Answers:
Over the past few decades, some of the
parties about the debate over the enforcement of workers’ rights through trade
agreements seemed to assume that this approach would restrict such agreements
in ways that would have a negative impact on the liberalization of world trade,
ultimately resulting in another protectionist backlash from the developed
countries. However, today’s trade agreements are increasingly seen to include
provisions for respect of labour rights, which have thus become an integral
part of trade negotiations with the aim of making the globalization process
fairer by extending its benefits. The debate now appears to be focused on which
mechanisms and procedures could prove most efficient in attaining this goal.
The need to create a minimum social
foundation for the development of trade—one that guarantees certain safeguards
against social dumping—has inevitably resulted in the signing of an increasing
number of free trade agreements (FTAs) which include a labour dimension, either
in the agreement itself or in a parallel agreement. Typically, not only do such
labour clauses list minimum commitments for the protection of human rights at
work, but they also provide for conflict resolution systems, funds and parallel
labour cooperation, and financial penalties. Indeed, a growing number of
bilateral trade cooperation agreements — particularly those signed by Canada,
the United States and the European Union — contain social and labour provisions
along those lines. For example, the European Union’s special incentive
arrangement for sustainable development and good governance (Generalized
Schemes of Preferences/GSP+) provides additional benefits for countries
implementing certain international standards in regard to human and labour
rights, environmental protection, drug trafficking and good governance. In practice,
the European Union’s GSP is implemented by means of Council regulations.