improve previous FTAs, maintaining standards and not diluting them;
• Cross-border information flows that do not mandate the use of local computing infrastructure and that digital products are not subject to customs duties and fees; and
• Rules to prohibit regulations requiring local content for service providers, as well as prohibit requirement that business services be provided locally.
TPP members accounted for more than $823 billion in worldwide services exports in 2010.
