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The Impact of Labour Rights Commitments in EU Trade Agreements: The Case of Peru

Author

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  • Jan Orbie

    (Centre for EU Studies, Department of Political Science, Ghent University, Belgium)

  • Lore Van den Putte

    (Centre for EU Studies, Department of Political Science, Ghent University, Belgium)

  • Deborah Martens

    (Centre for EU Studies, Department of Political Science, Ghent University, Belgium)

Abstract

While the inclusion of labour rights in European Union (EU) trade agreements has become an ‘unobjectionable norm’, analyses of their impact have been largely absent from the literature. This article aims to partly fill this gap in existing research by examining the impact of labour rights commitments in the EU–Peru–Colombia agreement, with particular reference to the agricultural sector in Peru. Following a brief background overview of labour rights in agriculture in Peru, we draw up the analytical framework for assessing the impact of these commitments. We discern three distinctive legal commitments and find that they are flexible and conservative, also compared to provisions in other EU trade agreements. Subsequently, we assess the impact of these commitments by analysing to what extent they are being upheld in practice. Empirical evidence from several sources, including field research, shows that the Peruvian government has failed to implement the labour rights commitments in several respects. In the conclusions, we point to the cautious role of the EU, which has scope to monitor Peru’s labour rights compliance more proactively.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Orbie & Lore Van den Putte & Deborah Martens, 2017. "The Impact of Labour Rights Commitments in EU Trade Agreements: The Case of Peru," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 6-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:5:y:2017:i:4:p:6-18
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Henrik Horn & Petros C. Mavroidis & André Sapir, 2010. "Beyond the WTO? An Anatomy of EU and US Preferential Trade Agreements," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(11), pages 1565-1588, November.
    2. Jackeline Velazco & Vicente Pinilla, 2018. "Development Models, Agricultural Policies and Agricultural Growth: Peru, 1950–2010," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: Vicente Pinilla & Henry Willebald (ed.), Agricultural Development in the World Periphery, chapter 16, pages 413-438, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2015. "Worker Empowerment through Labor Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector," Working Papers 208142, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    4. Monica Schuster & Miet Maertens, 2017. "Worker Empowerment Through Private Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 618-637, April.
    5. Gerda Van Roozendaal, 2017. "Where Symbolism Prospers: An Analysis of the Impact on Enabling Rights of Labour Standards Provisions in Trade Agreements with South Korea," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 19-29.
    6. Jeffrey S. Vogt, 2017. "The Bangladesh Sustainability Compact: An Effective Tool for Promoting Workers’ Rights?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 80-92.
    7. Orbie, Jan & Van den Putte, Lore, 2016. "Labour rights in Peru and the EU trade agreement: Compliance with the commitments under the sustainable development chapter," Working Papers 58, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    8. Liam CAMPLING & James HARRISON & Ben RICHARDSON & Adrian SMITH, 2016. "Can labour provisions work beyond the border? Evaluating the effects of EU free trade agreements," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 155(3), pages 357-382, September.
    9. Jan Orbie & Gerda Van Roozendaal, 2017. "Labour Standards and Trade: In Search of Impact and Alternative Instruments," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 1-5.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Jan Orbie & Gerda Van Roozendaal, 2017. "Labour Standards and Trade: In Search of Impact and Alternative Instruments," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 1-5.
    3. Alice Evans, 2019. "Incentivising Pro-Labour Reforms," CID Working Papers 349, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    4. Gerda Van Roozendaal, 2017. "Where Symbolism Prospers: An Analysis of the Impact on Enabling Rights of Labour Standards Provisions in Trade Agreements with South Korea," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 19-29.
    5. Damian Raess & Andreas Dür & Dora Sari, 2018. "Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: The role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 143-162, June.
    6. Liam Campling & James Harrison & Ben Richardson & Adrian Smith & Mirela Barbu, 2021. "South Korea's Automotive Labour Regime, Hyundai Motors’ Global Production Network and Trade‐Based Integration with the European Union," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 139-166, March.

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