Just Trade: A New Covenant Linking Trade and Human Rights

by Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol, Stephen Joseph Powell

Overview

Documents Annex: http://www.nyupress.org/justtradeannex/index.html

It is generally assumed that pro-trade laws are not good for human rights, and legislation that protects human rights hampers vibrant international trade. In a bold departure from this canon, Just Trade makes a case for reaching a middleground between these two fields, acknowledging their coexistence and the significant points at which they overlap. Using actual examples from many of the thirty-five nations of the Western Hemisphere, the authors—one a human rights scholar and the other a trade law expert—carefully combine their knowledge to examine human rights policies
throughout the world, never overlooking the very real human rights problems that arise from international trade. However, instead of viewing the two kinds of law as isolated, polar, and sometimes hostile opposites, Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol and Stephen J. Powell make powerful suggestions for how these intersections may be navigated to promote an international marketplace that embraces both liberal trade and
liberal protection of human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814737446
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol is Levin, Mabie&Levin Professor of Law at Levin College of Law, University of Florida. She is editor of Moral Imperialism: A Critical Anthology (NYU Press).
Stephen Joseph Powell is senior lecturer in law and director of the International Trade Law Program at Levin College of Law, University of Florida. Prior to his arrival at UF, he implemented U.S. trade laws as chief counsel for import administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments  Acronyms  Getting Started: A General Introduction  1 Global Concepts: International Law Primer  2 Pillars and Escape Hatches: Basic Concepts of International Trade Law in the Americas 3 Global Laws, Local Lives: Basic Concepts and Legal Regimes of Human Rights Law in the Americas 4 Splendid Isolation’s Progeny: The Intersections of Trade and Human Rights 5 Who Belongs, Who Rules: Citizenship—Voice and Participation in the Global Marketplace 6 Ecosystem Degradation and Economic Growth: Trade’s Unexploited Power to Improve Our Environment 7 Not Just a Question of Capital: Health and Human Well-Being 8 Exploitation or Progress? Terms and Conditions of Labor  9 Human Bondage: Trafficking  10 Bebel Redux: The Woman Question  11 First Peoples First: Indigenous Populations 12 From Excess to Despair: The Persistence of Poverty  13 Freedom from Famine and Fear: Democracy  14 Imperial Rules: Economic Sanctions  15 Recognizing Indivisibility, Bridging Divides: Visions and Solutions for the Future of the Trade and Human Rights Relationship Notes  Index  About the Authors 

Editorial Reviews

"“The authors intend the book to be a catalyst for discussion and development of policy coherence in these two areas [trade rules and human rights]. They should be applauded for an ambitious, even courageous, foray into this minefield and for a carefully developed, thought-provoking presentation... As a labor rights practitioner, I found a number of these ideas thought-provoking."

Industrial and Labor Relations Review

"This work is an ambitious attempt to redefine the relationship between international trade law and the legal and moral principles of international human rights. . .an impressive book that constructs a noteworthy case regarding how trade and human rights law can be reconstituted so that they are largely coterminous and mutually supportive."

CHOICE

"Professors Powell and Hernandez-Truyol have proposed an ambitious effort to bridge longstanding differences between the business and human rights communities by incorporating human rights and environmental obligations in trade agreements. Their book offers a multitude of new ideas on how a middle ground could be achieved, reflecting the authors' understanding of trade agreements and the challenges of harnessing trade's worldwide power for the advancement of human rights. Whatever one's views on the feasibility of a & new covenant' linking trade and human rights, there is always value in a comprehensive, in-depth discussion of the issues involved. And one cannot help but be impressed by the authors' passionate commitment to constructing a new path forward and their understanding of international law."

Warren H. Maruyama

"Hernandez-Truyol’s and Powell’s collective expertise has yielded a highly readable effort designed to end the trade regime’s ‘splendid isolation’ from the rest of international law, and especially human rights law. Their text, intended for classroom use, will do much to lessen the unfortunate disconnect between these legal sub-specialities. Theirs is not an idealistic diatribe against the WTO but an honest attempt to marry the undeniable legitimacy of the human rights ideal with the equally undeniable economic benefits of using the law to advance states’ comparative advantage. The authors’ manifold (and sometimes surprising) examples of the connections between the trade and human rights ‘borderlands’ yield prescriptions for a more humane and sustainable form of trade liberalization."

Jose Alvarez

"Although highly developed international regimes promoting free trade and advancing human rights are often mischaracterized as mutually incompatible, this excellent study clearly demonstrates their common normative and institutional foundations as well as the complementarity of their respective purposes. In its convincing argument, Just Trade invites us to celebrate and utilize the capacity of free trade and human rights to advance a common agenda."

Thomas Franck