Abstract:

The Chamber of Commerce of the United States has matured into the largest lobbying group in Washington. Formed in April of 1912 at the request of President William Howard Taft (1857-1930), the Chamber's commitment to be the voice of business is well documented. The records contain articles of incorporation, bylaws, resolutions and minutes of annual meetings. Presentations to Congress, speeches by members, and conferences hosted by the Chamber. Numerous publications give insight into the concerns facing American businesses in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Abstract:

Ernest Munster (1885-1965) was an attorney and organized Lawyers International Corporation in 1930, with its office in New York City. Munster, the company's president, continued his association with the company through at least the mid-1940s. The Ernest Munster papers reflect his work which necessitated his familiarity with international trade and incorporation laws and taxation policies. The collection primarily consists of records Munster maintained during his years as president of Lawyers International Corporation, with some papers dating back to his employment with International Corporation Company in the late 1930s.

Scope and Contents: The Government Regulation, Competition, and Small Manufacturing Department material is arranged into three subseries: Committees and subcommittees, Internal files, and Subject files.The Committees and subcommittees subseries contains mailings, meeting material, member lists, minutes, and agendas from various committees and subcommittees. The material is arranged by committee or subcommittee and then chronologically. The Corporate Governance Subcommittee concerned itself with the Securities and Exchange Commission, legislation seeking to federalize corporate laws, imposing of federal chartering or minimum standards of corporate organization and structure, and legislation increasing levels of corporate exposure to criminal liabilities.The Corporate Finance and Management Committee dealt primarily with corporate governance and issues affecting manufacturers, including activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leveraged buyout and tender offer activities, reform of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Commission Act (RICO), and the U.S. Sentencing Commission.The FTC/Antitrust Subcommittee focused on the Federal Trade Commission activity in its promulgation of trade regulation rules and its antitrust activity, as well as the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and antitrust legislation.The Regulatory Reform Subcommittee examined ways to reduce the increasing burden of federal regulation of business. It sought to develop initiatives to reduce duplication, lower costs, and increase productivity through regulation reform, as well as develop a program to make the public aware of the problems associated with increased government regulation and the benefits of an open, competitive market place and to ease the compliance burden of existing regulatory agencies and procedures.The Regulation and Competition Committee was responsible for legislation and regulations affecting antitrust laws, transportation, telecommunications policy, and the broad scope of regulatory issues. Under this committee were subcommittees dealing with competition, transportation, and telecommunications.The Internal files subseries is composed predominately of correspondence from Government Regulation, Competition, and Small Manufacturing Department staff members. Also included in this subseries is material related to small and medium manufacturers leadership conferences held annually....

Abstract:

The Intellectual Property Committee (IPC) was formed in 1986 as an ad-hoc coalition comprised of major U.S. corporations, such as IBM, Pfizer, and DuPont, to foster international support to improve and protect patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. The Committee's efforts resulted in the 1994 passage of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement at the Uruguay Round, thus introducing intellectual property law into the international trading system. The records of the IPC include administrative files and correspondence, subject files, committee proposals, meeting agendas and summaries - both domestic and international - as well as reports and publications.

Abstract:

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) was established on May 28, 1914 to coordinate the foreign trade activities of the United States. The convention appointed thirty-five delegates to serve as charter members of the NFTC, with James A. Farrell (1863-1943), then-President of U.S. Steel, the new organization's first chairman. Records chronicle U.S. corporate policy toward the most pressing issues of foreign trade in the twentieth century.

Abstract:

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is a business membership organization that advocates for international and public policy that support an open world trading system. This collection consists of archived captures of the official website of the National Foreign Trade Council (URL: http://www.nftc.org/). The website has information about the NFTC by-laws, the board of directors, staff, and membership. There are webpages that feature publications, recent events and activities, information about the NFTC stance on various issues such as trade policy, tax policy, international human resources, visa policy, sanctions and export controls, and innovation.

Abstract :

The National Industrial Conference Board, later renamed The Conference Board, formed in 1916 as a response by the business community to continued labor unrest and growing public criticism. Their records are an important source for understanding the business community's response to most political and socioeconomic issues. NOTE: The box inventory for this finding aid is not yet online, a full inventory is available onsite in the Reading Room only.