Common Market Law Review
Volume 57, Issue 4 (2020) pp. 1031 – 1068

https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2020715

Abstract

In recent years we have seen an intensified interest in the EU’s“Trade and Sustainable Development” chapters, which represent its efforts to develop a distinct promotional model for regulating trade-environment and trade-labour linkages in free trade agreements. This article deals with the implementation and enforcement of TSD provisions and, in so doing, draws attention to compliance by the EU (and its Member States). It explores the question of who is responsible on the EU side for the due performance of TSD commitments, with the answer being even less clear following Opinion 2/15 conerning the EU-Singapore FTA. The article revisits the case for a harder sanctions-based enforcement of TSD chapters and argues that this is not warranted from an effectiveness standpoint, and is unwanted on equity and other grounds.

Extract

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