Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 18 November 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 November 1999. It was answered by Stephen Byers (Labour) on Thursday, 25 November 1999 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if the implementation of the OECD guidelines on multi-national enterprises will be on the agenda of November's WTO Seattle Round. - (Holding answer 23 November 1999).

Answer: Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the implementation of the OECD guidelines on multi-national enterprises will be on the agenda of November's WTO Seattle Round. [99247] Mr. Byers: [holding answer 23 November 1999]: The OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises are under review in the OECD. There will be a report on the progress made for the OECD ministerial meeting in June 2000. Progress so far in the working group tasked with carrying out the review has been good, with broad agreement on how to bring the text of the Guidelines more up to date. There is also broad agreement that there has to be more effective implementation and wider dissemination of the Guidelines. We believe that the results of the review will make the Guidelines of greater relevance and use for business, other organisations and governments alike.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 339 c164W; 99247
Session: 1999-00
Subjects: Codes of practice Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development World Trade Organization WTO Millennium Round Multinational companies