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Globalization and Democracy: The Impact of Trade Agreements on Workers’ Rights

This analysis explores the implications of globalization and trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA on jobs and citizens’ rights. It critiques the focus on investor protections over labor rights, highlighting the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and the exclusion of ordinary citizens from trade benefits. The study emphasizes the need for robust labor protections, including minimum wages and workers' rights to organize, as essential to fostering democratic values in the face of powerful trade agreements.

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Globalization and Democracy: The Impact of Trade Agreements on Workers’ Rights

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  1. Globalization and Democracy: The Threat to Jobs and Citizens’ Rights in theTrans Pacific Partnership Prof. G. Lafer University of Oregon 2014

  2. EU vs. NAFTA: Two Models for Trade

  3. EUSocial Charter • Minimum wages • Right to paid vacation and weekly rest. • Freedom to form union • Part-time workers’ protection • Support for unemployed and pensioners • Worker say over layoffs, reorganization or technological change • Mobility of workers across borders

  4. A Treaty Between Countries? NAFTA was “an agreement for the rich and powerful in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, an agreement effectively excluding ordinary people in all three societies.” Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castenada

  5. U.S. has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs since NAFTA Over 50,000 Oregon jobs have been certified by the federal government as eliminated due to “free trade.”

  6. Under CAFTA, investors are protected against “indirect” expropriation. This includes government actions that reduce investors’ reasonable “expectation of gain or profit.” Investor Rights Under FTAs

  7. Step 1. Investor notifies a country of its intent to file an arbitration claim, providing an explanation of the case. Foreign Investor Complaint ProcedureCentral American Free Trade Agreement Step 2. After 90 days, investor files claim and three-person arbitration panel is established. Step 3. Arbitrators hear the case and render a decision. Decisions are binding and final, with no possibility for appeal.

  8. Sample Investor Claims Under NAFTA •  Forced Privatization (UPS versus Canada Post) • Domestic Industry Undermined (U.S. Corn Producers attack Mexican sugar industry) •  Environmental Regulations Overturned •  Public Regulations

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