European Union Free Trade Research Articles

Corporate Social Responsibility on Labour under the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Policy Implications for Vietnam

The article provides an in-depth understanding of the commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) on labour under the new generation of free trade agreements (FTAs) of the European Union (EU) in general and the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in particular. Accordingly, this article clarifies the evolution of CSR commitments in the EU's new generation of FTAs via the EU's foreign and trade policies. On that premise, the article conducts a comprehensive examination of the nature of CSR commitments related to labour in EVFTA. The article also examines current legislation of the EU and its member states. Then, it proposes a variety of policy implications for Vietnam and other developing nations to implement CSR commitments in the context of global sustainable development.

The European Union's Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand: Motivations and Implications

The European Union's Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand: Motivations and Implications

Internationalisation of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises: The case of the Australia and EU Free Trade Agreement

Australia is a member of many multilateral trade bodies and engages in trade agreements of a multilateral and bilateral kind across most regions. In June 2018, it launched negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) which are still ongoing and since then Australia and the EU have conducted fifteen rounds of negotiations (last one on 28 May 2023 in Brussels). This paper aims to explore the business awareness of the EU amongst Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to analyse the factors that influence their internationalisation. To ascertain this, we reviewed the results of two surveys[1] that were conducted pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic (also coinciding with the Brexit transition period). This paper argues that SMEs in Australia are essentially unaware of the EU as a market and that no significant change in the business perception of the EU and potential international trade opportunities occurred between the pre- and post-COVID-19 political contexts.

Sustainable development and the environment in EU and Japanese free trade agreements: embedding anthropocentric narratives

ABSTRACT New generation’ free trade agreements now include ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ (TSD) chapters designed to improve environmental provisions within overall trading arrangements. The wide-ranging European Union (EU)-Japan agreement of 2018 represents the culmination of a trend towards the greater inclusion of such TSD elements, and, as it covers one-third of global GDP, the significance of this agreement for trading relations cannot be understated. Comparing it with other agreements involving Japan and the EU, I argue that greater attention to sustainable development in trade connections, notwithstanding tangible significant environmental improvements, further embeds an anthropocentric narrative of trade-environment linkages and supports a ‘win–win’ linkage between enhancing economic growth and ensuring environmental protections. Through an eco-centric critique, I seek to challenge the fundamental anthropocentric assumptions underpinning such inclusions and explore the ways in which the language of environmental protection and climate change has been depoliticised by a particular framing of sustainable development.

And So It Begins: Trade and Sustainable Development Recommendations by a Panel of Experts under a European Union Free Trade Agreement

And So It Begins: Trade and Sustainable Development Recommendations by a Panel of Experts under a European Union Free Trade Agreement

The enforceability of the trade and sustainable development chapters of the European Union's free trade agreements.

Since 2011, the European Union’s (EU) free trade agreements (FTAs) include a Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter which provides for environmental and labour commitments. Nevertheless, the ratification and implementation of these commitments remain insufficient. It is therefore essential to analyse whether the EU has become more ambitious in enforcing the TSD chapter. To analyse the chapter’s enforceability, the EU’s FTAs with South Korea, Canada and Japan have been compared. The comparative analysis was based on three elements: the labour and environmental commitments, institutional mechanisms and the enforcement procedure. Concerning the latter, the ongoing EU-Korea dispute settlement case over workers’ rights in South Korea is the leading example. Until the Commission reveals more assertive enforcement plans, it can be said that the EU has not become more ambitious in enforcing its TSD chapter. Since no major changes were detected in the comparative analysis, several interviewees proposed enforcement mechanisms.

Exporting environmental objectives or erecting trade barriers in recent EU free trade agreements

The European Union (EU) has historically sought to influence environmental policies of other countries through multilateral environmental agreements. Under its 7th Environmental Action Plan and Trade for All strategy it now seeks to extend its environmental policy projection through trade; its recent free trade agreements now contain chapters addressing environment and sustainable development. However, by adopting high environmental standards the EU can also advance its own economic interests suggesting an ambiguous motivation. The recent Korean, Japanese and Canadian FTAs and the Mercosur agreements are examined in order to place the extent of this environmental turn within the context of economic advantage. The finding is that while environmental protection provisions in these FTAs may have environmental benefits, they may also serve EU domestic economic interests. This motivation has implications for new FTA negotiations, such as those with New Zealand and Australia, and now the UK.

Politicisation ‘Reversed’: EU Free Trade Negotiations with West Africa and the Caribbean

The politicisation of recent European Union (EU) trade negotiations such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement suggests that the more negotiations focus on deep integration issues, the higher the potential for polarization of values and interests. Yet, as we argue, this pattern does not necessarily hold true in EU trade negotiations with the developing world. In the case of the Economic Partnership Agreements with West Africa and the Caribbean region, the pattern of politicisation was ‘reversed’: Politicisation remained low in the Caribbean region, despite the inclusion of deep integration issues. To the contrary, negotiations became highly politicised in West Africa, where negotiations focussed on the traditional realm of trade in goods. Combining the insights from the literature on the role of non-state actors (NSAs) in trade policy-making in developing countries and on politicisation, we show that limited pre-existing mobilisation resources of NSAs, and few opportunities to engage with the political level of negotiations, imply that those affected by the inclusion of deep integration issues hardly mobilise. We also find that lack of technical expertise and the significance of traditional trade areas pre-empts NSAs from engaging in emotive framing on deep integration issues. This helps us to unpack the different patterns of politicisation across both regions: Politicisation in West Africa was facilitated by civil society actors who—in contrast to the Caribbean region—could draw on pre-existing networks, expertise, and direct access to the regional negotiation level.

Die Zukunft umfassender und gemischter Abkommen der EU nach dem Singapur-Gutachten

The article explores some legal issues regarding comprehensive trade and mixed agreements of the European Union (EU). The concept of mixed agreements is special to the EU legal order and under strain after the opinion 2/15 of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 16 May 2017, in which the Court defined the exclusive competence of the EU for concluding “EU-only agreements” in the context of the common commercial policy. This led to a split-up of trade agreements of the Union into “EU-only agreements” and mixed agreements on investment issues whereas no change of policy had been established for association agreements to date. Besides creating greater legal certainty, some problems remain regarding the to-be-improved acceptance of EU free trade agreements in the Member States. The analysis focuses on the division of powers between the EU and the Member States and its impact on mixed agreements on a political and legal level. It concludes that “mixity” has not been ended by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and can still be seen as a useful tool in the process of negotiating and concluding future comprehensive international trade and association agreements.

The Costs of Austerity: Labor Emigration and the Rise of Radical Right Politics in Central and Eastern Europe.

The right to free movement, to move and work freely within the European Union (EU), is a cornerstone right held by EU and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) citizens. Labor flows across the EU are, however, not uniform but are characterized by significant geographic disparities. In particular, since the 2008 global financial crisis, labor emigration, measured by the rate of EU citizens living and working in other EU countries, has increased exclusively among certain Central and Eastern European nations. This paper seeks to examine the link between labor migration, austerity policies, and the rise of radical nationalist politics. This paper uses Boolean analysis to examine the relationships between labor migration, nationalism, welfare support, and austerity. I argue that austerity measures have pushed certain Central and Eastern European countries into the roles of labor-sending nations, so that emigration and scarcity put pressure on traditional conceptions of belonging, fueling radical politics. In this way, austerity provides the material and ideological conditions under which emigration comes to be seen as a threat to the well-being of the nation, stoking support for nationalist populist parties.

Brexit and the EU–UK free trade agreement: dos and don’ts when drafting rules of origin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pros and cons of different models of the European Union (EU)-style Rules of Origin (RoO) that could be chosen by negotiators for a future UK–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It will also underline the impact that any choice would have on economic operators and certain criteria that should be evaluated before taking any decisions on the adoption of RoO. Design/methodology/approach The paper will describe three different RoO models that could be chosen by negotiators. For each of them, it analyses the pros and cons and the impact on economic operators. Findings The choice of a RoO would have an impact on future EU–UK trade relations. It will affect the utilization rate of the FTA as well as investment (and divestment) corporate strategies in the UK and EU. Originality/value The paper introduces different criteria to evaluate the impact of RoO that should be taken into consideration by negotiators. It emphasizes that RoO should be simple, predictable, coherent, IT compatible and easily adaptable.

Mind the compliance gap: managing trustworthy partnerships for sustainable development in the European Union's free trade agreements

Mind the compliance gap: managing trustworthy partnerships for sustainable development in the European Union's free trade agreements

Mind the compliance gap: managing trustworthy partnerships for sustainable development in the European Union's free trade agreements

Recent years have seen intensified interest in the labour and environment provisions in the EU's FTAs. The question has arisen whether the incorporation of 'trade and sustainable development' (TSD) chapters in the EU's FTAs deliver on their promise of using the EU's trade power to effectively promote the protection of the environment and improved working conditions in third countries. In particular, the compliance gap between the TSD provisions and their implementation has come to the forefront of the debate. Concerns have been raised that the EU's'promotional approach' based on dialogue and cooperation is less effective that the 'sanctions-based' approach followed by the US and Canada. This article examines the mechanisms for compliance in the TSD chapters in recent EU FTAs and argues that they hold greater promise for real improvements in labour and environmental standards than a sanctions-based enforcement system. However, it posits that, to be effective, and thereby gain the trust of civil society, the EU's 'promotional' approach must be supported by effective mechanisms for transparency, institutionalised dialogue and accountability.

Externalising Europe’s energy policy in EU Free Trade Agreements: A cognitive dissonance between promoting sustainable development and ensuring security of supply?

It is no secret that while the European Union (EU) has taken up commitments to combat climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and its own 2020 and 2030 climate and energy package strategy, the Union continues to be heavily dependent on the import of fossil fuels from abroad. One may even say that this leads to a cognitive dissonance, i.e. the discomfort which ensues if one holds two contradictory values, with respect to the externalisation of the Union’s energy and sustainable development policy. On the one hand, the EU aims to become a global frontrunner in the field of promoting renewable energy and sustainable development. This expresses itself through the inclusion of specific chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) (standard since the 2011 EU-South Korea FTA). On the other, the EU realises that it is imperative to secure the Union’s security of energy supply, still largely guaranteed by fossil fuels. Therefore, the Union in parallel attempts to eliminate discriminatory practices in international fossil fuel trade in its bilateral agreements (e.g. in the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement). This paper will explore the root causes of this cognitive dissonance and research what elements could contribute to ensuring more coherence in EU external energy policy. The objectives of sustainable development and security of supply are not necessarily contradictory per se. However, clearer delineations between the two objectives are necessary in EU external relations in general, and in the Union’s FTAs more specifically. This also applies to relations between Member States and the Union in this area, as well as to the interactions between the relevant EU institutions tasked with energy, sustainable development and the environment.

The Trade-Labour Nexus: Global Value Chains and Labour Provisions in European Union Free Trade Agreements

Labour standards provisions contained within the European Union’s (EU) free trade agreements (FTAs) are a major iteration of attempts to regulate working conditions in the global economy. This article develops an analysis of how the legal and institutional mechanisms established by these FTAs intersect with global value chain governance dynamics in counoutries with contrasting political economies. The article formulates an original analytical framework to explore how governance arrangements and power relations between lead firms in core markets and suppliers in FTA signatory countries shape and constrain the effectiveness of labour provisions in FTAs. This analysis demonstrates how the common framework of labour provisions in EU trade agreements, when applied in a uniform manner across differentiated political-economic contexts, face serious difficulties in creating meaningful change for workers in global value chains.

Is the WTO Dispute Settlement System a Model for EU FTA Investor-State Disputes?

Is the WTO dispute settlement system (DSS) is a suitable model for investor-state disputes arising under European Union Free Trade Agreements (EU FTAs)? Although previous attempts to replicate the system have failed at the multilateral level, the DSS is highly suitable to the specific nature of the EU. First, the WTO has helped create an integrative system, involving all stakeholders, i.e. disputants, States, and the organization itself. Second, a close analysis of the DSS shows that it is strongly focused on economic cooperation and not merely on litigation. Finally, unlike investment arbitration, the DSS has seemingly preserved the rule of law by allowing appeals. In this respect, the Appellate Body has gradually developed into a ‘rebellious’ judiciary, immune from political considerations. Transferring these key institutional features to the investment sphere would not only constitute structural improvements to the current system but also provide the EU with an instrument of global governance.

A Supply Chain Approach to Trade and Labor Provisions

As labor provisions in trade agreements have become increasingly ubiquitous, there remain questions about whether or not these provisions have been effective in improving working conditions in trading partner countries. Through an analysis of sample labor provisions in United States and European Union free trade agreements, this paper shows that both approaches, albeit using different methods, aim primarily to improve <em>de jure</em> labor law and <em>de facto</em> enforcement of that law by government regulatory institutions. This paper argues that instead, labor provisions ought to be grounded in a supply chain approach. A supply chain approach shifts the focus from impacting <em>de jure</em> and <em>de facto</em> labor law as administered by the state though sanctions or dialogue, and towards context specific, experimental, and coordinated private and public regulatory interventions that operate in key export industries that are implicated in trading partners’ supply chains. It does so in part by recognizing the potential regulatory power of consumer citizenship.

Revenue, welfare and trade effects of European Union Free Trade Agreement on South Africa

Background: Using the partial equilibrium WITS-SMART Simulation model to assess the impact of liberalisation under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) of a free trade area between the European Union and South Africa. The identification of the impact of such agreement allows for trade policy negotiation adjustment that can be beneficial for South Africa.Aim: The aim of the study is to estimate and discuss the impact of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union and South Africa. More specifically, the study intends to estimate the impact of revenue, welfare, imports, exports, trade creation and to come up with policies options for South Africa that can be used in negotiations and policy formulations.Setting: The study used international trade data (2012) available in the WITS-SMART model to assess bilateral trade agreement between the European Union and South Africa.Methods: To identify the impact on revenue, welfare, imports, exports and trade creation, the study simulated an FTA (0% tariff rate) for all goods exchanged between the European Union and South Africa. Also, the elasticity of substitution used for the simulation model was 99%.Results: The findings of the study reveal that total trade effects in South Africa are likely to surge by US$ 1.036 billion with a total welfare valued at US$ 134 million. Dismantling tariffs on all European Union (EU) goods would be beneficial to consumers through net trade creation. Total trade creation would be US$ 782 million. However, South African producers are likely to contribute a trade diversion of US$ 254 million which has a negative impact on consumer welfare. The country might also experience a revenue loss amounting to US$ 562 million because of the removal of tariffs. In trade, the country’s exports and imports to the EU are expected to increase by US$ 12.419 million and US$ 1.266 million, respectively.Conclusion: The European Union–South Africa FTA would result in both trade creation and trade expansion effects. However, trade creation and revenue loss are potential threats. In order to mitigate revenue loss, government needs to consider alternative tax such as consumption tax on certain goods and value-added tax.

The Evolution of the EU External Trade Policy in Services – CETA, TTIP, and TiSA after Brexit

The conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) constitutes a priority and key component of the external trade policy of the European Union (EU). It is also an immediate follow-up to several years of regulatory cooperation between the two global trade powers. In an era of megaregionals, services is the only area where significant negotiating traction exists at the bilateral and multilateral level. However, recent events such as the imminent Brexit and the withdrawal of the USA from the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) cast doubt on the future of trade deals. Even so, services remain a key sector of export interest for the EU and thus completing agreements such as the TTIP or the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is of crucial importance, allowing the EU to create new opportunities for service suppliers but also to reshape the regulatory philosophy governing the future regulation of global trade in services. With respect to TTIP, the EU Commission, backed by the EU executive, has advanced an ambitious agenda and submitted a conditional offer to the US, hoping for further liberalization on the two sides of the Atlantic. Against this backdrop, this article offers a critical account of the EU external trade policy, focusing on the EU’s recent external action with respect to services liberalization. The article advances three theses: first, that such ambitious agreements mark a new era of offensive services strategy which, however, is contained by internal conflicts and disagreements regarding certain still sensitive silos such as audiovisual or public services and Brexit shall exacerbate such internal conflicts in the medium run; second, that megaregionals can be used to accelerate domestic regulatory reform and openness in the service sector; and third, that TiSA will constitute a litmus test for the EU’s commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) cause. When appropriate, the article draws parallels with existing EU legislation and case law; other EU Free Trade Agreements such as the recently concluded Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada; the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); and TiSA.

Tuberculosis and latent tuberculous infection screening of migrants in Europe: comparative analysis of policies, surveillance systems and results.

Migration patterns into and within Europe have changed over the last decade. In 2015, European Union (EU) countries received over 1.2 million asylum requests, more than double the number registered in the previous year. This review compares the published literature on policies for tuberculosis (TB) and latent tuberculous infection (LTBI) screening in EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries with the existing TB/LTBI screening programmes for migrants in 11 EU/EFTA countries based on a survey of policy and surveillance systems. In addition, we provide a systematic review of the literature on the yield of screening migrants for active TB and LTBI in Europe. Published studies provide limited information about screening coverage and the yield of screening evaluations in EU/EFTA countries. Furthermore, countries use different screening strategies and settings, and different definitions for coverage and yield of screening for active TB and LTBI. We recommend harmonising case definitions, reporting standards and policies for TB/LTBI screening. To achieve TB elimination targets, a European platform for multi-country data collection and analysis, sharing of countries' policies and practices, and harmonisation of migrant screening strategies is needed.