Volume 2 – The potential of trade and investment policies to address labour market issues in supply chains

Chapter 2. Labour rights protection in international investment agreements: Evidence, trends and impact

This chapter focuses on international investment agreements. Against the backdrop of concerns that such agreements may curtail domestic policy space for labour issues, it dissects the labour-related content and associated implementation mechanisms of these agreements. Noting various limitations of the extant provisions, the chapter highlights several options for improving their design to increase their effectiveness in terms of enhancing domestic labour standards and safeguarding relevant domestic policy space.