International trade law has been oblivious to social inclusion. One of the results has been a rise in neo-nationalism and the threat of trade wars. This proposal addresses how international trade law can be retooled in order to: help combat harmful tax competition, avoidance, and evasion; aid domestic social security and job retraining; support labor protection; discourage social dumping; and enable industrial policy experimentation for development. The proposal involves: pursuing tax cooperation and linking trade agreements to tax agreements; incorporating adjustment policies into trade agreements and adding monitoring mechanisms; enlarging trade negotiations over policy space; setting up procedural and transparency safeguards to prevent abuses and hidden protectionism.

Task Force: Social Cohesion, Global Governance and the Future of Politics