Cláusulas sociales, comercio internacional y derechos laboralesLa perspectiva de los países subdesarrollados

Abstract

Advanced economies express concerns about limited labour standards in developing countries, because it could distort international trade. A social clause -the linking of labour rights and trade liberalization- could solve that problem. This article analyses the controversy over the social clause, from the perspective of poor countries. The paper begins by considering the debate over the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson Theorem and the relative advantages. Developing countries argue that a social clause is not justified, because the growth of their exports is not a consequence of the social dumping but is due to relative advantages. Although the World Trade Organisation supports that perspective, some rich countries have introduced social clauses in their bilateral and regional trade agreements. The second part of the paper is focused on those initiatives, whereas the last one analyses other alternatives, which could be more interesting for poor countries: social labels, codes of conduct, corporate social responsibility and fair trade.