Juridical Tribune (Oct 2020)
The European Union and Japan’s Economic Partnership Agreement: labour provisions under the ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ Chapter
Abstract
The conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements is currently a phenomenon in considerable expansion and with significant potential. Many of them include a specific chapter relating to labour, eg. the EU-South Korea FTA Chapter entitled ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’, the CPTPP Chapter entitled ‘Labour’ or the CETA Chapter entitled ‘Trade and Labour’. The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of labour provisions, which are included in the ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ Chapter of the EU and Japan’s Economic Partnership Agreement. The author researches different legal traditions between Japan and EU and concentrates on the lack of ratification on the part of Japan of the ILO Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, and the ILO Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour (notwithstanding references to the ILO core standards in the EPA). She focuses her attention on the the dispute resolution mechanism included in the EPA, which does not establish sanctions for breaching the obligations under the ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ Chapter and may thus stymie the ratification process and the effective enforcement of labour standards. Moreover, this study contributes to the literature by offering insights on the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development, and the involvement of civil society in the implementation of the ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ Chapter. Findings suggest insufficient transparency with respect to the work of this Committee and the Joint Dialogue with civil society.
