Bilateral Trade Agreements and Human Security in Asia

Abstract

This chapter discusses the linkage between international trade and human security in Asian bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). It begins with an overview of human security issues in intra-Asian FTAs and shows that no substantial provisions on environmental protection and labor standards can be found in them. But one issue area stands out: the mobility of persons, a controversial agenda to give people greater opportunities to work abroad while protecting their workers’ rights. The issue has been debated under the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a part of the liberalization of trade in services, but has deadlocked because it touches on the controversy surrounding immigration. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has failed to enact any provisions that satisfy both the receiving and sending nations. Interestingly, though, Japan—a nation with an unusually small immigrant population—became the first country to conclude bilateral FTAs that could encourage freer transnational movement of workers, going beyond GATS.