There was, first, the fundamental question of to whom the Code would be addressed. Several developed countries proposed that the Code should outline responsibilities for host country governments as well as MNCs. The G-77 countries initially balked at this suggestion, which they felt would elevate multinationals to the status of sovereign states (Dell 1990). By 1980, the developed country-position prevailed, and the Commission proceeded to draft a two-part Code that outlined obligations for MNCs, as well as for the foreign governments that hosted them. … The Southern countries also compromised with regard to the question of the Code's binding versus voluntary nature: While representatives to the Commission from the G-77 countries initially wanted observance of the Code to be obligatory, most quickly realized that only a voluntary Code would have any chance of success.

Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 1793