Der Band resultiert aus einer im Mai 1996 von der Hans-Böckler- und der Friedrich Ebert Stiftung abgehaltenen Konferenz. Teilgenommen haben neben VertreterInnen aus ILO und OECD ExpertInnen aus den USA und Kanada, die über erste Erfahrungen im Lichte der NAFTA-Vereinbarung referierten. Inhalt: I. The rationale for sociale and environmental standards in international trade: Myriam Vander Stichele: Elements for a new trade system: Fairness, sustainability and development (22-31); Christoph Scherrer: The pros and cons of international labour standards (32-44). II. The link between the ILO, the WTO and the social clause: Gijsbert van Liemt: The ILO and the social dimensions of international trade liberalisation (46-51); Erika de Wet: The ILO and the social clause: Stagnation or progress one step at a time? (52-68); Mariarosa Lunati: International trade and labour standards: A study by the OECD (69-76); Andreas Botsch: Workers' rights in the global trade and investment system (77-86). III. Challenges for the implementation of trade linked social standards in North America: Irasema Garza: The Implementation of workers' rights in the framework of NAFTA: An introduction (88-99); Pharis J. Harvey: The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation: A non-gonvernmental view (100-114). IV. The political arena of international trade in North America: New forms of co-operation: Norbert Malanowski: The NAFTA debate: Coalition building as an extension of strategy options (116-135); Cameron Duncan: Labor and environmental alliances in the campaign to defeat NAFTA (136-153); Arthur Kube: Experiences with coalition building in Canada (154-161); Gregory Woodhead: The Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras and NAFTA: A U.S. description (162-165).