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Continued from page 8 what kind of elements a multilateral policy framework contains. The MAI therefore fulfils a catalysing role in the further development of policy consensus in this field." See Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Van Dok-van Weelen's first report on the MAI to the Dutch Parliament, "De onderhandelingen binnen de OESO inzake een Multilateraal Akkoord over investeringen", 2 November 1995. 19. Frans Engering, "The Multilateral Investment Agreement", in Transnational Corporations, vol. 5, no. 3, December 1996. 20. USCIB Investment Committee, USCIB website. 21. Cases would be facilitated by the International Chamber of Commerce's Court of Arbitration, the World Bank's International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) or the UNCITRAL rules (UNCITRAL is a UN agency which has developed rules for arbitration in international commercial dis- putes). 22. USCIB website 23. Confidential official source. 24. ICC Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy, Document n.103/179 Rev., 30 April 1996. 25. Report to the Dutch Parliament by Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Van Dok-van Weelen, 2 November 1995, p. 4 (our translation) (see endnote 18). 26. Idem. 27. This is according to Dutch negotiator Marinus Sikkel at a public hearing on the MAT in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 3 February 1998. 28. NGOs called for the suspension of negotiations to allow for public participation in the negotiations: "...an independent and comprehensive assessment of the social, environmental and development impact of the MAI with full public participation, the observation of binding environment, labour, health, safety and human rights standards, the elimination of the investor state dispute settlement mechanism as well as the expropria- tion provision of the MAI and the renegotiation of the terms of withdrawal." 29. Chairman's Opening Remarks, 15 January 1998. 30. BIAC consultation, 15 January 1998. 31. USCIB web page. 32. TUAC web page. 33. TUAC's concrete demands are the incorporation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises into the MAI, a structure to ensure the implementation of the guidelines, the commitment to enforce basic workers' rights, and the provision that foreign investment must not violate domestic or internationally recognised labour standards. See "The Multilateral Agreement on Investment: Key Issues for Trade Unions", TUAC Briefing Note for Affiliates, September 1997. 34. Interview with Roy Jones, TUAC Secretariat, 26 January 1998. 35. This shared responsibility is not clearly defined in any EU treaty, but is based on a decision by the European Court of Justice on the Uruguay Round of the GATT. MEPs have asked the Commission about this shared responsibility and have received vague respons- es. 36. Sir Leon Brittan in a speech on investment at a con- ference organised by the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) and the London School of Economics, quoted in an EC press release, "Commission Calls on European Business to Intensify Worldwide Investment Efforts", IP/95/269, 17 March 1995. 37. Committee of External Economic Relations, "Draft Report on the Negotiations in the Framework of the OECD on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAD)", 17 December 1997. 38. "Competition on rules" refers to steps that govern- ments take to attract foreign investors, and may include relaxing environmental and social regulations, tax breaks, the establishment of free trade zones and so forth. 39. UNCTAD, "World Investment Report 1997". 40. Financial Times, London, 2 February 1998 41. This consensus was confirmed at several 1995 sum- mits, including the Halifax G7 Summit in June and the Trans-Atlantic Summit between the EU and US in December. 42. EU Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan explained the two-track strategy as follows: "We must tell our non- OECD partners in the WTO what we are doing among ourselves, overcome their fears that an investment ini- tiative goes against their interests, and prepare the ground for decisions in the inaugural WTO ministerial in the autumn of 1996. By then, the OECD will be nearing the end of a planned two-year negotiation: WTO will be well placed to consider a complementary negotiating mandate to free investment flows world- wide." Source: see endnote 36. 43. Taken from a speech by Sir Leon Brittan at the Stockholm Trade Policy Seminar, 23 October 1995. 44, Martin Khor in Third World Network Features, 1409/96. 45. For instance, see "European Industry: A Partner for the Developing World. Foreign Direct Investment as a Tool for Economic Development and Cooperation: Suggestions for Future Improvement", ERT, 1993, p. 35. About the Author: Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is an Amsterdam-based non-profit organi- sation set up to monitor and report on the political activities of European cor- porations and their lobby groups. 88 = NEXUS APRIL - MAY 1998 MAIGaALomaANiA! The Multilateral Agreement on Investment