United States Chamber of Commerce

History

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was founded at a meeting of over 700 delegates at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 1912. Harry A. Wheeler was elected the organization's first president. Its first vice presidents were attorney and civic leader Joseph Nathan Teal, business tycoon and founder of the Coca-Cola Company Asa Griggs Candler, and business tycoon Arthur Briggs Farquhar. Its first treasurer was attorney and Civil War veteran John Joy Edson.

An important catalyst for the creation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were two prior business engagements between the U.S. and Japan. In 1908, Japanese business magnate Eiichi Shibusawa invited the first official, modern day U.S. business delegation to visit Japan. This delegation was led by the prominent banker/economist Frank A. Vanderlip accompanied by sixty business representatives from the West coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The goal was to bridge their nations diplomatically and to promote increased business and commerce.

In 1909, in appreciation for the hospitality shown to the 1908 Vanderlip business delegation during their visit to Japan, an invitation was now sent to Japanese business leaders to tour the U.S. This invitation came from the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast, whose membership included eight principal cities from western coastal states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Their invitation was accepted by the Japanese, and in 1909, Shibusawa, accompanied by his delegation of over fifty of Japan's most prominent business leaders and notables spent three months visiting 53 cities across America.

Their travels were highlighted in many newspapers as they journeyed in a specially outfitted 'Million Dollar Train', provided by the American industrial community. The U.S. government recognized the significance of their visit, it and sent U.S. representatives to accompany and assist them during their trip. Six representatives of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast also accompanied them in order to help facilitate the events along the way.

Their meetings included many chambers of commerce, tours of factories, power plants, fire departments, port facilities, mines, farms, schools, universities, libraries, theaters, churches, hospitals, and many other facilities. Their main goals to develop friendship and familiarity between the two nations while encouraging bilateral trade and commerce. An important influence of their visit was that it connected chambers of commerce across U.S., which likely motivated them to recognize the benefits of becoming a national organization. President Taft was one of the U.S. leaders that Shibusawa and his delegates met with during their visit.

Promoting business

The Chamber's first referendum in January 1913 called for the planning of a National Budget. This calling for a National Budget created The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. From there, the Chamber worked to aid the U.S. Government during both World Wars and through the Great Depression. During the 1960s, the Chamber thought of the business community in a different way. They didn't have a World War to fight, however, a war against crime and poverty.

During the oil crisis of 1973, the Chamber pushed for expanding domestic production. This entailed oil and gas exploration, as well as coal mining, and the Trans Alaska Pipeline. In 1981, the Chamber launched the Let's Rebuild America campaign to help support President Reagan's Economic Recovery and Tax Act. With increased globalization in the 1990s, the Chamber promoted expanding opportunities for the export of American goods and services in hopes of creating jobs for Americans.

Although various chambers of commerce can work with all levels of government, they tend to concentrate their efforts on specific levels: Local chambers of commerce tend to focus on local issues, state chambers on state issues, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce focuses on national issues at the federal government level.

In 1993, the Chamber lost several members over its support for Clinton's healthcare reform efforts. The Chamber had chosen to support healthcare reform at that time due to the spiraling healthcare costs experienced by its members. However, House Republicans retaliated by urging boycotts of the organization. By the time health care reform became a major issue again in 2010–2012, the organization opposed such efforts.

Thomas J. Donohue led the U.S. Chamber from 1997 to 2021. Though the Chamber claims to represent over 3 million American businesses, according to data, 94% of its income comes from about 1,500 big businesses.

In late 2011 it was revealed that the Chamber's computer system was breached from November 2009 to May 2010 by Chinese hackers. The purpose of the breach appeared to be gain information related to the Chamber's lobbying regarding Asian trade policy.

Positions taken

Politically, the US Chamber of Commerce is considered to be on the political right and promotes fiscally conservative policies. However, it is known to take positions that many Republicans (particularly populists) do not support such as immigration reform and free trade. The US Chamber of Commerce opposes tariffs.

The US Chamber is often associated with the establishment wing of the Republican Party. In recent years the US Chamber has endorsed some congressional Democrats for re-election.

Legislation

Campaigned against portions of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. (Introduced 02/14/2002) (07/30/2002 Became Public Law)

Supported the SAFETY Act. (Passed 2002)

Supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (Introduced 01/26/2009) (02/17/2009 Became Public Law)

Supported the Food Safety Modernization Act. (Introduced 03/03/2009)

In April 2009, the Chamber began an ad campaign against the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. Critics such as the National Association of Manufacturers have contended that additional use of card check elections will lead to overt coercion on the part of union organizers. Opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act also claim, referring to perceived lack of access to a secret ballot, that the measure would not protect employee privacy. For this reason the Chamber argued the act would reduce workers' rights.

Opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act climate change bill. (Introduced 05/15/2009) "[H]elped kill several attempts to pass climate-change legislation" between 1997 and 2010, but did not oppose efforts by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman in 2010.

In November 2009, the Chamber was reported to be seeking to spend $50,000 to hire a "respected economist" to produce a study that could be used to portray health-care legislation as a job killer and threat to the nation's economy.

The Chamber views some reform as necessary, but opposed the Dodd/Frank legislation that was passed, asserting that it would damage loan availability. (Introduced 12/02/2009) (07/21/2010 Became Public Law)

Supported the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). (Introduced in House 10/26/2011)

Supported the Jobs Act of 2012. (Introduced 12/08/2011) (04/05/2012 Became Public Law)

Court cases

Argued against mandatory immigration status checks by employers in Arizona including in a Supreme Court case.

Filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v FEC to urge the court to overrule Austin and restore "free corporate speech." Its position is opposed by some advocates for independent businesses.

Filed a lawsuit against the $100,000 increase in H-1B visa filing fees. In its filing, the Chamber of Commerce said that the increase is unlawful because the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that any visa filing fees be based on the government's processing costs and the $100,000 fees exceed those costs. The Chamber of Commerce also said that U.S. businesses would be harmed by the fees because they would need to either increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees that they cannot find in the U.S.

Climate change

Until 2019, the U.S. Chamber rejected the scientific consensus on climate change. Historically, the organization has promoted the work of climate change deniers and sought to stymie efforts to combat climate change. In 2019, the organization acknowledged that humans contribute to climate change.

The Chamber's senior vice president for environment, technology, and regulatory affairs William L. Kovacs threatened to sue the Environmental Protection Agency in order to have what he termed "the Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century" on climate science before any federal climate regulation was passed in October 2009. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue disavowed the comment, but the Chamber strongly opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. In response to this position, several companies quit the Chamber, including Exelon Corp, PG&E Corp, PNM Resources, and Apple Inc. Nike, Inc resigned from their board of directors position, but continued their membership. Nike stated that they believe they can better influence the policy by being part of the conversation.

Peter Darbee, CEO of former chamber member PG&E (a natural gas and electric utility company in California), said, "We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling... In our view, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another." In response to an online campaign of Prius owners organized by Moveon.org, Toyota stated that it would not leave the Chamber. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association of Aspen, Colorado left the U.S. Chamber because of its views on climate change, in light of how climate change could hurt Aspen's winter tourism industry.

In 2010, U.S. Chamber president Tom Donohue agreed to work with Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman as they crafted legislation to address climate change; the effort fell apart and failed to produce a bill. The climate campaign organization 350.org estimated that 94% of US Chamber of Commerce political contributions during the 2010 midterm elections went to candidates denying the scientific consensus on climate change.

In March 2017, before President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, the Chamber funded a report that said the US commitments under the international agreement would significantly reduce industrial sector jobs.

Free trade

The U.S. Chamber has supported free trade agreements in recent years, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership. It has opposed President Donald Trump's protectionist policies. In February 2025, the Chamber called for an end to the tariffs proposed by Trump during his second term in office, citing harms to businesses, workers, and consumers.

Immigration reform

The U.S. Chamber opposed President Donald Trump's executive order ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The U.S. Chamber's Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley said, "With approximately 700,000 DACA recipients working for all sorts of businesses across the country, terminating their employment eligibility runs contrary to the president's goal of growing the U.S. economy."

The Chamber of Commerce has come under attack by populist conservatives and others for its support of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. In 2014, Tom Donohue stated the Chamber will "pull out all stops" for the passage of immigration reform in Congress. According to The Washington Post, Donohue did not offer specifics with regard to provisions or bills on the matter, speaking generally about the impact that immigration reform would have on the U.S. economy.

In 2022, the Chamber of Commerce said it supported the doubling of legal immigration into the U.S. and a "permanent solution" for illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. It said that these actions would reduce disruptions to supply chains and put a stop to increasing inflation rates.

Non-compete agreements

The Chamber of Commerce has lobbied against bans of non-compete agreements, as well as threatened to sue the Federal Trade Commission if it bans non-compete agreements. Non-compete agreements restrict the ability of workers to leave their jobs and work elsewhere or work independently. The Chamber has argued, "noncompete agreements are an important tool in fostering innovation and preserving competition."

Lobbying expenditures

The Chamber ranked first in American lobbying expenditures each year from 2001 through 2019. As of 2022, the organization continues to be ranked first in cumulative, lobbying dollars (complete years beginning with 1998), surpassing the second-biggest spender, the National Association of Realtors, by more than $1 billion.

Organizational structure and membership

As of October 2010, the Chamber had a worldwide network of 115 American Chamber of Commerce affiliates located in 108 countries. The US Chamber says that a relative handful of the Chamber's 300,000 members are "non-U.S.-based (foreign) companies." It claims that, "No foreign money is used to fund political activities." A US Chamber executive has said that the organization has had "foreign multinationals" (foreign companies) as members for "over a century, many for decades." The US Chamber states that it receives approximately $100,000 annually in membership dues from its foreign affiliates, out of an annual budget of $200 million.

On its LinkedIn page the Chamber states: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than three million businesses of every size, sector, and region." Likewise on its own Website it states: "For over 100 years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has represented the unified interests of the U.S. business community....the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations."

Affiliate organizations

Americans for Transportation Mobility

Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness

Center for International Private Enterprise

Global Energy Institute

Institute for Legal Reform

Institute for Organization Management (IOM)

U.S. Chamber Litigation Center

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (previously the National Chamber Foundation)

Global Innovation Policy Center

The Global Innovation Policy Center (formerly the Global Intellectual Property Center, and commonly known as GIPC) is the principal institution of the Chamber of Commerce handling all issues relating to innovation and creativity through advocating for strong intellectual property standards. It aims to:

strengthen the protection and enforcement of IP rights in the United States and abroad,

promote and defend the system of IP rights and norms in the United States, key countries, and multilateral forums,

increase support for IP rights as a driver of innovation and creativity.

The Global Innovation Policy Center was launched in October 2007 at the U.S. Chamber’s 4th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit. The GIPC was formed as an expansion of the existing efforts of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative.

Leaders are, of have been:

Thomas J. Donohue, President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

David Hirschmann, President & CEO, GIPC

Patrick Kilbride, Senior Vice President, GIPC

Opposition

Several organizations have attacked the Chamber for its advocacy, including Chamber Watch (a campaign of Public Citizen). Advocates for independent business, like the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and green businesses, like the American Sustainable Business Council, have fought the Chamber on multiple issues. Among major divisions between the Chamber and these business advocates is allowing corporations to engage in electioneering. Oliver E. Diaz Jr. says one example of this was when the Chamber spent $1,000,000+ to fund negative campaign ads against him and have judicial candidate Keith Starrett elected instead.

Some in the business community have criticized the Chamber's approach to public issues as overly aggressive. Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, added that "Their aggressive ways are out of step with a new generation of business leadership who are looking for more cooperative relationship with Washington."