Negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement between the Philippines and the United States will most certainly include discussions on the promotion and enforcement of labor standards. The US Congress incorporated labor issues as a negotiating objective when it granted the US President “trade promotion authority” in August 2002 and it is unlikely to ratify an FTA that is silent on labor issues and standards.1 Thus far, all the bilateral and regional free trade agreements entered into by the US in recent years contain explicit provisions on the enforcement of labor standards and the settlement of disputes on labor issues.
