publications

Conclusion

US free trade accords can be an important and powerful tool for advancing workers’ rights. To date, however, despite recent reforms, US policy and practice in this area have fallen short, squandering the opportunities presented by the negotiation and execution of trade agreements. The recommendations presented here outline the reforms that Human Rights Watch believes are necessary to begin to remedy those failures.

We recognize that additional legal reforms and policy changes are also necessary to ensure that these accords reach their full potential for workers’ rights promotion. For example, a new approach must be adopted for any new trade promotion authority or “fast track” legislation, one that prioritizes workers’ rights,76 including in the selection of future US trading partners. And labor-related technical assistance and capacity building should consistently prioritize aid for civil society organizations, including unions, that are best positioned to assist workers seeking to exercise their fundamental rights.

Human Rights Watch urges a new US administration, taking office in January 2009, both to embrace our proposals and to recognize that they form only one component of a multifaceted strategy that must be implemented to ensure effective protection of workers’ rights in US free trade accords. Failure to do so will result in the continuation of a flawed US trading model incapable of upholding the promise to workers that their rights will be a priority in the global marketplace.

 

Acknowledgements

Carol Pier, labor rights and trade senior researcher for the Business and Human Rights Program of Human Rights Watch, researched and wrote this report. The report was edited by Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program; Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor; and Joseph Saunders, deputy program director. Carly Tubbs, coordinator for the Business and Human Rights Program, provided research assistance and staff support and prepared the report for publication. Layout and production were coordinated by Tubbs and Grace Choi, publications director. Printing and distribution were performed by Fitzroy Hepkins and José Martínez. Outside trade and labor rights lawyers also shared their knowledge and expertise with us during the research and writing process, and we are grateful for their invaluable contributions.



76 The primary purpose of trade promotion or “fast track” authority is to allow the US president to negotiate free trade agreements that the US Congress can only approve or reject, not amend, but the legislation also establishes a substantive and procedural framework for the negotiation and subsequent congressional consideration of accords. See, e.g., Carol Pier, “Workers’ Rights Provisions in Fast Track Authority, 1974-2007: An Historical Perspective and Current Analysis,” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 13, winter 2006.