Implementing and enforcing social and environmental provisions in FTAs : Lessons from a 7-country analysis

2022-05-20T09:30:00Z

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Résumé de la conférence

Conformément aux termes de son plan d'action en 15 points sur le commerce et le développement durable (DST), conçu pour améliorer la mise en œuvre et l'application des dispositions relatives à l'environnement et au travail dans les accords commerciaux de l'Union européenne (UE), la Commission européenne réexamine actuellement ses Approche DST et réflexions sur la nécessité de prendre des mesures supplémentaires pour assurer la mise en œuvre complète et effective des chapitres DST dans les accords de libre-échange (ALE). Pour ce faire, il a commandé une étude dans sept pays afin de comparer la portée, les modalités et les effets du modèle TSD de chacun d'entre eux. Cela a nécessité de cartographier et d'évaluer les engagements sociaux et environnementaux que les pays prennent lors de la signature d'accords commerciaux ; comprendre les mécanismes institutionnels et les acteurs attendus pour promouvoir le développement durable ; et mesurer les résultats obtenus grâce à l'inclusion de dispositions spécifiques au STD dans les ALE. Cette conférence résumera les principaux résultats de l'étude et discutera des perspectives de recherche.

Conference Summary

In compliance with the terms of its 15-Point Action Plan on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD), designed to improve the implementation and enforcement of environmental and labour provisions in the European Union's (EU) trade agreements, the European Commission is currently reviewing its TSD approach and reflecting on the need to take additional measures to ensure the full and effective implementation of TSD chapters in free trade agreements (FTAs). To do so, it commissioned a seven-country study to compare the scope, modalities and effects of each country's TSD model. This required mapping out and assessing the social and environmental commitments that countries take when signing trade agreements ; understanding the institutional mechanisms and stakeholders expected to promote sustainable development ; and measuring the results accomplished by the inclusion of specific TSD provisions in FTAs. This conference will summarize the key findings of the study and discuss perspectives for research.

Speakers

Jean-Baptiste Velut
– Associate Professor at Sorbonne Nouvelle University of Paris and Senior Researcher with LSE Consulting's Trade Policy Hub
– Maître de conférences à l'Université Sorbonne nouvelle de Paris.

Jean-Baptiste Velut is Associate Professor at Sorbonne Nouvelle University of Paris. His research focuses on US and European trade policies, trade agreements and globalization debates. Jean-Baptiste is a senior expert with LSE Consulting's Trade Policy Hub, for which he coordinated the 7-country comparative analysis of TSD approaches commissioned by DG Trade. His recent publications include Understanding Mega Trade Deals : The Political and Economic Governance of New Cross-Regionalism (Routledge, 2018) and a preface to the book “Vers une politique commerciale socialement responsable dans un contexte de tensions commerciales” edited by E. Boulanger, M. Rioux & S. Zini (Presses de l'Université du Québec, 2021). He is currently writing a book on civil society inclusion and new trade linkages in US trade policymaking.

Kevin Kolben
– Est professeur agrégé à la Rutgers Business School dans le département de gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement.

Kevin Kolben is an associate professor at Rutgers Business School in the department of Supply Chain Management, where he currently serves as the department's vice chair. A lawyer, his research focuses on the regulation of supply chains, transnational labor regulation, labor provisions in trade agreements, and international economic regulation and governance. His most recent publications include Compensation and its Limits : Can Trade's Losers be Made Whole in the Journal of International Economic Law (2021), and he is currently co-editing with Michèle Rioux a special issue in Politics and Governance on the topic of re-embedding trade. In addition to his academic work, he regularly consults with various governmental and non-governmental organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He recently participated in a report with Jean-Baptiste Velut for DG trade on comparative approaches to trade, sustainability, and development. He has served several terms on the U.S. Department of Labor's National Advisory Committee On Labor Provisions In Trade Agreements, and currently serves on the panelist list for the USMCA's Rapid Response Mechanism. He holds a J.D. as well as M.A. in South Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.

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Understanding Mega Free Trade Agreements : The Political and Economic Governance of New Cross-Regionalism

2017-09-27T12:11:16Z

Summary

The rise of cross-regional trade agreements is a defining trend of the current international trade system as shown by the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2015, the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the USA and the EU as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between countries in Asia and Oceania. These differ from previous agreements in their economic significance and large geographic scale, and the wide scope of trade-related issues.

The current rise of nationalist and isolationist ideologies across Europe and the USA has raised questions on the future of cross-regional trade deals and made the need to understand their implications for economic and political governance ever more urgent. Two main forms of governance that are central to this volume are the democratic tensions over new generation trade deals on the one hand, and their geopolitical ramifications on the other, which have come into collision to herald the advent of a highly uncertain period of world politics. Many of the questions tackled in this volume, surrounding the democratic governance of trade agreements – whether long-held debates on the inclusion of workers' voices, controversies on intrusive "behind the border" provisions undermining national sovereignty and local autonomy or new questions on digital rights – are crucial to understand the ebbing popular support for far-reaching trade agreements.

This book will be a useful learning tool for students and scholars in a wide range of fields, including Globalisation, Global Governance, International Political Economy, International Trade and Investment and International Law, and should also be of interest to EU trade negotiators, international policymakers and business associations.

Pour commander le livre en version papier ou électronique, visitez le site web de CRC Press

Centre d'études sur l'intégration et la mondialisation (CEIM)

Implementing and enforcing social and environmental provisions in FTAs : Lessons from a 7-country analysis

Cliquez ici pour l'inscription Zoom obligatoire / Click here for Mandatory Zoom subscription

Cliquez ici pour l'inscription Zoom obligatoire / Click here for mandatory Zoom subscription

Understanding Mega Free Trade Agreements : The Political and Economic Governance of New Cross-Regionalism