Labour Rights Protection in EU Trade Agreements : Can Trade Agreements “Only Do so Much”?

The orthodox rationale for labour standards provisions in EU free trade agreements (FTAs) finds its origin in the EU’s ambition to promote human rights abroad, especially in developing and least developed countries. Based on this understanding, legal and empirical evaluations of labour standards provisions have generally criticised their lack of effectiveness and enforceability, while reinforcing the mainstream belief among policy- and law-makers that trade agreements “can only do so much”. This chapter challenges this statement by questioning the traditional rationale for including provisions on labour rights in EU FTAs. It argues that the present context of far-reaching trade agreements with other developed countries requires a new understanding of the nexus between trade and labour rights. EU FTAs should reflect an appreciation of how their wide scope might have an impact on labour rights protection. This perspective allows us to envisage provisions that can introduce safeguards for labour rights, rather than considering them an extrinsic issue concerning the trading partner alone