Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

My assignment is to comment on the five papers presented on the Labor Side Agreement.1 Part II of this essay focuses on the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC),2 as presented and analyzed by the five participants. Attention is also paid to the panelists' coverage of such broader themes as the relationship between the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),3 and NAALC, to past and future free trade developments, and to the linkage between promoting free trade areas and fostering worker rights and standards, but only where necessary to the evaluation of NAALC itself and to its possible future development.

After commenting on the positions of the five participants, I offer my views on NAALC. In Part III, I argue that there is a serious need for a fully developed public evidentiary record to permit meaningful evaluation of the progress and effectiveness of NAALC and I include the most egregious omissions in what should be a fully developed public record. In Part IV, I offer my views on the shortcomings of the NAALC agreement and the likelihood that they will be remedied.

Before proceeding further there is a question of terminology to be considered. The term "side agreement" gives the impression of something tacked onto NAFTA and, of course, that is true in a sense; but the term "side" does not describe its significance. The side agreements on labor and environment were, in fact, conditions necessary to secure the adoption of NAFTA. The side agreements made NAFTA's acceptance by the Congress possible. That was also the position of President Clinton when he recommended NAFTA's adoption. The question before us, then, is the nature of the bargain struck: what was promised by NAALC and, in the light of experience thus far, what can we expect from the side agreement?

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