United States Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
Since 1994, the United States has secured the inclusion of labour provisions in all bilateral and regional FTAs it has negotiated, starting with the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC), which complemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1992. FTAs were given new impetus following the signing by the United States Congress of the Trade Act of 2002, which included “the authorization to promote trade”. More recently, the New Trade Policy with America (agreed in May 2007) states that specific labour provisions are to be included in FTAs, covering an obligation to adopt and maintain in the domestic legislation the ILO core labour standards as well as an obligation to effectively enforce domestic labour laws containing those standards.
A. Full text access to US FTAs
B. Specific US FTAs labour rights and social provisions
C. Specific web link on Labour-Related Reports for US Free Trade Agreements
D. General information regarding US FTAs and their labour rights provisions (implementation, dispute settlement mechanism, etc)
A. Full text access to US FTAs
By clicking on the web link below, you will be able to consult the United States Government specific website dealing with all free trade agreements the US has signed and adopted, as well as full FTAs text access and specific access regarding their implementation and labour issues:
United States Government website on US FTAs
B. Specific US FTAs labour rights and social provisions
US/Oman FTA (entered into force on January 1, 2009)
- Labour rights and labour issues are included in Chapter 16
- Labour rights and labour issues are also developed in Annex 16-A (Labour Cooperation Mechanism)
US/Peru FTA (entered into force on February 1, 2009)
- Labour rights and labour issues are included in Chapter 17
- Results on assessment of labour rights following this agreement
US/Korea FTA (signed on June 30, 2007)
- Labour rights and labour issues are included in Chapter 19
- Labour rights and labour issues are also developed in Annex 19-A entitled “Labour Cooperation Mechanism”, and the protection of labour rights is confirmed in a public letter
US/Panama FTA or TPA (trade promotion agreement) (Signed on July 7, 2007)
US/Morocco FTA (entered into force on January 1, 2006):)
US/Bahrain FTA (entered into force in August 2006)
- Labour rights are included in chapter 15, plus Labour Cooperation Mechanism in Annex 15-A
US/Colombia FTA (signed on November 22, 2006)
US/Australia FTA (entered into force on January 1, 2005)
CAFTA-DR (Central American and Dominican Republic FTA) (signed on August 5, 2005)
US/Chile FTA (entered into force on January 1, 2004)
US/Singapore FTA (entered into force on January 1, 2004)
US/Jordan FTA (entered into force on December 17, 2001)
US/Cambodia Bilateral Textile Agreement (1999)
US/Cambodia Textile Agreement Links Increasing Trade with Improving Workers’ Rights (2002)
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) (entered into force on January 1, 1994)
NAALC (North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation)
US/Israel FTA (signed in 1985, extended to all products in 1995, extended through December 31, 2009)
C. Specific web link on Labour-Related Reports for US Free Trade Agreements
Labour-Related Reports for US FTAs
D. General information regarding US FTAs and their labour rights provisions (implementation, dispute settlement mechanism, etc)
Information on NAFTA’s labour side Agreement
- Trading Away Rights, the Unfulfilled Promises of NAFTA’s Labour Side Agreement
- CRS Report for Congress, NAFTA Labour Side Agreement: Lessons for the Worker Rights and Fast-Track Debate
- The experience of NAFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: Lessons for the FTAA, Gustavo Vegas Cánovas, 2003:
Information on FTA’s labour provisions
- Human Rights Watch: A way Forward for Workers’ Rights in US Free Trade Accords
- Labour provisions in US Free Trade Agreement. Aaron Rosenberg, Director for Labour Affairs, Office of the United States Representative, July 2007
- Centre for American Progress: A sensible Approach to Labour Standards to Ensure Free Trade
- Customs/ Trade/ Finance Symposium of the Americas, John R. Magnus: Dispute Settlement in the Free Trade Agreements of the Americas: There is a Better Way
- Combining Global and Local Forces: The Case of Labour Rights in Cambodia, S.Polaski, 2006
- Synthesis reports on working conditions in Cambodia’s garment sector, ILO
- The Debate on Labour Standards and International Trade: Lessons from Cambodia and Bangladesh (2008)