1482 



of the issues and implementation of appropriate action. The decision to establish 

 an information and research centre on transnational corporations is particularly 

 important towards this end by facilitating the comprehensive consideration of the 

 subject as a whole. In this connexion much thought is being given to the arrange- 

 ments which will permit the centre to operate with maximum effectiveness and to 

 provide the focal point where the many efforts and the interests of a number of 

 United Nations organizations and agencies on certain aspects related to trans- 

 national corporations can be concerted. 2" 



At the same time that multinational corporations, predominantly 

 U.S. -based, are achieving worldwide economic penetration, however, 

 there has been a growing concern over a relative decline in U.S. in- 

 dustrial productivity. An article in American Scientist by Michael 

 Boretsky summed up the concern thus: "Decline in the rate of growth 

 of technological innovation and rapid dissemination throughout the 

 world of U.S. technology in a 'naked' form are having dismal effects 

 on our economy." ^*^ Similarly, Sherman Gee, head of the Tech- 

 nology Transfer Office of the Naval Surface Weapons Center, wrote in 

 Science magazine: 



The decline of productivity growth in the United States and the erosion of U.S. 

 competitiveness in world trade in recent years has caused considerable attention 

 to be focused on developing measures to reverse these disturbing trends. The- 

 record shows that productivity growth in the United States decreased from the 

 yearly average of approximately 2.5 percent during 1870 to 1965 to about half 

 of this figure from the years 1965 to 1971. Furthermore, since 1950, productivity 

 growth in this country has slipped below that prevailing in Western Europe and 

 Japan. 2^9 



The author called attention to the fact that teclinology had become 

 an important ingredient in U.S. diplomacy: 



That technology has already become a key consideration in the conduct of 

 foreign affairs is illustrated by some of the major issues confronting the United 

 States-Soviet detente, such as the export of U.S. production technology to the 

 Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact nations. Because of the increased interest 

 shown by other nations in advanced U.S. technology, the Department of Defense 

 has formed a technology export advisory council to develop guidelines for the 

 export of advanced technological products for civilian use, such as jet engines, 

 sophisticated electronics, and computers. Although the United States has benefited 

 from foreign technology in the past (for example, from the turbojet engine from 

 the United Kingdom), the importance of making a more concerted effort to tap 

 foreign technology has been given insufficient attention. Improved international 

 cooperation in technology would not only help to increase the rate of technological 

 innovation in the United States but could also benefit U.S. foreign relations.^'" 



Like other commentators, he noted the role of the multinational 

 corporation in the transnational movement of technology : 



The growth in international trade and the increased interdependence of national 

 economies today is reflected in the number of multinational corporations now in 

 existence. Such corporations could become an important factor in the developing 

 U.S. posture for increased sensitivity to foreign technological developments, 

 though the evidence to date indicates that the multinational corporations have 

 in the past contributed significantly to the export of U.S. technology.^" 



His main conclusions were that the U.S. Government should facilitate 

 a closer coupling of research and development with commercial appli- 



2" United Nations, General Assembly, The Impact of Transnafioiial Corporntions on the Developmevt 

 Process and on International Relations, Report of the Secretary General. -New York, 1974, pp. 1-4. (United 

 Nations Document: E/5592, October 21, 1974, 57th sess. General Assembly). 



2« Michael Boretsky, "Trends in U.S. Technology: A Political Economist's View," American Scientist 

 63 (January/February 1975), p. 70. 



2" Sherman Gee, "Foreign Technology and the United States Economy," Science, February 21, 1975, 

 p. C22. 



«o Ibid., p. 623. 



Ml Ibid., p. 625. 



