The TASC Platform is partnering with the World Economic Forum’s Inclusive Trade project to identify major issues at the interface of trade and labour and generate positive angles for conversation and collaboration in the international arena. How can relationships, rules, institutions and supply chains be strengthened to improve livelihoods and working conditions for millions of people across the world? 

Trade and labour are intrinsically interlinked, but the nature of their relationship, and how it should be managed in the international arena warrants fresh attention. Powerful technological, social, and environmental forces are causing unprecedented disruption in international trade and labour markets - compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and conflicts. The effects of these megatrends and issues are diverse. Some provide new avenues for growth, while others put increasing pressure on inequality, primarily through their impact on economies and labor markets. The time is right to revisit how the trade and labour relationship could have a meaningful impact on both domestic inequality and global disparities. 

Phase 1: Exploring the nexus between trade and labour

In 2021, the TASC Platform and the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centres for Trade and Economic Integration and Global Governance, with the support of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva, undertook a project to identify and strengthen positive linkages between trade and labour. Research was conducted to inform workshops and discussions with delegates from International Missions in Geneva, the ILO and the WTO, identifying an openness to participate in further research and dialogue on strenthening the trade and labour nexus. 

Read more here.

Phase 2: Strenthening the trade and labour nexus - towards inclusive trade 

Building on this appetite for collaboration, the project is now in its second stage in which the TASC Platform is working together with the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Inclusive Trade team to bring together trade and labour communities, identify gaps in knowledge and action, and propose improvements and innovations. Concretely, we are working together to: 

• Evaluate trade tools utilized by various stakeholders to improve labour outcomes and recommend improvements and policy innovations; 
• Create a multistakeholder trade and labour community through joint research, dialogue and action;
• Conduct case studies to link policy recommendations to realities on the ground.