ABSTRACT
Eventhoughthepropositionfora"socialclause"*intradeagreements isquiteold(Hansson1983,11-29;Charnovitz1986and1987),ithas acquiredspecialsignificancenowadays,withinthecontextofaglobal economy.Supportersoflaborstandardsininternationaltradeagreements wishtojointheinterestsof(thequiteoften)unorganizedThirdWorld workers,threatenedbyrepressivegovernments,withtheinterestsoftheir colleaguesindevelopedcountries.Theyclaimthat,inaglobaleconomy, therightsofworkersindevelopedcountriescanbesafeguardedonly whenlaborrightsinlessdevelopedcountriesarealsoprotected(Faux 1990).Ensuringthatsocialstandardsare"harmonized"up,notdown,is seenasafundamentalsocialchallengefacedbyadvancedanddevelopingcountriesastheybecomemoreeconomicallyintegrated.
