The Protection of Labour Rights in Trade Agreements: The Case of the EU-Colombia Agreement

Abstract

In response to the disappointing progress at the multilateral level, trading powers like the European Union (EU) have increasingly used their market access power as leverage to promote non-trade objectives with third countries. Through so-called ‘Trade & Sustainable Development Chapters’, the EU’s new generation of regional and bilateral trade agreements include explicit provisions on labour rights promotion, Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental sustainability. While legal scholars have commented extensively on these provisions, little is known about their practical application. With regard to labour rights in particular, the International Labour Organization has noted the lack of empirical evidence on the effects of integrating labour rights provisions in trade agreements. Based on extensive desk research and a series of interviews in Brussels and Bogotá, the present article aims to bridge this gap by providing insights into how the practical application of labour provisions and monitoring mechanisms plays out in a particular country context. Our findings identify significant shortcomings in both the design and application of the current sustainability chapters, affecting not only their effectiveness but also the credibility of the EU as a normative actor as a whole.

Promoting Labour Standards through the European Neighbourhood Policy

“…The social ambitions of the EU, however, have intensified over time, often extending to harmonization with EU regulations in employment policy, and/or to the ILO's more encompassing decent work agenda (Young & Peterson 2006, Orbie & Barbarinde 2008. Notwithstanding such variation in scope, labour standards are often conceptualized and assessed as a homogeneous set in studies of implementation and effectiveness (Kim 2012, Postnikov & Bastiaens 2014, Lechner 2016, with only a few exceptions that focus on collective labour rights in particular and distinguish between reforms at the formal and practical levels (Greenhill et al 2009, Marx et al 2016.…”

“…The direct engagement of CSOs in the implementation of trade agreements, however, is relatively recent (Van der Putte & Orbie 2016) and empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness is still largely lacking (Campling et al 2016). Qualitative studies of such arrangements reveal significant problems in implementation due to the weaknesses of labour organizations and prioritization of other concerns, that undermine effectiveness (Marx et al 2016, Orbie & Van der Putte 2016, Harrison et al 2019. These studies thus often lead to somewhat contradictory results and have not considered the role of domestic factors in a more systematic manner.…”

“…Yet, studies exploring their divergent approaches and implications in various national settings often lead to contradictory results regarding effectiveness. While some find a significant positive association between the inclusion of labour provisions in trade policy, on one hand, and labour standards, on the other (Hafner-Burton 2005, Greenhill et al 2009, Kim 2012, Postnikov & Bastiaens 2014, others highlight major limitations in the design and implementation of such efforts, that ultimately undermine their effectiveness (Garcia & Masselot 2015, Giumelli & von Rozendaal 2016, Marx et al 2016. There is also disagreement regarding the most relevant tools and mechanisms through which labour standards in third countries can be improved through transnational regulatory governance.…”

Pursuing Environmental and Social Objectives through Trade Agreements

“…This was also illustrated in a recent review of the EU's policy on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD). The review centred on both the consultation processes associated with trade policy formation and implementation in the EU(Marx et al, 2016;Hoekman and Rojas-Romagosa, 2022) and the design and content of TSD chapters included in EU PTAs(Velut et al, 2022). The EU has announced its intention to pursue greater emphasis on compliance and enforcement in future negotiations.4 Yet another set of studies is built largely around case studies, focusing on specific countries or specific provisions of PTAs.…”

Pursuing Environmental and Social Objectives through Trade Agreements

“…This was also illustrated in a recent review of the EU's policy on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD). The review centred on both the consultation processes associated with trade policy formation and implementation in the EU(Marx et al, 2016;Hoekman and Rojas-Romagosa, 2022) and the design and content of TSD chapters included in EU PTAs(Velut et al, 2022). The EU has announced its intention to pursue greater emphasis on compliance and enforcement in future negotiations.4 Yet another set of studies is built largely around case studies, focusing on specific countries or specific provisions of PTAs.…”