Involving Civil Society in Social Clauses and the Decent Work Agenda

The United States (US) and the European Union (EU) are two of the biggest proponents of the trade–labour linkage. While US practice is characterised by a ‘conditional ’ approach, the EU’s approach is rather more ‘promotional’. Nonetheless, both foresee the possibility of civil society organisations such as unions, business organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academics participating in the monitoring of the implementation of labour provisions. By focusing on the trade agreements of the US and the EU with South Korea, this article assesses to what extent these civil society monitoring mechanisms differ de jure as well as de facto. Methodologically, the paper combines expert interviews with an analysis of the legislative texts of trade agreements and of official documents produced by the mechanisms. This exploratory study shows that while such mechanisms are intended to be promotional, they do have the potential to contribute to respect for labour standards. However, in order to concretise this potential, the institutionalisation and accountability of the mechanisms should be strengthened