Activities of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2016/2301(INI)
Shadow opinions (2)
OPINION on the impact of international trade and the EU’s trade policies on global value chains
OPINION on the impact of international trade and the EU’s trade policies on global value chains
Amendments (26)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. wWhereas the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights; whereas its action on the international scene, including its trade policy ‘shall be guided by [these] principles’1 ; _________________ 1art. 208 TFEU on policy coherence for development ensures that all external policies including trade should be coherent with development policies and its goal of eradicating poverty; Treaty on European Union.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. Whereas trade agreements should acknowledge the right of developing countries to regulate, and should be a leverage to promote values like sustainable development, human rights, fair and ethical trade;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. Whereas a lack of regulations within global supply chains have contributed to the undermining of labour rights, particularly freedom of association and collective bargaining;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas one of the main challenges for developing countries is to climb up the global value chain through economic diversification, which necessitates fair and pro-development global trade rules;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
A d. whereas GSP and GSP+ trade incentives provide better market access to developing countries in exchange for respect of labour, environmental and social standards;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
A e. whereas Export Processing Zones (EPZs) as part of global value chains are often characterized by exemptions from labour laws and taxes and face severe problems related to decent work and trade union restrictions;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the increasing globalisation of value chains enhances the importance of the role played by corporations in the enjoyment of human rights; notes also that corporate behaviour can strongly affect development, in either a positive or negative manner; but notes with concern that there has been little progress in the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human rights, in a context where existing standards, principles, and mechanisms for redress on business and human rights are fragmented in international law;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Believes that the lack of regulation within global supply chains has contributed to the undermining of labour rights, particularly freedom of association and collective bargaining;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is deeply concerned by cases of labour and human rights violations committed as a result of corporations’' management decisions; recalls that business enterprises should establish operational-level grievance mechanisms for workers impacted by their operations, including in EPZs;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes that the use in the global supply chain of non-standard forms of employment, including subcontracting and informal work, has weakened collective agreements, while the presence of child labour and forced labour in some global supply chains is acute in the lower segments of the chain, particularly in portions of supply chains linked to informal economy; recalls equally that women are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs, lack access to social protection measures, including maternity protection, and are too often subject to discrimination as well as sexual harassment;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the Commission to develop an EU-wide mandatory due diligence system and invites EU Member States to integrate measures to strengthen due diligence in global supply chains in their national action plans on business and human rights; reiterates its call for the setting-up of a mandatory and enforceable regulatory framework, based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the EU and Member States to step up their dialogue with third countries on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the encouragement of more states to adopt national actions plans; renews its call to the EU and its Member States to participate constructively in the 3rd session of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on a binding UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights in October 2017 and to actively contribute to the discussions on key elements, including the relation of the UN treaty with trade agreements, human rights due diligence, enforcement, access to remedy, and the role of corporations in the drafting of the treaty;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reaffirms the urgent need to act in a continuous, effective and coherent manner at national, European and global level, in order to address effectively the legal problems resulting from the extra- territorial dimension of companies and of their conduct, and the related uncertainty as to where the liability for human rights violations lies; invites the Commission to undertake, as a first step, a thorough examination, in consultation with civil society, of existing barriers to justice in cases brought before Member State courts for alleged abuses to human rights committed by EU enterprises or within their supply chain in third countries;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to systematically include in all EU trade and investment agreements respect for internationally recognised principles and guidelines as set out under point 25(d) of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy; insists on a systematic use of comprehensive ex ante and ex post "trade sustainability impact assessments", including on human rights;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the practice of incorporating responsibility for respecting hReiterates its call for the setting-up of a mandatory and enforceable regulatory framework, based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human rRights into the binding contractual obligations between companies and their clients and suppliers; notes that such requirements can, in most cases, be enforced by judicial mean, on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Requests that the Commission provide support for and strengthen effective implementation, enforcement and monitoring of the commitments of GSP+ beneficiaries, including through multi- stakeholder projects and civil society participation; insists that scorecards are made public and that the GSP+ dialogues are transparent, providing for involvement and participation of CSOs; calls for the establishment of a mechanism that can be used by individuals or groups who have been negatively affected by the implementation of GSP, GSP+ and EBA schemes;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that human rights conditions linked to unilateral trade preferences such as GSP or GSP+ are effectively implemented and monitored; to this end, calls on the Commission to better reflect ILO reports and its supervisory bodies findings as well as reports by the relevant UN human rights mechanisms in its monitoring and evaluation activities and to better liaise with local agencies of ILO and the United Nations in the beneficiary country to fully take into account their views and their experience;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Stresses that EU trade and investment agreements concluded with developing countries should be consistent with SDGs; reiterates the right of developing countries to regulate investment so as to ensure obligations and duties for all investors, including foreign ones, with the aim of protecting human rights, labour and environmental standards;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that human rights conditions linked to unilateral trade preferences such as GSP or GSP+ are effectively implemented and monitored; to this end, calls on the Commission to better reflect ILO reports and its supervisory bodies findings in its monitoring and evaluation activities and to better liaise with local agencies of ILO and the United Nations in the beneficiary country to fully take into account their views and their experience;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the need for binding contractual agreements on human rights between companies and their suppliers along the entire value chain; underlines the importance of effective enforcement by judicial means, including access to remedies for victims.; invites the Commission to undertake a thorough examination, in consultation with civil society, of existing barriers to justice in cases brought before Member State courts for alleged abuses to human rights committed by EU-based enterprises or within their supply chain in third countries;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Stresses the need to improve the effectiveness of social and environmental conditionality in bilateral and regional agreements through a greater involvement and consultation of social partners and civil society in the negotiations and implementation of labour provisions and a systematic use of comprehensive ex ante and ex post "trade sustainability impact assessments", including on human rights;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Warmly welcomes OECD sectorial due diligence guidelines that constitute a global approach to improve transparency and accountability of global value chains, and calls on the Commission to introduce mandatory due diligence proposals based on OECD guidelines;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to compel companies using raw materials or commodities that might have originated from conflict-affected areas (for example, so-called conflict minerals) to disclose their sourcing and use of such materials; welcomes in this regard the new conflict mineral regulation recently adopted and urges the Commission to come up with legislative proposals for binding due diligence in other sectors such as garments;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Observes with concern that Export Processing Zones as part of global value chains are often characterized by exemptions from labour laws and taxes and face severe problems related to decent work and trade union restrictions;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Recalls that business enterprises should establish operational-level grievance mechanisms for workers impacted by their operations, including in Export Processing Zones;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Notes that the use in the global supply chain of non-standard forms of employment, including subcontracting and informal work, has weakened collective agreements, while the presence of child labour and forced labour in some global supply chains is acute in the lower segments of the chain, particularly in portions of supply chains linked to the informal economy; recalls that women are disproportionately represented in low- wage jobs, lack access to social protection measures, including maternity protection, and are too often subject to discrimination as well as sexual harassment;