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Continued from page 85 1997", p. 4. 61. ICC Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy, Document no. 103/179 Rev., 30 April 1996. 62. Ibid, p. 3. 63. The ERT is a think-tank, research and lobby group representing some 47 of the largest European transnational corporations in Europe. For more information see CEO report, "Europe, Inc.". 64. ERT, "European Industry and the Developing World — For a Global Framework of Mutual Interest and Trust", June 1997, p. 9. 65. ERT, "European Industry: A Partner for the Developing World. Foreign Direct Investment as a Tool for Economic Development and Cooperation: Suggestions for Future Improvement", 1993, p. 35. 66. ERT, "Investment in the Developing World: New Openings and Challenges for European Industry", December 1996, p. 13. 67. ERT, "Survey on Improvements in Conditions for Investment in the Developing World", 1993. 68. ERT, "Investment in the Developing World: New Openings and Challenges for European Industry", December 1996, p. 13. 69. Peer review is a traditional system at the OECD in which countries are encouraged to reach common positions in a committee rather than through a dis- pute settlement procedure. Source of this section: ERT, "European Industry and the Developing World — For a Global Framework of Mutual Interest and Trust", June 1997, p. 9. 70. Idem; foreword by Helmut Maucher. 71. Idem, p. 5. 72. UNCTAD press release, 8 December 1997. 73. Phone conversation with UNICE, January 1998. 74. Joint statements from UNICE and Keidanren, 23 November 1995 and 13 December 1996. 75. Source: USCIB website, http://www.imex.com/uscib/ 76. Honeywell and General Electric were the first two companies investigated under NAFTA's side agreement for labour violations in their Mexican maquilladoras. Source: "USCIB's Corporate Crime Blotter, or Levelling the Playing Field for Felons", Michelle Sforza, Preamble Collaborative, draft, January 1998. 77. USCIB website. 78. USCIB press release, 24 May 1995. 79. Idem. 80. Idem. 81. USCIB's President Abraham Katz, letter to US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. 82. "USCIB Concerns with Environmental Provisions for the MAI", USCIB President Abraham Katz's letter to US Deputy Trade Representative Jeffrey Lang, 11 July 1997. 83. The Washington Times is well known for the sympathetic representation of business interests in its pages. Fred Singer, leader of the Science and Environment Project, an industry lobby which organ- ised an aggressive misinformation campaign against climate change prevention, is on the newspaper's council. 84. Timothy E. Deal, Senior Vice President, USCIB, "Why We Need the Multilateral Agreement on Investment", Washington Times, 25 December 1997. 85. Idem. 86. The FTA was the basis for the NAFTA treaty. 87. Stuart Carre, BCNI, in front of the Sub- Committee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 25 November 1997. 88. Idem. "This has cast a pall of uncertainty over the ability of US negotiators to deliver on any nego- tiated trade and investment agreements, and that includes the MAI." 89. Statement by Keidanren and UNICE at the WTO Ministerial Conference, Singapore, 13 December 1996. 90. Keidanren's "Views on MAI Negotiations", 17 June 1997. 91. The WBCSD has many renowned corporate pol- luters as members, including British Petroleum, Cargill, Fiat, General Motors, ICI, Lafarge, Monsanto, Nestlé, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Rio Tinto Zinc, Son, Statoil, Texaco, Toyota, Unilever, Volvo, Waste Management International, Western Mining Corporation and Weyerhauser. 92. E-mail from Marcel Engel, WBCSD, 29 January 1998. 93. Letter dated 9 January 1998. 94. Agenda 21 is the action plan which came out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. About the Author: This briefing was prepared by Belen Balanya, Ann Doherty, Olivier Hoedeman, Adam Ma'anit and Erik Wesselius for Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), an Amsterdam-based non- profit organisation et up to monitor and report on the political activities of European corporations and their lobby groups. CEO encourages readers to spread this briefing or use the information con- tained in it, but would appreciate receiving a copy of any published article citing it. Interested parties who would like to be on CEO's e-mail distribution list should e-mail their details direct to Corporate Europe Observatory. 86 = NEXUS JUNE - JULY 1998 MAIGaALomaniA! The Multilateral Agreement on Investment