Obama’s Hard Stance on Guatemalan Labor: A Monumental Step for Labor Rights or Mere Political Maneuvering?

On July 30th, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced that the U.S. would file a formal complaint against the Guatemalan government for violating labor standards under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the announcement marks “the first labor case the United States has ever brought against a trade agreement partner.” In Kirk’s speech the same day to Allegheny Technologies Inc., a metal manufacturing company in Washington, Pennsylvania, he declared that the Obama administration intended to “[send] a strong message that our trading partners must protect their own workers…and that we are prepared to enforce the full spectrum of American trade rights from labor to the environment.”

Though this development deserves recognition for improving the protection of labor rights under free trade agreements (FTAs), there is reason to be skeptical of the administration’s intentions. Since Barack Obama’s January State of the Union Address, in which he promised to double exports over the next five years, the President has adopted a decidedly pro-trade approach, voicing support in recent weeks for FTAs with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. The case against Guatemala, brought when Congress is becoming increasingly polarized over ratifying further free trade measures, may be an attempt by the Obama administration to quell democratic labor-related concerns by demonstrating that the labor provisions included in FTAs can and will be enforced.

For full article click here

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Alexander Brockwehl