Overview of the National Action Plan Process

On June 16, 2021, Secretary Blinken announced on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration that we would begin updating and revitalizing the United States’ National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). RBC is a broad concept based on the idea that businesses can perform well while doing good, and that governments should create and facilitate the conditions for it to take place. The principles underlying this concept are encompassed in the standards set out in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises  on Responsible Business Conduct and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights . They place importance on three aspects of the business-society relationship:

The last National Action Plan — the U.S. government’s first — was published on December 16, 2016. We updated the National Action Plan in light of the U.S. government’s commitment to promoting fair play, the rule of law, and high standards for global commerce in line with democratic values, which we cannot separate from our interests. This includes supporting a foreign policy for the middle class by working to ensure workers’ rights and a level playing field for the American worker; protecting the environment; combating the climate crisis; promoting rights-respecting technology deployment; and helping U.S. businesses to be global leaders in promoting respect for human rights and responsible conduct in the communities where they operate.

The State Department issued a Federal Register Notice on February 28, 2022, which welcomed input on the update of National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (NAP). The State Department received 48 written responses from stakeholders and the general public. The NAP team, which consisted of officers from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, analyzed the recommendations received and shared them with relevant agencies to help inform commitments for the NAP. Please visit this page to see the written input received. 

In addition to a call for written submissions, the NAP team attended over a dozen bilateral meetings with members of civil society and academia; led the coordination of U.S. Government agency participation in 10 roundtables organized by civil society and academia; and conducted 8 briefings for individual businesses, industry groups, and other experts to solicit their input. Numerous U.S. government agencies and members of the National Security Council attended events to hear from stakeholders regarding their thoughts on key issues and recommendations.

In line with best practice in NAP development, the State Department also encouraged U.S. diplomatic missions to post the Federal Register Notice on their websites in local languages, to encourage submission of local input, and to engage with groups adversely impacted by business activities. We appreciate the efforts of communities in sharing their experiences and recommendations with U.S. diplomatic missions and to civil society partners for circulating this opportunity in their networks.

We do not view the publishing of a NAP as an end unto itself, but rather part of our ongoing efforts to clarify and address these important issues.  As with other U.S. government national action plans, we will treat this as an iterative and evolving process. The NAP team greatly appreciates the efforts of roundtable and briefing organizers. For more information or to contact the NAP team, please email RBCNAP@state.gov.