The current and prior administrations have expressed concerns that poor labor standards in FTA partner countries may affect workers in the United States and other parts of the world, incentivizing a global “race to the bottom” that unfairly distorts global markets and prevents U.S. businesses and workers from competing on a level playing field. According to DOL, to address such concerns, each FTA signed in the past decade, including those we selected, contains a “labor chapter” that differs in detail across the FTAs but generally includes labor provisions, establishes points of contact for labor matters, and provides a recourse mechanism for matters arising from the labor provisions. The provisions in the labor chapters of the four FTAs that took effect most recently generally reflect the trade policy template created by the May 10th Agreement. In FTAs that entered into force from January 2004 through January 2009, including CAFTA-DR and the Oman FTA, the labor chapter contains a provision that a party shall not fail to effectively enforce its labor laws, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner affecting trade between the parties. Under CAFTA-DR and the Oman FTA, matters related to this obligation are the only matters under the respective labor chapters for which parties can seek recourse through dispute settlement that may result in possible fines and sanctions. These FTAs also contain a provision whereby parties commit to “strive to ensure” that the labor rights enumerated in the respective labor chapter are protected by their laws; however, matters arising under this provision do not have recourse through the dispute settlement chapter of the respective FTA. In FTAs that entered into force after January 2009, including the Colombia and Peru FTAs, the labor chapter includes language echoing the May 10th Agreement that obligates each partner to adopt and maintain in its statutes, regulations, and practices certain fundamental labor rights as stated by the ILO. Although the text of the respective FTAs’ labor chapters varies, this language generally relates to, for example, the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and the elimination of compulsory or forced labor. The labor chapters of these FTAs also obligate the parties not to fail to effectively enforce these labor laws in a manner affecting trade between the parties. Pursuant to the labor chapters of these FTAs, if consultations fail, the parties can seek to resolve matters arising under the labor chapters by pursuing recourse through the respective FTAs’ dispute settlement chapters, which may result in possible fines and sanctions. Working Group of the Vice Ministers Responsible for Trade and Labor in the Countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic, The Labor Dimension in Central America and the Dominican Republic: Building on Progress: Strengthening Compliance and Enhancing Capacity (April 2005), accessed June 7, 2013, http://www.ilo.org/sanjose /lang—es/index.htm. Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. No. 109-53, 119 Stat. 262 (Aug. 2, 2005). Paper detailed six areas of focus and included recommendations to enhance the implementation and enforcement of labor standards and to strengthen the region’s labor institutions. According to DOL, the U.S. government did not participate in preparing or negotiating the White Paper’s recommendations. The ILO Verification Project, funded by DOL, was created to monitor implementation of the White Paper commitments and released verification reports every 6 months between 2007 and 2010. Labor Action Plan. Colombia and the United States agreed in 2011 to the Labor Action Plan, in furtherance of Colombia’s commitment to protect internationally recognized labor rights, prevent violence against labor leaders, and prosecute the perpetrators of such violence. The plan listed nine issue areas to strengthen labor rights that Colombia was required to address before the FTA could receive congressional approval. USTR and DOL are jointly responsible for monitoring Colombia’s ongoing progress in fulfilling these requirements. The nine areas that Colombia agreed to address under the Labor Action Plan were (1) creation of a specialized Ministry of Labor; (2) criminal code reform; (3) prohibiting the misuse of cooperatives; (4) preventing the use of temporary service agencies to circumvent labor rights; (5) criminalizing the use of collective pacts to undermine the right to organize and bargain collectively; (6) collecting and disseminating information on the definition of essential services; (7) seeking the ILO’s assistance in implementing the Labor Action Plan and working with the ILO to strengthen its presence, capacity, and role in Colombia; (8) reforming protection programs; and (9) criminal justice reforms. developing and coordinating U.S. trade policy and issuing policy guidance related to international trade functions. USTR is responsible to the President and Congress for administering the trade agreements program, including periodic reporting to Congress as required. USTR is also responsible for coordinating the administration’s activities to create a fair, open, and predictable trading environment by identifying, monitoring, enforcing, and resolving the full range of international trade issues. According to USTR, this includes asserting U.S. rights; vigorously monitoring and enforcing bilateral and other agreements; and promoting U.S. interests, including labor interests, under FTAs. DOL. DOL’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs is responsible for monitoring implementation of FTA labor provisions for all FTAs. The bureau’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs is designated as the point of contact for implementation of the labor provisions of the FTAs as well as for the labor cooperation mechanisms. Before congressional approval and implementation of an FTA, DOL’s responsibilities include preparing reports for Congress, in consultation with USTR and State, about the partner country’s labor rights protections and child labor laws and the FTA’s potential effect on employment in the United States. After an FTA enters into force, DOL’s responsibilities include receiving, reviewing, and acting on any public complaint submitted about the partner’s compliance with FTA labor obligations (submissions). Both before and after an FTA is implemented, DOL is responsible for assisting the partner country as needed—for example, planning, developing, and pursuing cooperative projects related to labor matters—to strengthen the partner country’s capacity to promote respect for core labor standards. In addition, DOL is responsible for convening the FTA labor affairs councils among partner government’s labor ministries, which oversee the FTA labor chapters, and for administering the U.S. Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy. The committee consists of representatives of labor organizations and is tasked with providing information and advice with respect to negotiation and implementation of U.S. trade agreements. DOL also administers the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements, which consists of 12 representatives (4 from the business community, 4 from the labor community, and 4 from the public sector). State. State is responsible for supporting USTR and DOL in implementing and monitoring FTAs. State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) coordinates State’s in-country labor officers, who are tasked with carrying out regular monitoring and reporting and day-to-day interaction with foreign governments regarding labor matters. State annually produces Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which includes information about countries’ labor practices. In addition, State participates with USTR and DOL in the USTR-led interagency team that negotiates FTA labor provisions, contributes critical input to the research and analysis of reports produced by DOL, and provides technical assistance funding to strengthen some countries’ labor capacity. Because USTR and DOL do not maintain a presence in other countries, they often rely on State for outreach, monitoring, and reporting activities related to FTA labor provisions. USAID. USAID administers technical assistance programs to address labor-related matters. USAID administers trade-capacity-building programs globally in both FTA and non-FTA partner countries. In addition, during the FTA negotiations, USAID provides USTR input on draft FTA text as well as input on possible trade-capacity-building programs to address labor-related issues. Each of the FTA partner countries that we selected for our review has taken steps to strengthen labor rights pursuant to its FTA with the United States, and some of these countries have also implemented other labor initiatives outside the FTA framework. The U.S. government has provided some technical assistance to help FTA partner countries meet their labor commitments. However, stakeholders reported that limitations in partner countries’ capacity to enforce labor laws cause gaps in labor protections to persist. El Salvador and Guatemala, the CAFTA-DR countries we selected for our review, have both taken steps to implement labor initiatives responding to their FTA commitments and areas of focus identified in the White Paper. According to the ILO, and as reported by DOL, these countries have addressed these areas of focus by implementing changes to improve labor protections, such as increasing the number of labor inspectors and increasing the number of judges and courts that hear labor cases. El Salvador. According to DOL and ILO verification reports, El Salvador increased its Ministry of Labor’s enforcement budget by about 120 percent from 2005 to 2010, leading to an increase in the number of labor inspectors during the same period as well as increases in both the number of inspections conducted and the number of fines imposed on employers. Ministry of Labor officials reported that with the increase in size and budget, which resulted from the White Paper recommendations, the ministry is now able to accommodate workers’ requests for workplace inspections and labor inspectors can issue fines for violations not addressed by employers.Supreme Court in El Salvador, the labor courts have created a comprehensive statistical system to track labor issues identified in the White Paper, and unions have successfully advocated for legislation that, if passed, would speed labor case reviews and allow plaintiffs to participate more actively.