Social issues are becoming increasingly important in
international trade. All though exporters are not obliged to comply
with labour conditions in import countries, trading partners in
import countries may require a minimum of social standards to be
complied with by exporters. Hence, market access may be eased
through compliance with social or ethical trading requirements,
suppliers' declarations, social responsibility and social
accountability schemes. Examples of social market requirements
include Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), which ensures a
healthy and safe work environment, and the conventions of The
International Labour Organisation, ILO, which set standards for
basic labour rights (www.ilo.org). Examples of standards for fair
and ethical trade include those of the Fair Trade Labeling
Organization International (FLO) (www.fairtrade.net), and of Social
Accountability International (SAI) (http://www.sa-intl.org). |