Can free trade agreements improve labor conditions?

Companies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they are conducting trade in a responsible way. Many free trade agreements nowadays include provisions for labor and sustainable development to facilitate responsible practices. But can these provisions really induce companies to improve labor conditions—and how? Can trade also address the problem of forced labor?

Joining this episode of Trade Winds were:

HOST

Cecilia Malmström
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

GUESTS

Kathleen Claussen
Law Professor, Miami University; Nonresident Fellow, Institute of International Economic Law, Georgetown Law; Former Associate General Counsel, Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)

Karen Curtis
Chief of the Freedom of Association Branch and Deputy Director of International Labor Standards Development, International Labor Organization (ILO)

Madelaine Tuininga
Head of Unit for Trade and Sustainable Development, Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission