Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea

The last few years have seen an increase of both free trade agreements (FTAs) and social provisions therein, such as the standards from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The US and the European Union (EU) are two of the biggest proponents of the trade-labour linkage. While the US practic...

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Main Author: Lore Van den Putte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McMaster University Library Press 2015-05-01
Series:Global Labour Journal
Online Access:https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/2331
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spelling doaj-be50f796f3c2492aa24a5933535084132021-04-02T21:30:49ZengMcMaster University Library PressGlobal Labour Journal1918-67112015-05-016210.15173/glj.v6i2.2331Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South KoreaLore Van den Putte0Ghent University The last few years have seen an increase of both free trade agreements (FTAs) and social provisions therein, such as the standards from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The US and the European Union (EU) are two of the biggest proponents of the trade-labour linkage. While the US practice is characterized by a ‘conditional’ approach, the EU’s approach is seen as ‘promotional’. Nonetheless, both foresee the possibility for civil society – such as unions, business organisations and academics - to monitor the implementation of social provisions. By focusing on the trade agreements of the US and the EU with South Korea, this paper assesses to what extent these civil society monitoring mechanisms differ and to what extent they can be effective in the long run. Methodologically the paper combines an analysis of the legislative texts of the trade agreement and of official documents produced by the mechanisms on the one hand and expert interviews on the other hand. The explorative study shows that the following factors are important for long term impact: fixed participants, funding, feedback of the governments on the advice of the mechanisms and strong institutionalisation. https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/2331
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Lore Van den Putte
spellingShingle Lore Van den Putte
Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
Global Labour Journal
author_facet Lore Van den Putte
author_sort Lore Van den Putte
title Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
title_short Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
title_full Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
title_fullStr Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
title_full_unstemmed Involving Civil Society in the Implementation of Social Provisions in Trade Agreements: Comparing the US and EU Approach in the Case of South Korea
title_sort involving civil society in the implementation of social provisions in trade agreements: comparing the us and eu approach in the case of south korea
publisher McMaster University Library Press
series Global Labour Journal
issn 1918-6711
publishDate 2015-05-01
description The last few years have seen an increase of both free trade agreements (FTAs) and social provisions therein, such as the standards from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The US and the European Union (EU) are two of the biggest proponents of the trade-labour linkage. While the US practice is characterized by a ‘conditional’ approach, the EU’s approach is seen as ‘promotional’. Nonetheless, both foresee the possibility for civil society – such as unions, business organisations and academics - to monitor the implementation of social provisions. By focusing on the trade agreements of the US and the EU with South Korea, this paper assesses to what extent these civil society monitoring mechanisms differ and to what extent they can be effective in the long run. Methodologically the paper combines an analysis of the legislative texts of the trade agreement and of official documents produced by the mechanisms on the one hand and expert interviews on the other hand. The explorative study shows that the following factors are important for long term impact: fixed participants, funding, feedback of the governments on the advice of the mechanisms and strong institutionalisation.
url https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/2331
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