The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and non-adhering countries: Opportunities and Challenges of engagement

This paper outlines some of the opportunities and challenges that the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises present for the public sectors of those countries that have not declared their intention to adhere to the Guidelines - ‘non-adhering countries’. It briefly outlines key features of the Guidelines before considering three sources of answers to a basic question: why should non-adhering countries be interested in participating in the Guidelines? The paper argues that there are potential benefits for non-adhering countries in engaging with the Guidelines’ policy processes, and seeking to harness the various processes associated with the Guidelines to the pursuit of domestic policy goals. There are challenges too: the paper points in particular to the implications of the Guidelines in the context of historical efforts to develop a multilateral investment liberalisation architecture.