Abstract
Since 1994, the trade union narrative on the WTO has shifted from a single- and pro-active issue – a social clause linking trade liberalisation to core labour standards – to a broader, but more defensive, agenda on preserving governments’ “policy space” at home – containing trade liberalisation to protect public services, industrial policies, access to health and, more recently, data governance and the digital economy. After 2010, the trade union’s attention shifted to other forums. The social clause project gained a second life in the trade and investment agreements that flourished in the 2010s and the separate agenda on responsible business conduct in global supply chains. Lessons were learned through the years with respect to the trade union engagement at the WTO, regarding the narrative itself – how to avoid the trap of the protectionism argument – and coalition building – how to strengthen cooperation with the NGOs and southern movements.
In “The Elgar Companion to the World Trade Organization” 2023.
Habbard, Pierre “From social clause to policy space: the trade union narrative on the WTO”, in The Elgar Companion to the World Trade Organization. Ed. Julien Chaisse and Cristián Rodríguez-Chiffelle. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023, 493–504