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49 Geo. J. Int'l L. 675 (2017-2018)
Leveraging Trade Agreements for Labor Law Enforcement: Drawing Lessons from the US-Guatemala CAFTA Dispute

handle is hein.journals/geojintl49 and id is 679 raw text is: LEVERAGING TRADE AGREEMENTS FOR LABOR LAW ENFORCEMENT: DRAWING LESSONS FROM THE US-GUATEMALA CAFTA DISPUTE DR. PHILLIP PAIEMENT* ABSTRACT The 2017 U.S.-Guatemala dispute (the Dispute) under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) was the first instance in which a labor law complaint was disputed under the arbitration mechanisms of a free trade agreement. For labor law advocates, it represents a test of how the inclusion of labor law provisions within international trade law instruments will protect transnational labor rights. In reviewing this case from the perspective of transnational labor law, the arbitration panel's decision dem- onstrates the many limitations incident to using free trade agreements to pursue the enforcement of labor laws abroad. In particular, the Panel's narrowformu- lation of the affecting trade requirement in the CAFTA-DR will prove chal- lenging for labor advocates. While the integration of labor provisions in international trade law instruments will likely continue, the effectiveness of such measures does not look positive in light of the Dispute. I. INTRODUCTION ............................................. 676 II. THE TRANSNATIONAL LENS ............................ 677 III. LABOR PROVISIONS IN U.S. FTAs AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAFTA-D R ...................................... 679 IV. THE MATTER OF GUATEMALA - ISSUES RELATING TO THE OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 16.2.1 (A) OF THE CAFTA-DR... 683 A. Whether Guatemala Failed to Effectively Enforce Its Labor Laws ......................................... 685 B. Whether Guatemala ' Failure to Effectively Enforce Its Labor Laws Affected Trade Between the Parties ............... 687 V. DISCUSSION ......... ........................................ 688 A. Procedure Over Substance: Missing the Mark on Freedom of Association Rights ............................... 689 B. The Challenge of the Affecting Trade Threshold ........ 690 C. The Role of Labor Unions and NGOs ................. 691 VI. CONCLUSION ...................................... 692 * Assistant Professor in jurisprudence, Tilburg Law School, the Netherlands. © 2018, Phillip Paienent.