Where Europeans & Americans Connect to do Business |
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A Message from the President |
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Alan Sutin, President EACC Florida |
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EACC is a Connector
We open doors for our members across our chapter network on both sides of the Atlantic and we keep you informed on the relevant issues affecting your business.
Members of the EACC network enjoy:
♦ Access to our network of high-level business executives & our unique referral service
♦ Invitations to exclusive seminars & a direct exchange with transatlantic experts
♦ Visibility for your organization & opportunities to showcase your thought-leadership
♦ The ability to make a difference & actively engage in the Trans-Atlantic business dialogue
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UPCOMING EACC FLORIDA EVENTS |
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Thursday October 29, 2020
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY’S GLOBAL CHALLENGES – FINDING SOLUTIONS TOGETHER
Are you in the hospitality industry? Or in travel and transportation? Do you want to be part of a transatlantic conversation with your peers? Discuss how your company is handling the crisis? Exchange about experiences and solutions and network with like-minded professionals? And perhaps make a useful connection or two with a potential client or partner across our transatlantic network or right here in Florida?
Join us on Thursday October 29 for a series of table-topics on general themes of interest to the hospitality and travel industries and sit down with a small group of like-minded professionals for some networking and a conversation on issues of concern to you.
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Tuesday October 6, 2020
Pre-Pandemic studies have shown that in the United States there will be a shortage of 3.4 million workers in the next 10 years. This number might be exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis on the US economy and the medium-to-long term effects of school and college closures and distance-learning on America’s future workforce. Advanced manufacturing is already confronted to an underqualified workforce and hundreds of thousands of unfulfilled jobs.
Looking to the world-class benchmark standards of the dual education systems in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which blend academic theory with practical hands-on learning, apprenticeship programs are increasingly part of the work-force development solution in the United States in particular in the high-tech industries.
From the Space Coast of Florida to the manufacturing hubs of Ohio and The Carolinas, hear from some of the world leaders in technical education and from global companies that have successfully integrated these innovative apprenticeship programs into their work-force development.
This program will be graced by the presence of the Consul General of Germany in Florida, in honor of the German Presidency of the European Union.
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
● Is implementing a German style apprentice program in the US difficult bearing in mind the differences between the US and German educational systems?
● What type of industries / companies are they most effective in?
● What does a “German-style” apprenticeship in the US look like?
● How do they differ with other types of apprenticeships?
● Which educational partners are necessary to make apprenticeships a success?
● What role do apprenticeships play in helping companies attract and retain a diverse workforce especially in the high-tech industries?
SPEAKERS:
● Andreas Siegel, General Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for Florida – Miami (FL)
● Andreas Brockman, Head of Technical Training and Education USA - Festo Didactic - Mason (OH)
● Robert Ellis, HR Team Lead Supervisor Training and Apprenticeship - ZF Group – Gray Court (SC)
● Kai Schmidt, Director Human Resources & Facilities – Airbus OneWeb Satellites and Chairman and Co-Founder of the SCCAP – Merritt Island (FL)
● Todd Schwartz, Executive Director - EACC Cincinnati - Moderator
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DATE/TIME
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
11.00 AM - 12.00 PM EDT I 5.00 PM CET - 6.00 PM CET
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LOCATION
Your Computer or Connected Device
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EU Open Strategic Autonomy and the Transatlantic Trade Relationship - Hear from Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade, European Commission about the new European concept of "Open Strategic Autonomy" here.
OECD | Countries have responded decisively to the COVID-19 crisis, but face significant fiscal challenges ahead - Governments have taken unprecedented fiscal action in response to the COVID-19 crisis, but countries will need to support economic recovery in the face of significantly increasing fiscal challenges, according a new OECD report. Find the report here.
European Commission I Proposals to make EU-U.S. agreement on tariffs effective - The European Commission published a proposal to scrap duties on certain imports to the EU. In return, the United States will reduce its duties on certain EU exports to the U.S. market. This could entail a reduction of U.S. tariffs on EU exports worth some $160 million a year including prepared meals, crystal glassware, surface preparations, propellant powders, lighters and lighter parts. On its side, the EU will eliminate tariffs on imports of U.S. live and frozen lobster products worth some $111 million. Read more.
Brexit has arrived: Where are we now? What happens next? - The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on 1 February 2020. The two sides are now negotiating what form future relations will take. Here is the most important information. Read more.
Coronavirus: EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to Peru and €30.5 million for Latin America and the Caribbean - As part of the EU's global coronavirus response, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of three flights to Lima, Peru is delivering more than 4 tonnes of life-saving materials to humanitarian organisations active in the country. At the same time, the EU has announced €30.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020. Read more.
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EU State of the Union Address to the European Parliament by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - Read it here in its original trilingual version.
IMF | Trade as a Tool for an Efficient Recovery - A recent Working Paper examines the effect of trade liberalization using a large firm-level dataset covering about 400,000 firms in 83 emerging and developing economies from 2000 to 2017. The Paper finds that reducing tariffs lead to significant declines in markups of about 4 percent in the five years after trade barriers are reduced.This study also finds that when compared to other policy actions, trade liberalization appears to be a particularly potent tool for mitigating market power and has significant synergies with real sector reforms. Read more.
EU Customs Union: New Action Plan Announced - The Action Plan includes includes a number of initiatives in areas such as risk management, managing e-commerce, the promotion of compliance and customs authorities acting as one. Read more.
EU-Caribbean I GSP Hub Project launched under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) - Of particular interest to the Caribbean nations, the aim is to increase the use of GSP, by bringing new EU investment, encouraging European companies to import from the beneficiary countries, and promoting international sustainability standards. Read more.
European Commission Appeals EUCJ's Judgement of July 2020 on the Apple State aid case in Ireland - Read more
US I Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement - The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. Read more.
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EACC Florida
MEMBERS and PARTNERS INSIGHTS
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Executive Compensation Considerations Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. This article examines the considerations companies must bear in mind when addressing executive compensation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They note that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach for handling executive compensation, companies should understand the legal ramifications for any modification of executive compensation programs to account for the current climate. Read further.
Compliments Cozen O'Connor
Finding Value in EMEA. For private market investors, one of the ways to consider unlocking value is to see what is happening in Europe’s renewable energy sector, which ties in closely to the European Green Deal; an ambitious initiative that aims to transition the EU to a low-carbon economy. One of the central goals of the Green Deal is to achieve bloc-wide zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a 50 to 55 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. Read further
Compliments TMF Group
Dutch 2021 Tax Bill and Real Estate in The Netherlands. On Budget Day, 15 September 2020, a number of tax measures were published in the Dutch 2021 Tax Plan that could have an impact on real estate investments in the Netherlands. The proposed bills include some important changes in respect of real estate transfer tax (RETT), corporate income tax (CIT), Box III, and the landlord levy. The various proposals will have effect as of 1 January 2021, with some beginning 1 January 2022, if approved by the Dutch Parliament. Read further
Compliments Greenberg Traurig
Europe’s Post-Pandemic Prospects - Lockdowns Depressed Demand. Now the Economy’s Supply Side Is Threatened. Europe is emerging from the first phase of the pandemic – full lockdown – to a ‘new normal’, where almost all the economy has re-opened, even if people still face social-distancing and some businesses face capacity limits. But after the direct impact of the lockdowns, a range of lingering effects will keep economic activity below where it would have been without coronavirus. Read further.
Compliments HSBC
Powering The Magic with Renewable Energy. This year, Disney brought online a new 270-acre, 50+-megawatt solar facility near Walt Disney World Resort, built in collaboration with the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Origis Energy USA. This facility generates enough power from the sun to operate two of their four theme parks in Orlando. This installation joins the popular “Hidden Mickey” solar array at Walt Disney World – a five-megawatt installation in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Read further
Compliments Origis Energy
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YOUNG VOICES FROM THE FUTURE |
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Every month, the EACC Florida Newsletter features a young person - a student, an artist, an entrepreneur - whose identity, vision or project illustrates the vibrancy of Florida's transatlantic community. If you would like to suggest someone, please contact us HERE
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Scylla Blervacq I Nicole Phocas
Advocating for Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Divestment
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Nicole was born in South Africa from Greek parents. She lived in Zimbabwe for the first four years of her life before moving to Austin (TX) with her family. She moved to Florida as a student and currently works as a legal assistant in Miami after graduating from the University of Miami with a BA in Political Science and International Studies. Like many from the Greek diaspora, Nicole has dual US-Greek citizenship, speaks Greek and has kept strong links with her cultural background and family in Greece.
Scylla was born in Brussels (Belgium) from a Belgian father and a French-American mother. She grew up in the Capital of Europe and moved to Miami with her parents in 2017. Scylla is fluent in French, Dutch and English. She is a Senior at the University of Miami majoring in Health Sciences with minors in Ecosystem Science and Policy, Public Health and Chemistry and plans to go to Medical School.
Like many young people from GenerationZ, Nicole and Scylla are deeply concerned about the environmental state of our planet and the risks faced by the place they call “home”: 600,000 people in South Florida face “extreme” risk from sea level rise, with nearly $350 billion in real estate below projected sea levels state-wide - not to mention heat exposure, mosquito-borne diseases, hurricane damage, and habitat loss. This is why, they both got involved in The Climate Reality Project, a global organization founded in 2006 by former Vice-President Al Gore, and devoted to solving the climate crisis.
Nicole established The Climate Reality Project Chapter at the University of Miami in 2017 and became its first President. Scylla became Co-President in 2018. The UM chapter recruited almost 400 members over 3 years. They hosted a variety of events with high-level speakers such as former South Miami Mayor Stoddard and started engaging with organizations such as the Miami-Dade League of Women Voters, the CLEO Institute and the Cortada Project led by Miami-based and world-renown artist and sea-level rise advocate, Xavier Cortada.
Inspired by similar initiatives at Harvard, the University of California System, Georgetown and Michigan State University, the Chapter launched its flagship activity - a fossil fuel divestment campaign - in 2019. It calls on the University of Miami to show leadership by freezing any new investments in the fossil fuel industry and fully divesting from these companies, including public equities as well as corporate bonds, within five years. A petition started by the group acquired more than 1100 signatures. The two students spoke up at public events such as Miami’s Climate Symposium 2020 and met with some members of the University's administration to discuss the prospect of full fossil fuel divestment.
In spite of the impact of the Pandemic, Nicole and Scylla kept the Climate Reality Chapter and dialogue with the UM Administration and other stakeholders alive. As they move on with their professional and academic lives, a new leadership will follow in their footsteps - continuing to raise awareness about climate change, sea-level rise, Miami's unique challenges, and the historic opportunity the University of Miami has of showing leadership in this area as well.
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Together with its sister chapters, EACC Florida is part of a growing and highly dynamic transatlantic network reaching over 10,000 executives in the US and across Europe. With over 750 members, the EACC is a valuable resource for any size business. If you would like to get involved, let us know.
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EACC Florida Founding Members |
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