1. ICTSD PANEL: LABOUR PROVISIONS IN BILATERAL AND REGIONAL AGREEMENTS: CHALLENGES FOR THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM
WTO PUBLIC FORUM 2009
Pablo Lazo 1 1

3. TRADE AND LABOR: CONTEXT
Accelerated Technological Innovation
Economic Globalization
Mutation in the world of labor
Challenge: Is it possible to govern globalization? How? 3

4. TRADE AND LABOR: MULTILATERAL DEVELOPPMENT
Copenhagen World Summit of Heads of State on Social Development, 1995
WTO: Singapore Declaration, 1996
ILO: Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, 1998
UN ECOSOC: Ministerial Declaration, 2006
ILO: Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008

5. UNIVERSAL CONSENSUS Core labor standards ILO: competent body
Labor standards should not be used with protectionist purposes
It should not be questioned the comparative advantage of any country on the base of these instruments

6. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Elimination of compulsory labor
Abolition of child labor
Non discrimination

7. EVOLUTION OF THE SOCIAL CLAUSE
UNILATERALISM: GPS
NAFTA
US-JORDAN
US-CAMBODIA
US-CHILE (POST TPA)
TRANSPACIFIC
NEW ZEALAND-CHINA
US-PERU (POST BIPARTISAN US AGREEMENT)
UE-CARIFORUM
CANADA-PERU 7

8. LABOR STANDARDS EN INTERNATIONAL TRADE
UNILATERAL MECHANISMS:
GSP
BILATERAL OR REGIONAL SYSTEMS:
NAFTA
US-JORDAN
US-CAMBODIA
US-CHILE (AFTER TPA)
TRANSPACIFIC
NEW ZEALAND-CHINA
US-PERU (AFTER BIPARTISAN US AGREEMENT)
UE-CARIFORUM
CANADA-PERU
MULTILATERAL SYSTEMS:
ILO
OAS
APEC
OECD
UN GLOBAL COMPACT
WORLD BANK AND OTHERS
ISO (DRAFT) 8

9. FOUR MODELS US: trade sanctions
EU: commitments under civil society supervision
Canada: Monetary contributions
New Zealqnd-Chile: Consultation and cooperative approach

10. PROVISIONS Separate agreements/labor clauses Decent work concept
Core labor standards
Enforcement
Non derogation
Transparency
Cooperation
Seriousness – different approaches
Social actors participation

11. SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY
ILO: Declaration on MNS
OECD: Guidelines for MNE
UN Global Compact
ISO (draft) 11

13. LINKAGE TRADE &LABOR: EXPERIENCE OF CHILE
Canada
MERCOSUR
European Union
USA
TRANSPACIFIC
PRChina
Panama
Peru
Colombia
Japan
Australia
Turkey

14. SOME FACTS OF THE PROCESS
From unilateral to bilateral
Increasing and deepening the linkage
Risk of distortion
Still no room in multilateralism
No evidence of any labor case in an FTA arbitral panel
No evidence of protectionist use of labor clauses
No evidence of damages with social clauses
Positive cooperation experiences
Some cases related to GSP
Consultations only in NAFTA 14

15. CONCLUSIONS
Sound economic and trade policies can be compatible with sound social policies
Economic growth is not compromised with core labor protections, nationally or internationally
Labor engagement increases competitiveness

16. WWW.DIRECON.CL plazo@direcon.cl16

17. THANK YOU!