Guatemala Labor Practices

Labor: Request For Arbitral Panel on Guatemala Labor Practices in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): On August 9, 2011, the United States requested the establishment of an arbitral panel pursuant to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (“CAFTA-DR”) to consider whether the Government of Guatemala was complying with its obligations under Article 16.2.1(a) of the CAFTA-DR. Request for Arbitration, available at (internet link) ustr.gov/webfm_send/3042. The dispute concerns Guatemala's apparent failure to meet its obligations under the CAFTA-DR with respect to the effective enforcement of its labor laws. The United States had availed itself of other procedures under the CAFTA-DR before resorting to the request for a panel. The dispute arose in April 2008 after the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan worker organizations filed a public submission under the CAFTA-DR alleging that the Guatemalan government had violated its CAFTA-DR labor commitments. The U.S. Government reviewed the submission and then conducted its own examination—including collection of evidence and legal analysis—of Guatemala's compliance with its commitments under the CAFTA-DR labor chapter. Based on that examination, the U.S. Government concluded that Guatemala appeared to be failing to meet its obligation with respect to enforcement of labor laws.

Developments

In 2010, the U.S. attempted to resolve the dispute by requesting consultations under chapter 16 (labor) of the CAFTA-DR. see this world legal encyclopedia in relation to the year 2010 at 492-94 for background and excerpts from the request for consultations. Consultations failed to resolve the dispute and, in May 2011, the U.S. requested that the Free Trade Commission meet to resolve the dispute. See Press Release announcing request for FTC meeting, available at (internet link) ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2011/may/ustr-kirk-seeks-enforcement-labor-laws-guatemala.

The Free Trade Commission met in June and intense work ensued to attempt to reach an agreement on an adequate enforcement plan, but those efforts did not succeed. In announcing that the U.S. would be taking the next step in the dispute, Ambassador Kirk stated:

With this case, we are sending a strong message that the Obama Administration will act firmly to ensure effective enforcement of labor laws by the U.S. trading partners. While Guatemala has taken some positive steps, its overall actions and proposals to date have been insufficient to address the apparent systemic failures. We need to see concrete actions to protect the rights of workers as agreed under the U.S. trade agreement, and we are prepared to act to obtain enforcement of those rights when and where necessary.

The full text of the announcement is available at (internet link) ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2011/august/us-trade-representative-ron-kirk-announces-next-ste.

Resources

See Also

• Trade
• Commercial Relations
• Investment
• Transportation
• Trade Agreements
• Trade-Related Issues
• Dominican Republic
• Central America
• United States
• Free Trade Agreements
• Guatemala
• Labor Practices

Resources

Notes and References

1. _ Editor's note: According to the Office of the U.S Trade Representative, one of the most significant changes was the clarification that certain monofilament sewing thread is now required to originate or be produced in the United States or the CAFTA-DR region in order for goods to qualify for preferential treatment. See May 2011 USTR Fact Sheet, “CAFTA-DR Textiles,” available at (internet link) ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/may/cafta-dr-textiles.