The trade‐labour and trade‐environment linkages: together or apart?

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to challenge the common wisdom that environmental and labour concerns have been treated in a similar way by the multilateral trade regime by assessing the two subjects' patterns of inclusion in regional trade agreements and in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).Design/methodology/approachAn historical overview of the institutional developments at the regional and the bilateral level is provided. The selected analytical perspective focuses primarily on institutional change rather than on a normative analysis of the righteousness of linkage.FindingsThe article finds that the common knowledge placing both labour and the environment in the same position at the WTO originates from the alliances between organised labour and environmentalists during the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. However, that alliance did not translate into the inclusion of both subjects at the WTO, which incorporated the environment while rejecting labour.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings make clear that more academic attention should be paid to the differential treatment to non‐trade issues by the WTO by raising questions on the political factors that influenced the WTO Member States' decisions.Originality/valueThe article's added value lies in its comparative approach and its focus on WTO policies. So far, the degree of penetration of non‐trade subjects at the WTO has not been comparatively assessed, and the academic debate on non‐trade issues at the WTO has been dominated by speculative approaches that underplay the importance of actual political dynamics.