Anne Wexler

Anne Wexler is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates, a subsidiary of Hill & Knowlton.

According to her biographical note, Wexler was Assistant to President Jimmy Carter for Public Liaison. After Carter lost office in 1981, Wexler founded Wexler, Reynolds, Fuller, Harrison, and Schule, the forerunner to Wexler and Walker.

"Ms. Wexler received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Skidmore College. Skidmore also awarded her both the Outstanding Alumni Award in 1972 and the Most Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984. She holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Skidmore College and an Honorary Doctor of Science in Business Administration from Bryant College," her bio note states.[1]

"In 1989, Ms. Wexler received the Bryce Harlow Award, presented annually to the government relations professional who represents the highest standards of integrity and excellence embodied by Bryce Harlow, a respected Washington government relations representative," her biographical note states.

Wexler - who is close to the Democratic Party - "served as a senior advisor to the Clinton/Gore Transition Team."

In 1997, the National Foreign Trade Council hired Wexler to help in a campaign to persuade the Clinton administration to refrain from increased reliance on sanctions against odious regimes, such as Burma. [2]

As of February 2004, Wexler is a registered lobbyist with the US Senate Office of Public Records for American Airlines, the American Australian Free Trade Agreement Coalition, Choicepoint, Comcast Corporation, Evergreen International Airlines, General Motors Corporation, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and Nuance Global Trades. [3]

Wexler and MTBE

Methanex, is a Vancouver-based company that is the world's largest producer and marketer of methanol with a turn over of just over U.S$1 billion in 2002. It has projects in Canada, Trinidad, New Zealand and Chile.

A quarter of the global demand for methanol was for MTBE for use as a source of octane in petrol. Of total MTBE demand - half - or 2.5 million tonnes a year demand of methanol equivalent - was in the US with an estimated 1.3 million of that in California alone.

However, growing controversy over MTBE emissions to groundwater sources used for drinking water led to both California and New York state passing legislation banning the sale of gasoline containing MTBE from January 1, 2004. The Federal government too, began to consider restrictions on MTBE. For Methanex, the stakes over MTBE were high.

In January 2001, she was appointed a Director of the Methanex Corporation. [4] Wexler is also Chair of Methanex's Public Policy Committee which "is responsible for government relations, social investment and public affairs issues that impact significantly on the Company".

While the committee only met twice in 2002, one of the high priority issues for the company is the controversy over MTBE. According to its annual report, Methanex "worked diligently with other industry participants to bring out the facts about this important fuel additive. Some progress has been made and broad-based legislation to ban the product has been avoided so far. We will continue to be relentless in promoting the merits of MTBE and help keep this product in commerce."[5]

Part of Methanex's "diligent work" has been suing the US government over what it claimed was a breach of the North America Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the US.

Methanex successfully claimed that a Californian ban on the use or sale in California of the gasoline additive MTBE - in which methanol is an ingredient - constituted an appropriation of part of its investments and was therefore entitled to damages of $1 billion. In July 2002, Methanex won a damages award but the matter continues before the courts. [6]

Despite Methanex's best efforts, the decline of MTBE in the US is irreversible. However, as with the US tobacco industry, constraints domestically can be offset by overseas sales. In its 2002 annual report Methanex notes with relief that the MTBE story in the rest of the world "is quite different from the politically charged debate in the United States … demand growth for MTBE in other parts of the world, coupled with the traditional, steady non-MTBE growth, will make the issue of MTBE in the US a manageable one for the methanol industry".

Wexler and US Australia free trade agreement

In 2002, Ms. Wexler was made an honorary member of the Order of Australia.

Affiliations

Wexler

• a member of the Boards of the Washington Economic Club
• a member of the Borad of WETA.
• In December 2001 Wexler was appointed to the Board of Directors of The Media Insitute.[7]
• is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations

External links

• Wexler and Walker Public policy Associates, "Biographies", accessed February 15, 2004,
• Methanex Corporation, "Methanex Appoints New Board Member", Media Release, January 17, 2001.
• Methanex, "A clear choice: Methanex Annual Report 2002", Annual Report, Page 34.
• US Department of State, "Methanex Corp. v. United States of America", accessed February 15, 2004.
• Paul Blustein , "Burma Campaign Has Business Fighting Trend Toward Sanctions", The Washington Post, March 4, 1997.
• Ken Silverstein, "Doing Business with Despots: Who are you going to call? The Wexler Group", Mother Jones, April 28, 1998.
• Ken Silverstein, "Wexler, Burger Queen', Mother Jones, April 28, 1998.
• "Ken Silverstein, "The Small World of Lobbyist Ann Wexler", Multinational Monitor, May 1998, Volume 19, Number 3.
• "Patrick Butler, Michael Regan, and Anne Wexler Elected to Media Institute Board of Trustees, PR Newswire, Dec 10, 2001.
• Public Citizen, "Delay, Dilute and Discard: How the Airline Industry and the FAA Have Stymied Aviation Security Recommendations", October 2001. (There is a passing mention of Ann Wexler as lobbyist for American Airlines).
• Steve Letts, "Govt pushes for trade agreement with US", Lateline, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 28, 2001.
• Rodney Dalton, "A friend in high places", The Australian, February 11, 2004.
• United States Senate Office of Public Records, "Anne Wexler", accessed February 16, 2004.