The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the Christian Church - Religion - http://maxpages.com/democracy/MAI_and_the_Christian

Religion and politics have a common characteristic justice. From the time when man began to organize his social life, starting with his family, there was a concern about what is just. The moral application in the society of the faith in God that guide man in freedom, is justice. This has to be satisfied in order to fulfill the way of life by which man has been called to live. The religious and political life elements we often combine them without paying attention. Even if we use different definitions for the terms used, what is appropriate to men, as given by God, appears always the best to do.

The life of the Church is not to be political,it is social. Its work it is spread over the whole world, 'cosmos', the universe, visibly and invisibly. The Church cannot be part of earthly, purely political organizations, because it preaches the Kingdom of Heaven, which is impartial for the whole humanity. The earthly governments bring to its citizen's happiness in this life. The Church gives to its member's eternal happiness, including the present life, in communion with God.

The life here on earth requires trade in order to acquire necessary goods that one cannot produce for him, in exchange of the good he produced. This trade can be done on the local area, or the merchant can travel far away for his trade or even for the production of the goods. There he encounters regulations different than in his own country, and he has to respect them. It is not appropriate to impose his way of life to the people with whom he deals. Nowadays, there is a tendency to do the opposite: to impose the rules of the foreign investors upon the governments that are the host for the investors. This is not at the best interest of the citizens of the country, because the laws that governs the economy of the country are ignored and the foreign investors are given free hand of operation within that country, by the governments themselves, in an international treaty. This modern international treaty is called Multilateral Agreement on Investment, (MAI).
The MAI is an international investment agreement currently under negotiation by the 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation(OEDC). The goal of this agreement is to impose limits on how the governments treat foreign investors. The MAI is the most comprehensive investment treaty negotiated between the developed countries. The obligations in the MAI are broader than those in the North American Free Trade Agreement. The MAI is the globalization of the economy, with no restrictions on the involvement in the internal affairs of the host country. It does sound quite unusual, isn't it. Like someone who is extremely greedy and passes over any rules of good manners.

Designed to provide protection for foreign investors in developing countries, the investor-state dispute process focuses strictly on setting investment disputes between individuals and the government.
In the MAI, the term investment implies a very broad area. It encompasses every kind of asset owned or controlled directly or indirectly by an investor. This description include, but is not limited to, enterprises, debt, equity, contract rights, claims to money, intellectual property, rights granted by law, such as loans, other tangible and intangible property, whether real or personal, and any related property rights. We can see the implication of these applications as in the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), where it was strongly argued that the MAI must not diminish Canada's cultural sovereignty, particularly our right to impose Canadian-content rules." There are environmental concerns for the application of the MAI as expressed by the West Coast Environmental Law. The examples can continue.

The international trade it is restricted because of the effects of dumping and subsidizing.. The key question why the international trade lower the consumption possibilities is that not everyone share in gain and some people even lose. On average the consumption possibilities increase. Free trade brings benefits to some and costs the others, with total benefits exceeding total costs. It is the uneven distribution of costs and benefits that the principal source of impediment to achieving more liberal international trade.

With the MAI, customer, the foreign investor will be our manager, disposing of the resources of the country, of all kinds, without governmental participation. The only government that will have the power will be the global one, and the main focus is on financial gain by the corporations.

The nations will suffer from this global centralization of the economy which will be difficult to restore to the national based economy. The Transnational Corporations will be the leading force of the world economy.

The international trade is necessary and good as far as the participating companies respect the rules of the country in which they do their business. This sound more normal, isn't it?. Nobody would come into someone's else house to tell him what to do, for his own profit, and nobody would allow a foreign person to do what they want with his property.

While provinces and municipalities are not members of the MAI, they often engage in practices that covertly help local business. Under the MAI their actions are covered, and no doubt there will be a fertile source for future investors-state disputes. By removing the responsibilities towards national governments, the MAI will create a global, self-governing organization, in the deficit of the nations. The corporations will make the rule of the law for the governments, and not the governments elected by the people. The foreign investors ask for unconditional access to the markets.

It is suggested that the United Nations and the Commission on Sustainable Development, to do a review of MAI, in particular on its effects on the environment and on development. For now the MAI it is suspended in its European sessions until the fall of 1998.

The US, and more recently other major industrialized countries, on behalf of their transnationals long pushed for the World Trade Organisation rules to limit the abilities of governments receiving foreign investment, to impose performance requirements, such as achieving a certain level of domestic content or export sales, or to transfer technology. They have pushed for an opening of closed or regulated national markets to foreign investment.

The MAI will further undercut our ability to create jobs, maintain the national cultures and public services such as education and health. Once signed, the provisions of the MAI would apply for 20 years. The MAI is the charter of rights for transnational corporations for the 21st century.

STEFAN CRISBASAN

webmaster@stefanc.findhere.com

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Page Updated Fri Apr 2, 1999 8:59am EST