Dick Lugar: “On April 29, 1997 the multilateral Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC] that bans the development, production, acquisition…”

“On April 29, 1997 the multilateral Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC] that bans the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, use, and direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons to anyone will enter into force whether or not the Senate acts and the President ratifies the Convention. Thus over the next three months it will be necessary for the Senate to consider the Convention and to fashion a corresponding resolution of ratification if the United States is to benefit from the provisions of the agreement and the U.S. chemical industry is not to suffer from the disadvantages imposed on chemical firms of non-Parties. The Senate was on the verge of taking up the CWC on the floor through consideration of a resolution of ratification that I co-authored and which was reported out of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations by a vote of 13-5 on April 30, 1996.”