Human Rights

In my opinion, the best answer is neutral. The reason for a neutral answer is “although everyone has a general idea of what human rights are, the exact definition differs per country, culture and background. Worldwide, one agrees, for example, that the right not to be tortured is a human right. The relationship between human rights law and international trade law has been a point of discussion for many years” (Noorhoek, 2010).

Thus, “Canada and the United States focus on specific human rights, embed these provisions in the body of the trade agreement, and often make them binding. These approaches have become more similar over time, but they remain distinct” (Chauffour and Maur, 2013).
In addition, “although growing numbers of countries include or accept human rights provisions, the trend has limits. Many policy makers in middle-income countries and in the developing world are reluctant to use trade policies to change the behavior of other countries. As countries grow richer and more influential, however, these policy makers may become more willing to accept or to demand human rights provisions. Nevertheless, some industrial countries, such as Australia, that have strong human rights records have refused to include human rights requirements in trade agreements. Other nations, such as China, have accepted such provisions” (Chauffour and Maur, 2013).

Moreover, “developing countries must devote scarce resources to human rights, perhaps before they have the national income or will to do so. If human rights provisions are carefully designed, they can focus on improving governance (the supply side), as well as on empowering people to demand their rights” (Chauffour and Maur, 2013).

Nevertheless, “if these rights provisions are to ...

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... rights should be taken into consideration when deciding which countries should or should not be granted preferential trading rights, but perhaps the result of such considerations will not be as expected” (Schefer, 2007).

Works Cited

Chauffour, J. P., and Maur, J. C. (2013) Preferential Trade Agreement Policies for Development: The World Bank: Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://e15initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Preferential-Trade-Agreements-Policies_World-Bank.pdf

Noordhoek, W. (2010). Human Rights in the Law of the World Trade Organization. Maastricht: Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://www.rechten.unimaas.nl/maastrichtworkingpapers

Schefer, K. N. (2007). Should Human Right be Taken Into Consideration When Granting Preferential Trading Rights? NCCR Trade Regulation: Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://businessgenerationy.blogspot.com/