The WTO and China's Labor Standards

In the process of conducting a new round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Seattle in December 1999, the United States proposed that the so-called social clause, which was pronounced to protect the rights of workers, be incorporated into the agreements of the WTO, thus linking trade with labor standards. The United States further insisted that countries that do not conform to these internationally recognized labor standards be subjected to trade sanctions. Although this proposal of the United States was hurriedly withdrawn when it faced a wall of loud protest from many quarters, the debate over the social clause has nonetheless continued to foment. Indeed, it is quite likely that trade-related problemsâincluding issues of workers' rights as well as environmental problemsâare bound to be focal points of the multilateral WTO negotiations in the twenty-first century. The following article will attempt primarily to conduct a concrete analysis of the major problems related to this matter, such as the impact that the core labor standards will have on our nation, and the question of how we in China will respond. On the basis of this analysis, we shall make some suggestions for improving labor-related legislation in our country.