Proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues

[Excerpt] This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians. For general issues relating to the CFTA, see CRS Report RL34470, U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Economic and Political Implications, by M. Angeles Villarreal. For background on Colombia and its political situation and context for the agreement, see CRS Report RL32250, Colombia: Issues for Congress, by Colleen W. Cook and Clare Ribando Seelke. Opponents of the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA) argue against it on three points: (1) the high rate of violence against trade unionists in Colombia; (2) the lack of adequate punishment for the perpetrators of that violence; and (3) weak Colombian enforcement of International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor standards and labor laws. Proponents of the agreement argue primarily for the proposed Colombia FTA on the basis of economic and national security benefits. Accordingly, they argue, the CFTA would: support increased exports, expand economic growth, create jobs, and open up investment opportunities for the United States. They also argue that it would reinforce the rule of law and spread values of capitalism in Colombia, and anchor hemispheric stability. Proponents specifically respond to labor complaints of the opponents, that (1) violence against trade unionists has declined dramatically since President Álvaro Uribe took office in 2002; (2) substantial progress is being made on the impunity issue as the government has undertaken great efforts to find perpetrators and bring them to justice; and (3) the Colombian government is taking steps to improve conditions for workers. If Congress were to approve the Colombia FTA, it would be the second FTA (after Peru) to have some labor enforcement “teeth.” Labor provisions including the four basic ILO core labor standards would be enforceable through the same dispute settlement procedures as for all other provisions (i.e., primarily those for commercial interests.) Opponents argue that under CFTA, only the concepts of core labor standards, and not the details of the ILO conventions behind them, would be enforceable. Proponents point to recent Colombian progress in protecting workers on many fronts. They argue that approval of the FTA and the economic growth in Colombia that would result is the best way to protect Colombia’s trade unionists. They also argue that not passing the agreement would not resolve Colombia’s labor issues. Opponents argue that delaying approval of the proposed CFTA further would give Colombia more time to keep improving protections for its workers. This report will be updated as events warrant

Labor Enforcement Issues in U.S. FTAs

[Excerpt] Labor provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs)—both in the U.S. and globally—were first included in the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), the side agreement to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since then provisions have evolved from commitments not just to enforce a country’s own domestic labor laws, but also to adopt and enforce core labor principles of the International Labor Organization (ILO). As mandated by Congress through trade promotion authority (TPA), recent U.S. FTAs also subject labor chapters to the same dispute settlement procedures as all other obligations. Some Members view strong worker rights provisions in U.S. FTAs as an important issue and they have raised concerns over FTA partner compliance with labor commitments and the U.S. record of enforcement. These issues were a part of the debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and in the NAFTA renegotiation

Labor Rights Comments to United States Trade Representatives Regarding Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Comments submitted to the United States Trade Representative following a request for comments concerning the Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of Colombia. They describe labor rights violations in Colombia and the role of the Colombian government in the repression of labor rights. The document urges the US government to support labor rights by requiring preconditions to be met by Colombia before entering into a trade agreement

U.S.-Mexico Joint Statement on Ministerial Consultations Under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare of Mexico, Carlos Carranza reaffirm their commitment to the effective enforcement of labor laws by their respective departments. The statement also discusses the responsibilities of both labor departments under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation

International Cooperation on Trade and Labor Issues

The relationship between the labor market and international trade is a broad and complex subject that has been the focus of significant attention in recent years. Discussion and analysis in this area has covered a number of discrete issues, including the effect of shifting trade patterns on employment levels and earnings in domestic markets, the impact of wage levels and labor legislation on the location of production facilities, and the positive and negative aspects of the cross-border movement of workers, among others. The continuing importance of labor issues within the larger trade debate is highlighted by the inclusion of measures relating to labor standards and/or the cross-border movement of workers in recent bilateral and multilateral trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the U.S.–Oman Free Trade Agreement. This paper aims to provide background for future work on trade-related labor issues by describing how labor issues such as internationally recognized labor standards and the cross-border movement of workers have been addressed by international organizations, as well as in U.S. trade legislation and recent trade agreements

NAFTA\u27s Labor Side Accord: A Three-Year Accounting

[Excerpt] Any number of idealized social charters with universal standards and swift, powerful enforcement powers could be drafted by critics of the labor side agreement. But the NAALC was negotiated by sovereign governments with clashing business, labor, and political concerns. The result is a hybrid agreement, one that preserves sovereignty but creates mutual obligations and combines broad cooperation and consultation programs alongside contentious review, evaluation, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Most of all, the NAALC promotes engagement on labor rights and labor standards in an experiment not tested in any other international forum

Another Look at NAFTA

Weak, toothless, worthless and a farce —these were some of the epithets applied to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) labor side accord negotiated by the United States, Mexico, and Canada in 1993. Trade unionists and labor rights supporters were upset, first by the text of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) when it appeared, then by early experiences after it went into effect on January 1, 1994. But those wanting progress on labor rights and standards in international trade should be careful of making some idealized “best” the enemy of the good

Central America: Labor Reports and Child Labor Reports Pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002, Section 2102(c)(8)-(9)

[Excerpt] These comments are in response to the “Request for Information Concerning Labor Rights in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and their Laws Governing Exploitative Child Labor” published at 68 Fed. Reg. 19580 (April 21, 2003). This Request for Information was issued pursuant to Section 2102(c)(8) and (9) of the Trade Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-210, which requires the President, with respect to any proposed trade agreement, to submit to Congress a “meaningful labor rights report” and a “report describing the extent to which the country or countries that are parties to the agreement have in effect laws governing exploitative child labor.

Labor Considerations Regarding the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

US Government plans to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia are of great concern to the International Labor Rights Forum. The ILRF warns the Colombian government’s structural deficits reflected in its ongoing failures to uphold the rule of law predict continued violence against trade unionists