ABSTRACT
The free trade agreement signed between EU and Colombia incorporates explicit provisions on human and labour rights. With the aim of improving the welfare and labour rights conditions, those provisions may be conditional or promotional and directly affect the social and economic policies in less developed countries. There are a few studies and some empirical evidence on the effects of integrating labour provisions, especially in trade agreements signed by countries with different levels of social and economic development. Based on desk research, and by applying a comparative analysis, the present chapter summarises the main features and implications of including labour provisions in the EU–Colombia trade agreement more from a promotional character than from a conditional character. The findings identify the main concerns of both the EU and Colombia regarding the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter included in the trade agreement on human and labour rights, which adversely affects the less developed part, in this case Colombia.
