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1 1 (March 10, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekvx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: nf~ormnin rsisnaI Resedrch S& th er fei lve debate sine 191 Updated March 10, 2023 Worker Rights Provisions in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Overview Worker rights have generally been a prominent issue in U.S. FTA negotiations. Some stakeholders believe worker rights provisions are key to protect U.S. workers from perceived unfair competition and to raise labor standards abroad. Others believe such rights are more appropriately addressed at the International Labor Organization (ILO) or through cooperative efforts and capacity building. Since 1988, Congress has included worker rights as a principal negotiating objective in Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. The United States has been in the forefront of using FTAs to promote core internationally recognized worker rights. Labor provisions have evolved significantly since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), moving from side agreements to integral chapters within FTA texts, with more provisions subject to enforcement. Most recently, the renegotiation of NAFTA resulted in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which entered into forced in 2020 and set new precedents within its labor chapter and labor enforcement mechanism. Internaonal Labor Organizaton Most U.S. and other FTAs with provisions on worker rights refer to commitments made in the ILO, the primary multilateral organization responsible for promoting labor standards through international conventions and principles. A specialized agency of the United Nations, the ILO is composed of representatives from government, business and labor organizations. It promotes labor rights through assessment of country standards, monitoring, and technical assistance. While the ILO has complaint procedures, it has limited enforcement authority. World Trade Organization (WTO) rules do not address trade-related labor standards, as WTO members were unable to reach consensus on the issue and deferred to the ILO on such matters. The ILO has adopted more than 190 multilateral conventions or protocols; eight are deemed core labor standards. The Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, incorporates core principles from these eight fundamental conventions, to be adhered to by all countries whether or not they are signatories to the underlying conventions. The ILO Declaration Principles and Rights Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; Effective abolition of child labor; Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and Safe and healthy working environment. The United States has endorsed these principles, incorporating them in recent FTAs as enforceable provisions. It has ratified two of the core ILO conventions: abolition of forced labor, and prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. As a result, U.S. FTAs do not include commitments to abide by and enforce the conventions themselves. The U.S. Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labor Standards of the President's Committee on the ILO has found that U.S. law and practices are at least partially inconsistent with five of the core conventions. For example, U.S. laws on prison labor may conflict with the forced labor convention. Labor Provisions in U.S. FTAs Worker rights provisions in U.S. FTAs, first included in the 1994 NAFTA, have evolved significantly, from requirements for parties to enforce their own labor laws, and to strive not to waive or derogate from its laws as an encouragement to trade, to commitments to adopt, maintain, and enforce laws that incorporate core ILO principles. Other FTA provisions address labor cooperation, capacity building, and dispute settlement. U.S. FTA use of the term internationally recognized worker rights is based on language in the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) statute and largely tracks the ILO Declaration, but also diverges, e.g., referring to acceptable conditions regarding minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health. Recent U.S. FTAs have reflected the negotiating objectives under TPA statutes. These objectives have evolved and generally become more comprehensive over time. NAFTA. The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), a side agreement to NAFTA, contained 11 guiding principles on worker rights in matters affecting trade, technical assistance and capacity building provisions, and a separate dispute settlement process, along with a labor cooperation mechanism. Full dispute procedures applied to failure to enforce a country's laws regarding child labor, minimum wage, and occupational safety and health. Other issues, such as the right to organize were limited to ministerial consultations. Jordan. The U.S.-Jordan FTA (2001) contains labor provisions that were incorporated into the agreement itself. These provisions became a template for future FTAs and negotiating objectives in the 2002 TPA authorization. While the provisions are enforceable, both countries committed to resolve disputes outside of dispute settlement. TPA-2002. Seven U.S. FTAs were negotiated under TPA- 2002. These agreements went beyond the scope of the Jordan FTA, but included one enforceable labor provision: a party shall not fail to effectively enforce its labor laws in a manner affecting trade. Labor laws were defined as rights similar to the GSP statute. Dispute procedures placed limits on monetary penalties, unlike those for commercial

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