ABSTRACT
Most developing countries and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as consumer organisations, environmental activists, and the labour movement see danger in an extensive liberalisation of investment rules and mostly argue that what is needed is regulation. This chapter evaluates the strategies and two positions of the key players. It discusses the implications of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. The key international NGOs that have been playing significant roles in the debate about global regulation of Foreign direct investment are the labour movement, and various environmental groups such as the World Wide Fund for nature, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace International, and the consumer groups through Consumers International. Neither liberalisation nor regulation may be a solution for the economic and social problems of a country. It cannot be assumed that either liberalisation or regulation is necessarily good or bad for growth and development, for all countries, under all circumstances, conditions and levels of development.
