Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

In July 2018, the Philippine ambassador to the United States (U.S.) asserted that negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement between the Philippines and the United States would begin in September.' He also indicated that "labor" would be one of the few issues to be discussed in the first round of trade talks to be held in Washington, D.C.

It was only two and a half years earlier, in December 2015, however, that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) closed its review of workers' rights in the Philippines under the preferential duty-free Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program for developing countries.3 One criterion in determining whether to designate a country as a beneficiary is "whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to afford to workers in that country ... internationally recognized workers rights."

The Philippines' workers' rights record had been under scrutiny since 2008.5 In closing its review, the USTR cited the progress made by the Philippine government in addressing workers' rights concerns.6 Nonetheless, that the Philippines had been under review for years begs the question as to whether it can meet the more stringent labor standards required in U.S. free trade agreements.

In this article, I explore the sufficiency of workers' rights in the Philippines through the lens of the labor standards required in U.S. free trade agreements. Part II provides a brief history of the U.S.-Philippines trade relationship and its progression towards a bilateral trade agreement. In Part III, I find that the Philippines is in substantial compliance with the labor standards in U.S. free trade agreements because it has substantially adopted and maintained internationally-recognized workers' rights in its laws and practice. Part IV then identifies the gaps in law and practice that remain inconsistent with internationally-recognized workers' rights. To bridge these gaps, this part also recommends labor reforms and labor provisions that should be included in a trade agreement. Finally, in Part V, I recognize that bridging the gaps identified in Part IV would go beyond the precedents set by recent application of labor standards in U.S. free trade agreements. However, I advocate for this more stringent-but still attainable-application and direction for labor standards in light of U.S. foreign policy considerations in the Philippines and in Asia.

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