Human Rights Trade Agreements

The use, or threat of use, of trade policy instruments to ensure that human rights are respected by governments of partner countries is not new. Its latest and controversial manifestation is the proposal for the inclusion of a so-called social clause in the mandate of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would condition access of a member to markets of other members on that member's ensuring that certain 'core' labour standards prevail in its economy. The proposal is ostensibly based on a sweeping claim of universality and eternity for a particular set of 'core' labour standards, viz. freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, freedom from forced labour, and a minimum age for employment of children. The paper analyzes the moral, philosophical and economic arguments for and against linking trade and human rights. It finds that while claims of universals of labour standards are overblown, addressing the legitimate concerns that citizens of one country may have about what they deem 'poor' conditions of work or 'exploitation' of children by parents or employers in other countries are better does not require the use of trade sanctions. The fact that the proposal for a social clause is being pushed by major developed countries when labour-intensive imports from developing countries are penetrating their markets suggests that protectionist interests have captured the drive for labour standards. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of multilateral institutions in improving labour standards.