AEM Urges International Trade Treaty to cover off-road equipment.
Press Release Summary:
AEM urged that off-road equipment be included in international treaty facilitating export financing, helping small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers grow their export businesses. Expressing support for expansion of Cape Town Convention, AEM signed letters sent to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as well as secretary general of UNIDROIT. Treaty expansion (Fourth Protocol) would help increase exports by creating international standards for 4 specific areas.
Original Press Release:
AEM Urges International Trade Treaty to Cover Off-road Equipment
U.S. machinery exports would receive boost under proposed expansion of ‘Cape Town Convention’
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has joined with allied industry groups to urge inclusion of off-road equipment in an international treaty that facilitates export financing, which would help small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers grow their export businesses.
AEM signed letters sent to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the secretary general of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) expressing support for expansion of the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty that standardizes transactions involving moveable property. Also signing the letter were the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association and North American Equipment Dealers Association.
The treaty expansion, or Fourth Protocol, would help the off-road equipment manufacturing industry increase exports by creating international standards for:
• Registration of contracts of sale
• Security interests
• Leases and conditional sales contracts
• Legal remedies for default in financing agreements
“The off-road equipment industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of American workers, depends strongly on U.S. exports to fuel growth,” said AEM President Dennis Slater. “Small and medium-sized businesses often don’t have the financial backing that allows them to compete in the world’s fastest-growing economies. A Fourth Protocol of the Cape Town Convention would help these businesses more easily compete and grow their exports.”
UNIDROIT, which is a sponsoring group of the Cape Town Convention, will hold a Governing Council meeting in May 2013 to consider a Fourth Protocol. The treaty is termed Cape Town Convention in recognition of Cape Town, South Africa, the host city of the diplomatic conference in 2001 at which the treaty was concluded.
About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) - www.aem.org
AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace. AEM membership comprises more than 850 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide. AEM is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with offices in the world capitals of Washington, D.C.; Ottawa, Canada; and Beijing, China.
