The comments of the ILO's supervisory bodies : usefulness in the context of the sanction-based dimension of labour provisions in US free trade agreements

This paper looks at recent complaints under the labour chapters of three US trade agreements – the CAFTA-DR, the US-Bahrain and the US-Peru FTAs – and undertakes a preliminary analysis of the use of the comments of the ILO’s supervisory bodies in the regulation mechanisms of labour provisions contained in those trade agreements. The paper analyses the way both labour unions and the competent authorities in the United States have used or relied on the comments of the ILO’s supervisory bodies in the submission process related to the sanction mechanisms of labour provisions. It also examines the similarities between, on the one hand, the comments of the ILO’s supervisory bodies on each country’s application of relevant ILO instruments and, on the other hand, the terms of the official submissions by labour unions and the reviews of the competent US authorities. It further highlights the manner in which arguments presented by labour unions in their submissions have relied extensively on the comments of ILO supervisory bodies. The paper concludes by drawing insights as to the possible implications in the future for the ILO in the context of the labour chapters of bilateral or regional trade agreements.