Protecting Workers' Rights with U.S. Trade Partners Federal Efforts

Protecting workers' rights is a top priority for the Obama Administration, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are leading the Administration's efforts to improve labor laws and working conditions with trading partners in virtually every region of the globe. These efforts are made in close coordination with other U.S. agencies and in collaboration with Congressional and other stakeholders, as well as international partners such as the International Labour Organization (ILO). This book discusses the Administration's efforts in a number of key countriesGuatemala, Colombia, Jordan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Swaziland, Haiti and Burmain which USTR and DOL have had intensive engagement on labor issues in recent years. The book examines steps that selected partner countries have taken, and U.S. assistance they have received, to implement these provisions and other labor initiatives and the reported results of such steps; submissions regarding possible violations of FTA labor provisions that DOL has accepted and any problems related to the submission process; the extent to which U.S. agencies monitor and enforce implementation of FTA labor provisions and report results to Congress.