[asia-apec 1336] Fwd: Corporate Hospitality at the WTO

[tpl at cheerful.com]

>>Forwarded for your information 
>>by BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance)

>>Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 20:48:56 -0400
>>Sender: corp-focus at essential.org
>>From: Robert Weissman <rob at essential.org>
>>

>>Corporate Hospitality at the WTO
>>By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
>>
>>Tired of getting fundraising letters in the mail? 
>>
>>Just imagine how hard it would be to be a corporate CEO. Not only does
>>virtually every politician come hat in hand seeking a campaign
>>contribution, but you are besieged by a long line of nonprofit
>>organizations seeking support for their charitable endeavors. Then your
>>fellow bosses hit you up for contributions to support one or another
>>political lobbying effort. And now there is a new panhandler that CEOs
>>must handle: the mega-intergovernmental conference.
>>
>>The latest example: The World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting
>>in Seattle, to be held in late November and early December. 
>>
>>"I know you are on the receiving end of many requests for support from
>>organizations and events, but the hosting of the WTO Ministerial is truly
>>a unique opportunity," wrote Lawrence Clarkson, chair of the fundraising
>>committee of the "WTO Seattle Host Organization" in a March 15 fundraising
>>appeal to corporate executives. Host Organization co-chairs are
>>Microsoft's Bill Gates and Phil Condit, CEO of Boeing.
>>
>>"The Seattle Host Organization is committed to ensuring that the private
>>sector is an integral part of the events surrounding the Ministerial. We
>>are working very closely with the USTR [Office of the U.S. Trade
>>Representative] and WTO officials every step of the way to coordinate
>>schedules and venues to maximize interaction between the officials and the
>>private sector."
>>
>>The corporate-sponsored gathering in Seattle is no groundbreaker, as Susan
>>Kruller, media and public relations director for the Seattle Host
>>Organization, notes.
>>
>>When NATO gathered for its fiftieth anniversary blowout in Washington,
>>D.C. earlier this year, a dozen companies contributed a quarter of a
>>million dollars each to have their CEOs serve as directors of the NATO
>>Summit's host committee. Others kicked in smaller amounts.
>>
>>Similar arrangements have been made at a recent G-7 meeting in Denver
>>(presidents and top officials of a group of the world's most powerful
>>countries meet at the G-7) and a Summit of the Americas in Miami. At a
>>1996 National Governors Association conference focused on education
>>issues, each governor was paired with a CEO from their state.
>>
>>Corporate sponsorships of mega-event host committees are now routinely
>>structured into event planning by the U.S. government, Kruller says. 
>>
>>In agreeing to host the WTO meeting in the United States, the U.S.
>>government obligated itself to pick up the incremental costs between
>>holding the meeting in Geneva at the WTO's headquarters and locating the
>>gathering away from the WTO's home, Kruller says. The U.S. government
>>turns to the private sector to help defray resulting taxpayer expenses.
>
>>The private sector is set to kick in $9.2 million to defray the
>>ministerial's costs.
>>
>>When the news first broke of the Seattle Host Organization's request for
>>contributions, a controversy ensued over Clarkson's letter's promise that
>>high donors would be able to attend a conference at which "the private
>>sector will meet senior U.S. trade officials to discuss priorities for the
>>upcoming Round." That offer drew a rebuke from the Office of the U.S.
>>Trade Representative, and the promised meeting was cancelled.
>>
>>Corporate contributors are not being denied all goodies, however. Those
>>donating at the Emerald Level, a $250,000 contribution, are entitled to
>>send five guests to the Host Organization's opening and closing receptions
>>and to an exclusive ministerial dinner. They can send four guests to
>>private sector conferences the Host Organization is arranging. They are
>>provided with briefing updates on the ministerial's progress, assistance
>>with room reservations, media assistance and hospitality service. Their
>>logos are permitted to appear on the Host Organization's web site and they
>>are given signage and display of corporate materials. Companies at the
>>Emerald Level are Allied Signal/Honeywell, Deloitte & Touche, Ford, GM,
>>Microsoft, Nextel, Boeing, US West, plus the State of Washington.
>>
>>Lesser benefits are conferred on those making less generous donations. The
>>Diamond Level supporters ($150,000 to $249,999) are Activate.com, UPS and
>>Weyerhaeuser. Platinum Level supporters ($75,000 to $149,999) are AT&T,
>>Bank of America, Columbia Resource Group, Eddie Bauer, Expeditors
>>International of WA, Hewlett Packard, Seagram's, Preston Gates & Ellis and
>>The Production Network. Gold Level supporters ($25,000 to $74,999) include
>>Caterpillar, IBM, Lucent and U.S. Bancorp. 
>>
>>In addition to an extra opportunity to rub shoulders with policymakers and
>>high-ranking bureaucrats, what the corporate contributors to the Seattle
>>event and similar events really get in exchange for their dollars is a
>>sort of hyper-niche image advertising, with a group of hundreds of
>>policymakers as their target. 
>>
>>In most instances, at least, the corrupting element is not a quid pro quo,
>>but rather something more profound. Corporate sponsorships at the Seattle
>>trade ministerial and other meetings are another indicia, another
>>reinforcement, another reminder to the government officials of their
>>obligations to Big Business. The sponsorships are a corruption of
>>atmosphere and place. 
>>
>>Happily, the Seattle meeting will include a counterbalancing factor: tens
>>of thousands of activists who plan to take to the streets to protest the
>>WTO's record of riding roughshod over consumers, workers, the environment
>>and any non-commercial values. Hopefully this mass citizens' mobilization
>>will force the trade officials to confront their collective betrayal of
>>the public trust.
>>
>>Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime
>>Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based
>>Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: The
>>Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common
>
>>Courage Press, 1999; http://www.corporatepredators.org)
>>
>>(c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
>>
>>---------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell Mokhiber
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