According to the Lisbon Treaty, the common commercial policy is one of the exclusive competences of the European Union with reference to the member states. In recent years, several international agreements have been negotiated with trade partners. Among them, there are the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States, whose talks are currently suspended. The EU is also discussing an agreement with the Latin-American Mercosur states. A common trait of these treaties is the presence of a ‘labour chapter’ dealing with the recognition and enforcement of work-related rights. In the literature, studies suggesting that such provisions can encourage improvements are confronted by research contributions arguing that trade openness can lead to a downgrading of working and welfare standards, with a lack of political will to enforce labour rights. While in principle the effects of a trade agreement on standards’ implementation can be uncertain, the terms concerning labour rights may exert a significant influence, since they can vary remarkably. The paper intends to analyse the three EU-related agreements under the perspective of labour and industrial relations conditions. Since international treaties of this kind are supposed to play a regulatory function, the examination of their potential influence should be considered in times of intense globalization.
