Labor Clauses in EU Preferential Trade Agreements – An Analysis of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement

Social Clause in Trade Agreements and China’s Experience

“…But Kenner contends that it is "more than a mere declaration". Instead of understanding Article 50 separately, it should be put in the context of the whole agreement where the soft commitments of parties who have ratified ILO conventions are transformed to binding obligations for compliance with ILO conventions (Kenner, 2011). The third feature is political dialogue of which objectives are to "exchange information" 21 and facilitate the compliance of this agreement, stipulated in Article 8.…”

Core Labour Standards and International Trade

“… See Brecher and Costello (1994) 62. 63 For a discussion of the history of EU initial caution in including labour provisions in RTAs and the developments that have led to the change in the EU approach to integrating economic and social dimensions of trade and development as is the case in recent RTAs, seeKenner (2011). According to the TUC, the reasons given by the EU is that developing countries object on the ground that any inclusion of workers' rights is only a protectionist ploy and a move to undermine the competitive advantage of the developing countries.…”