Background Guide - TJHSST Activities

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TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Fortune 500 Summit
Thomas Jefferson High School Model United Nations Conference
TechMUN 2015
High School Specialized Agency
Chair: Rhea Sharma
Chair: Amir Refai
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Fortune 500 committee at
TechMUN 2015! My name is Rhea Sharma
and I will be one of your chairs for this
committee. The secretariat has worked so
hard to make this conference a memorable
experience for all of the participants. As your
chairs, we will do our best to make that come
alive through stimulating discussion, ideas,
and collaboration. I am really excited for the
fun-filled and stimulating weekend that is
coming up in April and I can’t wait to meet
all of you soon!
A little bit about myself: I am currently a senior at Thomas Jefferson. I started doing Model UN
during my freshman year of high school, although I have been interested in it ever since I took a
Model UN and International Relations course over the summer of 2008. This is my fourth time
staffing at TechMUN and it’s been an incredible experience every year! During my free time, I
love to play sports such as field hockey and lacrosse. I also enjoy volunteering at the hospital,
dancing, singing, and watching football. My favorite subjects are biology and history, although
they always seem to change depending on the year!
Our topics for this conference will be the Economic Integration and Global Multilayer Trade
Systems Security and Usage of Customer Information. We believe that these intriguing topics
will lead to various thoughtful and creative solutions. Hopefully you are as excited about them as
we are!
During this conference, we expect a high level of respect for other delegates, maturity in
discussion, and appropriate behavior. That being said, we are all going to have a fantastic and
enriching time in committee! We encourage you to do further research as you prepare for
TechMUN. Please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions about the conference or these topics.
You can email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
whenever you would like to, and be sure to introduce yourself to the dais when TechMUN
arrives! Good luck until April and see you soon.
Yours truly,
Rhea Sharma
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Dear Delegates,
Consider this a second welcome to Fortune
500 committee at TechMUN 2015! My name is
Amir Refai and I am going to be your other chair for
this committee. I am extremely excited for
TechMUN and will try my absolute best to ensure
that this committee will be intriguing, productive and
cooperative.
To provide some details about myself: I am
also a senior at Thomas Jefferson. I have been a part
of MUN since middle school and have enjoyed every
conference I have been to. The mix of
communication, innovation, and collaboration is something I have grown to love. This is my
third TechMUN as a staff member and I can certainly say that your TechMUN secretariat are
working very hard to make this year a complete success. As for other aspects about myself, I
enjoy basketball, football, and a handful of video games. Shows and movies are also a passion of
mine. So please feel free to talk to me about any of these things or anything else!
This committee, as you may know, covers the most influential and wealthy companies
present in the United States, known collectively as the Fortune 500. These companies span the
entirety of the industry, from well known electronics companies as Apple, to more obscure but
equally powerful pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer. Every delegate will be will be
representing the Chief Executive Officer of their respective countries.
As you already know the topics, I will say on the matter that both of our topics are
primed for discussion and will require a large amount of collaboration within industries as well
as cross-industry. As delegates, you are expected to research in depth the actions your company
has taken regarding these matters as well as the resources, relations, and influences that they may
be able to use for resolution.
We hope to see insightful discussion that produces impactful resolution! Feel free to
contact me at [email protected] or [email protected] with any
questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Amir Refai
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Topic A: Economic Integration and Global Multilayer Trade Systems
History/Background
The global trade system began with the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT)
in 1947, which sought to open trade by removing quotas and decreasing tariffs for trades within
the agreeing nations. The primary goal of this agreement was to allow for trade without the
discrimination of countries. This policy enforced the alignment of trade conditions within the
entire multilateral system. In addition, the GATT required trade negotiations at the request of
another country.
As the Doha round continues, several recent obstacles have slowed down new trade
reforms. Politics in the United States and Europe has been dominated by trade restrictions
focused on China, a country with one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world.
Several of these restrictions have been in regards to the policy known as “dumping”, which is the
process of selling exports of a product for less than the domestic prices that the company charges
( "Anti-dumping, Subsidies, Safeguards"). Anti-dumping policies have hit East Asian markets
with increased frequency, especially against the textile, apparel, and footwear industries. Along
the same lines of anti-dumping policy, domestic investment is going into developing national
businesses to compete locally (Schott 4). These nationalistic tendencies from the public and
officials in addition to possible retaliation by East Asian entities threatens the Doha discussion
that continues.
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
While global markets do provide the opportunities for growth, they also bring obstacles.
With the expansion of companies to new markets, the restrictions and stringent policies of other
countries expand to relevant companies as well. In addition, a more global market leads to global
competition and the demand for a product falls to the country offering the lowest prices. This can
lead to revenue and price erosion. Companies must follow the demand and with that the price for
the competing products (Kehoe 5-6).
Past Actions of the United Nations
The years following, the GATT was revised in seven rounds, the most liberal of which
was the Uruguay round, which reduced industrial tariffs by an average of 40 percent, reduced
agricultural subsidies, and created the World Trade Organization (WTO), a greater U.N.
organization to adopt and enforce the policies set by the GATT (Britannica “GATT”). The
creation of this organization also forced the problem of third world countries using the agreement
to become “free riders”, forcing them to take the same obligations as the other countries (Schott
2).
Questions To Consider:
1. What untapped markets are available and how can they be reached?
2. How can international trades be freed from restrictions while protecting domestic
industry?
3. How can prolific regional agreements be expanded to a global scale?
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
4. What can be done to protect revenue and price loss as result of globalization?
5. How can industry facilitate global trade?
Works Cited
"General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) | International Relations." Encyclopedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
"Anti-dumping, Subsidies, Safeguards: Contingencies, Etc." WTO. World Trade Organization.
Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Schott, Jeffery. "The Future of the Multilateral Trading System in a Multi-polar World." Iie.com.
Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
"The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades." WTO. World Trade Organization. Web. 22 Feb.
2015.
Kehoe, William. "REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION:
IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS." ABEWEB. Academy of Business Education.
Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Topic B: Security and Usage of Customer Information
History/Background
In the past, the security of provided customer information has been a problem for small
and large businesses. This issue extends to any possible threats of hazards to the security or
integrity of customer information, especially with unauthorized access to these detailed records
(FINRA). The most common form of fraud is the hacking of databases with customer
information. Generally, credit card information as well as social security numbers can be hacked
from these databases (The New York Times). Many large-scale scandals and frauds have
demonstrated this major issue. For example, companies such as Target, Home Depot, and
JPMorgan have sustained major data breaches in their systems.
In 2013, an attack on Target led to the information of 40 million cardholders and 70
million others being stolen. In 2014, Home Depot suffered a loss of private records from 56
million credit and debit cardholders in the United States and Canada (USA Today). The hackers
in this situation used a vendor’s stolen log-on credentials to break into the company’s computer
network and installed malware that stole payment data as well as email addresses.
Previous laws have been enacted to prevent the practice of harvesting information from
customers. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act requires “financial institutions to ensure the
security and confidentiality of types of personal information” (FTC Facts), such as names,
addresses, phone numbers, bank and credit card account numbers, income and credit histories,
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
and Social Security numbers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also issued the Safeguards
Rule, which “requires financial institutions under FTC jurisdiction to have measures in place to
keep customer information secure” (FTC Facts). Cybercrime results in over a trillion dollars a
year lost in online fraud, identity theft, and intellectual property. Millions of people around the
world, many businesses, and the governments of all countries are also affected (ECOSOC).
Security and usage information is vital to protect because this increases the confidence that
customers have in the companies they purchase from and invest in.
Past Actions of the United Nations
The issue of customer information security has not been taken lightly by the United
Nations. There have been three Groups of Governmental Experts (GGE) that have taken the role
of analyzing existing or potential cyber security threats, as well as cooperative measures to
address them. These groups of experts have issued reports starting in 2010. When the Russian
Federation first introduced a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly in 1998, the
information security was placed on the UN agenda and has not left it since (UNODA).
Additionally, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has been
involved in cyber and customer protection. The Council held a special event on “Cybersecurity
and Development” in 2011, in which many policies regarding the protection of customer
information were discussed. The Economic and Social Council has been in close relations with
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) to combat this problem (ECOSOC).
Many guidelines have been set by the United Nations to prevent against the breaching of
private customer information. These relate to the governments and their formulation and
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
implementation of standards at the national and international levels for customer safety and
privacy (ESA).
Question to Consider
In this committee, we are looking for collaboration between the leaders of the companies in order
to establish effective solutions regarding customer protection. Many facets of this issue have to
be considered, including the controversial role of government in the private sector.
1. What can each company do to regulate their databases in order to prevent hacking and
breaching of their own customers’ information?
2. Companies have products and incentives that are interrelated with others. How can
different industries collaborate in this summit to develop better strategies for the
protection of their consumers?
3. In what ways can valuable strategies be implemented in order to create more stable
databases that are highly resistant against hacking?
4. How can companies deal with the aftermath of a major customer information breach?
5. What resources should be provided to households after their accounts have been
compromised, if this persists? Should the burden fall entirely on the individual
companies?
6. To what extent should the government be involved in the private sector in terms of
setting regulations and compliance for data and information security?
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
Works Cited
"Cybersecurity: A global issue demanding a global approach." United Nations: Department of
Economic and Social Affairs
<http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/ecosoc/cybersecurity-demands-globalapproach.html>.
"Developments In The Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of
International Security." United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
<http://www.un.org/disarmament/topics/informationsecurity/>.
"Financial Institutions and Customer Information: Complying with the Safeguards Rule." FTC
Facts for Business
<http://www.consumer.sc.gov/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/Identity%20Theft%20infor
mation/ftc_safeguards_rule.pdf>.
FINRA Industry Professionals
<http://www.finra.org/Industry/Issues/CustomerInformationProtection/>.
Silver-Greenberg, Jessica, Matthew Goldstein, and Nicole Perlroth. "JPMorgan Chase Hacking
Affects 76 Million Households." New York Times.
<http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/jpmorgan-discovers-further-cyber-securityissues/?_r=0>.
TechMUN 2015
Fortune 500 Summit
"United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection." Department of Economic and Social
Affairs. <http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/consumption_en.pdf>.
Winter, Michael. "Home Depot hackers used vendor log-on to steal data, e-mails." USA Today.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/11/06/home-depot-hackersstolen-data/18613167/>.

Background Guide - TJHSST Activities

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