Abstract

The chapter explores the role the EU has committed itself to in relation to the promotion of social rights and international labour standards in its Common Commercial Policy (CCP). In particular, it examines the EU’s practice of promoting social standards through the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP – in its three main variants, i.e. the general GSP scheme, the “GSP +” incentive scheme, and the “Everything but Arms” (EBA) scheme) and in its bilateral and regional trade agreements. In this context, the chapter seeks to assess the extent to which recent developments at European level indicate an increased willingness and true commitment of the EU to pursue social objectives more vigorously, in the broader framework of the EU’s “deep trade agenda” namely the push for further trade liberalisation focusing on the removal of domestic non-tariff regulatory measures. The analysis includes a critical review of how labour provisions have been incorporated into trade agreements and the various goals pursued in combination with the mechanisms employed to achieve them.