| In the 19 th century,with the development of trade globalization,in order to prevent capitalists from exploiting employees’ labor rights due to "race to the bottom",establishing a "level playing field" became a major factor in formulating international labor standards.factor.In 1919,at the end of World War I,the International Labor Organization,consisting of representatives of the government,employers and employees,was formally established as part of the Treaty of Versailles.Because of the lack of effective implementation mechanism,ILO has not played a major direct role in promoting the implementation of labor standards during more than one hundred years.On the contrary,developed countries have linked international trade and labor issues in various ways,including the attempt to make labor standards incorporate into WTO,the United States and the European Union implementing the GSP to developing countries on the condition of labor standards.,and the inclusion of abundant labor provisions in free trade agreements recently,it seems that the link between labor standards and international trade has become an indisputable fact and trend.At present,international trade rules are facing reconstruction.The new round of trade rules emphasize broad areas and high standards.The focus of rule formulation has gradually shifted from the "border" field to the "post-border" field.As the new issue of global trade and investment in the 21 st century,labor issue has become an increasingly important negotiating position in free trade agreements,even the focus of negotiations.For a long time,the United States and the European Union have been the proponents of the inclusion of labor provisions in free trade agreements.With their rich practical experience for more than 20 years,they have each formed a relatively mature model,which also reflects some common trends.When signing agreements with other countries,the United States and the European Union rely on their prior economic status to dominate the formulation of labor provisions.Therefore,most labor provisions in current free trade agreements are in line with the national conditions and value orientations of developed countries represented by the United States and the European Union.As a responsible country,China has always actively participated in the reform and construction of the global governance system,but it has been relatively late in the practice of formulating labor provisions in free trade agreements.Signing labor provisions in the form of Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation is far from a relatively complete model.From the breakthrough in the content of labor provisions in the China-EU CAI,and China’s willingness to join the CPTPP with a high level of labor standards,it is seen that China needs to make changes in the setting of labor provisions in free trade agreements,and establish a framework that conforms to China’s national conditions and represents the interests of developing countries.Formulating complete labor provision can help China have more right to speak in future trade negotiations and international economic and trade rule-making.Therefore,this paper sorts out the development history of the labor provisions in the free trade agreements dominated by the United States and the European Union,and summarizes the common development trends and differences between them.It provides some references for China to formulate labor provisions in the future. |
