Various considerations
emerging from the Special Issue on the aftermath, consequences and lessons
learned from the EU-Korea FTA case merit further exploration. They include the
exceptional nature of the case, the particular role of collective labour rights
in the discourse on trade and sustainability, the difficulty of transposing
international standards to the national level (as illustrated by the
developments in Korea), a number of features of current sustainability clauses
and the issues arising therefrom, and the complex relationship between
different international frameworks, organizations and bodies. The concluding
considerations argue that, although the EU-Korea FTA case has so far neither
triggered fundamental changes in domestic law and practice nor stimulated
follow-up litigation on trade and sustainability, it does provide an important
point of departure for overcoming certain issues that have long stood in the
way of making FTAs effective tools for encouraging compliance with fundamental
labour rights. Various other issues and notably difficulties have been thrown
into sharper relief by the procedure, the Panel’s decision and/or its
aftermath.