A Study On Labor Standards In American Bilateral Trade Agreements

The issue of labor standards belongs to domestic issues, and regulated by domestic laws. However, with the development of globalization, this issue goes beyond the national boundaries, and gradually become an international issue. The establishment of the international labor organization is aim to catch up with the international trend of this issue and coordinate each countries’ labor standards, so as to protect labors’ rights of each country. Instead of protecting labors’ rights, developed countries intended to bring labor standards in multilateral and bilateral field to offset comparative advantage of developing countries’ economy for the purpose of reverse the situation on trade. Because they do not want to lose comparative advantage in the area of trade, developing countries opposed to labor standards and trade mutual connection, adhere to trade liberalization. Trade and labor standards dispute between developed and developing countries, is increasingly becoming a hot issue of scholar concern.As the most globalized multilateral trade organization, WTO increasingly being a playground for tug of war on this issue. United States as a representative of developed countries has been committed to bringing labor standards in multilateral field. Although the effort to bring social clause to WTO has failed, the United States still committed to bring in labor standards and shifted the focus to bilateral field. Studying the terms of labor standards on American bilateral trade agreement is significant to analyze developed countries’"interest" on labor standards. Labor standards are merely a tool for developed countries to implement their trading policies. If we failed to understand it correctly, then we’ll lose the best opportunity to cope with it.This article mainly research the bilateral FTA of America, with analyzing the article of labors and estimating the influence of the behavior, to find our country’s measure for coping with the behavior that linking trade and labor standards in bilateral FTA. The forward mainly introduce the title, and state the international trend of protecting labor’s right. Part1 introduce the strategic evolution of linking trade and labor standards in America. Considering the national benefit, America link trade and labor standards from multilateral field to bilateral field. Although the failure that America wants to draft the "social clause" into the WTO, its never surround and pay more attention to the bilateral FTA. Part2 and part3 analyze the structure and the institution of chapter of labor in America’s bilateral FTA, find out the advantage and weakness, and evaluate it. Part4 give us the influence of America’s strategy, especially the influence to China. The developing countries concluding FTA with America are also influenced by it. Part5 tell us China will how to answer the America’s strategy. China should hold on the WTO’s rule system and improve the labor’s system independently.