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Core Labour Standards in Trade Agreements : From Multilateralism to Bilateralism.

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Author Info

  • Granger, Clotilde
  • Siroën, Jean-Marc

Abstract

Although discussion concerning the inclusion of core labour standards has been excluded from the Doha agenda, the question continues to be debated. In fact, on an international level, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has become increasingly active since the World Trade Organization (WTO) Singapore Ministerial Declaration. On a regional level, social clauses are now being introduced inside preferential-trade agreements. These evolutions feed the debate regarding the link between labour standards and trade. This article takes a closer look at this debate and re-assesses the traditional economic analysis, which is today more sophisticated and balanced than was the case a few years ago. Improving labour standards, in association with trade openness, might speed up development. However, governments do not necessarily choose the best way to promote social and economic development. This fact can be explained by political economic analysis. In this article, we weigh the pro- and anti-social clause arguments of interest groups both within developed and developing countries, to explain national choices concerning labour standards. The issue also concerns the stability of international trade relations. We stress that although they are excluded from multilateral arrangements, core labour standards provisions are omnipresent in bilateral or regional preferential-trade agreements. This paradox is likely to jeopardize the multilateral system. Putting aside ethical or moral considerations, we show that economic arguments can possibly allow the inclusion of a non-protectionist, realistic and reasonable trade-labour linkage. We conclude that the inclusion of such a clause in multilateral trade law is less dangerous than its non-inclusion.

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File URL: http://basepub.dauphine.fr/xmlui/bitstream/123456789/255/2/2ECFE995d01.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Université Paris-Dauphine in its series Open Access publications from Université Paris-Dauphine with number urn:hdl:123456789/255.

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Date of creation: Oct 2006
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Publication status: Published in Journal of World Trade (2006-10) v.40, p.813-836
Handle: RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/255

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Web page: http://www.dauphine.fr/en/welcome.html

Related research

Keywords: SOCIAL development; INTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation; ECONOMIC development; TRADE regulation; TRADE negotiation; LABOR laws & legislation;

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Cited by:
  1. Jean-Marc Siroën, 2012. "Core labour standards and exports," Working Papers DT/2012/18, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
  2. Siroën, Jean-Marc & Bazillier, Remi & Duc, Cindy & Arestoff, Florence & Granger, Clotilde, . "Les normes de travail dans les traités de libre-échange," Open Access publications from Université Paris-Dauphine urn:hdl:123456789/3202, Université Paris-Dauphine.
  3. Bob Deacon & Philippe De Lombaerde & Maria Cristina Macovei & Sonja Schröder, 2011. "Globalisation and the emerging regional governance of labour rights," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 32(3), pages 334-365, July.
  4. Jean-Marie Cardebat & Alexandru Dimitrescu, 2011. "Social Responsibility of the countries and their international trade : A gravitational approach," Larefi Working Papers 1102, Larefi, Université Bordeaux 4.

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