US Moves Forward with Labour Case under Guatemala Trade Deal
US Moves Forward with Labour Case under Guatemala Trade Deal
25 September 2014
The US will proceed with its labour enforcement action against Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), officials confirmed last week. The labour case, originally launched four years ago, is the first of its kind brought under a free trade deal.
Speaking in Washington to an assembly that included domestic labour leaders, politicians, and the Deputy Secretary of Labor, US Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman said that the US would continue to “advance both our interests and our values” through “strong, enforceable labor standards.”
The original case was filed in July 2010, but has advanced slowly since. (See Bridges Weekly, 4 August 2010) In re-starting the case, the USTR said that Washington will “not hesitate to take action” to improve international labour standards and protect American workers against what the US sees as unfair competition.
Ensuring compliance, Froman added, would “level the playing field for American workers and help ensure that global competition is driven by entrepreneurship and innovation, not by exploitation or injustice.”
More:
http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/us-moves-forward-with-labour-case-under-guatemala-trade-deal
