Research Brief

More and better jobs through trade, the role of responsible business conduct and international labour standards

Trade has the potential to drive economic growth and create more and better jobs. Yet these gains are neither guaranteed nor equally shared. This makes it essential for trade policy to explicitly consider its impact on job quantity and quality, and on the inclusiveness of its impact on labour markets more broadly. This brief looks at the various channels that can drive the quality and quantity of jobs. In particular, the brief will examine 3 groups of measures or instruments that shape the impact and outcome of trade such as (1) provisions or clauses related to labour and responsible business conduct in trade agreements; (2) market-access measures addressing labour conditions, including trade preference schemes linked to labour-related criteria and restrictions on goods produced with forced labour; and (3) home- and host-country measures that promote responsible business conduct and supply-chain governance (through human rights due diligence legislation), together with related mechanisms that support implementation, monitoring and remediation.