Certifying International Worker Rights: A Practical Alternative
Author(s)
Levinson, Jerome
Abstract
The effort to incorporate core worker rights into multilateral trade and investment agreements and thereby achieve, in Rodrik’s words, “a certain degree of harmonization,” has failed. … Both trade legislation and the rules governing U.S. participation in the IFIs make the protection of core worker rights a priority. … The record demonstrates that the STR and the Treasury sacrifice core worker rights to other priorities: in the case of the STR, promoting trade and investment abroad by U.S.-based MNCs; in the case of the Treasury, assuring the security and mobility of capital.
