The Effects of Worker Rights Protections in United States Trade Laws: A Case Study of El Salvador

Abstract

This article analyzes the U.S. commitment to respect for workers rights as a condition of access to United States markets in the wake of the signing of NAFTA and the latest GATT rounds, which do not contains substantive worker rights protections. Davis analyzes the effectiveness of unilateral worker rights conditionality by focusing on one country, El Salvador, and one program, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). An examination of the impact of worker rights conditionality on Salvadoran law and practice can illuminate the legal, political, and economic debates over international worker rights.