Labour Rights Protections within International Trade: A study of Free Trade Agreements and Generalised Systems of Preferences

Abstract: This study examines the phenomena of “social clauses” that aim to uphold labour standards within the international trade regime and discusses examples of their implementation. “Social clauses”, despite their contentious past within the World Trade Organisation and preceding frameworks, can be found in a number of Free Trade Agreements and Generalised Systems of Preferences. The study initially sets out the history of the link between trade and labour rights and the concerns of various States and academics to the inclusion of “social clauses” in the international trade regime. The study continues to principally examine the content of “social clauses” within Free Trade Agreements concluded by the United States, the European Union, and Canada. Further, the mechanisms for implementing these obligations through various procedures are discussed. Following this, examples of implementation through utilisation of the mechanisms are provided. Additionally, the study also examines similar issues and examples in relation to the Generalised Systems of Preferences of the United States and the European Union. The study finds, in addition to the information relating to content, mechanisms for implementation, and examples of implementation of these social clauses, that although these clauses linking trade and labour proved contentious at an international level, they have been included in a number of subsequent agreements but rarely utilised in practice.