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Governing Labour Standards through Free Trade Agreements: Limits of the European Union's Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters

Author

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  • James Harrison
  • Mirela Barbu
  • Liam Campling
  • Ben Richardson
  • Adrian Smith

Abstract

The EU has established a new architecture of international labour standards governance within the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters of its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). To examine the operationalization of this framework, we draw upon 121 interviews undertaken with key informants in three FTAs signed with the Caribbean, South Korea and Moldova. We engage with wider debates over external governance and the projection of EU power by showing how operational failings, including a lack of legal and political prioritization of TSD chapters and shortcomings in the implementation of key provisions, have hindered the impact of the FTAs upon labour standards. We also identify significant limitations to the EU's ‘common formulation’ approach when applied to different trading partner contexts, alongside ambiguities about the underlying purpose of the trade–labour linkage. Reflection about the function and purpose of labour standards provisions in EU trade policy is therefore required.

Suggested Citation

  • James Harrison & Mirela Barbu & Liam Campling & Ben Richardson & Adrian Smith, 2019. "Governing Labour Standards through Free Trade Agreements: Limits of the European Union's Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 260-277, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:57:y:2019:i:2:p:260-277
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12715
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    Cited by:

    1. Borchert, Ingo & Conconi, Paola & Di Ubaldo, Mattia & Herghelegiu, Cristina, 2021. "The Pursuit of Non-Trade Policy Objectives in EU Trade Policy," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(5), pages 623-647, December.
    2. Sandra Polaski, 2022. "The strategy and politics of linking trade and labor standards: an overview of issues and approaches," Chapters, in: Handbook on Globalisation and Labour Standards, chapter 11, pages 203-225, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Aydin Yildirim & Robert Basedow & Matteo Fiorini & Bernard Hoekman, 2021. "EU Trade and Non‐trade Objectives: New Survey Evidence on Policy Design and Effectiveness," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 556-568, May.
    4. Franklin Maduko & Timea Pál & László Bruszt, 2021. "The Role of Domestic Factors in the EU’s Governance of Labour Standards through Trade," RSCAS Working Papers 2021/52, European University Institute.
    5. Andriy Tyushka & David Phinnemore & Wolfgang Weiß, 2022. "Joint Institutional Frameworks in EU Bilateral Agreements: Joint Bodies, Rules and Principles, and Special Procedures," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 1124-1143, July.
    6. Henao, Rafael & Sarache, William, 2022. "Sustainable performance in manufacturing operations: The cumulative approach vs. trade-offs approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    7. Toni Haastrup & Heather Macrae & Annick Masselot & Alasdair Young & Milford Soko & Richard G. Whitman, 2022. "Editing ‘Europe’: Reflections from Inside, Outside and Beyond," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 853-866, July.

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