Number: RS22319
Title: The Berne Union: An Overview
Authors: James K. Jackson, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: The main role of the Berne Union and its affiliated group, the Prague Club, is to: work to facilitate cross-border trade by helping exporters mitigate risks through promoting internationally acceptable principles of export credit financing, strengthen the global financial structure, and facilitate foreign investments. Over the past decade, the growth and increased importance of global trade and financing have altered the agenda of the Berne Union from focusing primarily on concerns over country-specific political risk to concerns about global trade, international finance, global and regional security, and questions of business organization, civil society, transparency, and corporate responsibility. Congress, through its oversight of Eximbank and OPIC, as well as international trade and finance, has interests in the functioning of the Berne Union.
Pages: 5
Date: February 5, 2008