Business Roundtable Statement on G8 Tokyo Business Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 17, 2008 – Business Roundtable today issued the following statement on the G8 Business Summit.

Harold McGraw III, chairman, Business Roundtable, and chairman, president and CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies:

“We commend the G8 Business Summit and global business leaders for their substantive work this week in Tokyo to develop a series of constructive, economic growth recommendations for government leaders around the world to consider.”

“Business Roundtable knows that the international economy presents our nation and others around the world with a number of challenges, but recognizes that the world economy also offers expanding economic opportunities for our citizens, communities and companies that we must embrace.” 

“To succeed in this environment, global business and policy leaders must continue to work together on pro-growth policies, including promoting innovation through support for education and research and development, and resisting protectionist sentiment while advancing an agenda that facilitates global trade.”

“We look forward to further discussion of these issues when the leaders of the G8 meet in July.”

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Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned $112 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2005. Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with $90 billion in annual research and development spending – nearly half of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

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