The EU, World Trade Law and the Right to Food: Rethinking Free Trade Agreements with Developing Countries

219 Pages·2018·2.08 MB·English

by  Giovanni Gruni

The eU, World Trade laW
and The righT To Food
In recent years the European Union has developed a comprehensive strategy
to conclude free trade agreements which includes not only prominent trade
partners such as Canada, the United States and Japan but also numerous
developing countries.
This book looks at the existing WTO law and at the new EU free trade
agreements with the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa through the lens
of the human right to adequate food. It shows how the clauses on the
import and export of food included in recent free trade agreements limit
the capacity of these countries to implement food security policies and to
respect their human rights obligations. This outcome appears to be at odds
with international human rights law and dismissive of existing human rights
references in EU-founding treaties as well as in treaties between the EU and
developing states.
Yet, the book argues against the conception in human rights literature
that there is an inflexible agenda encoded in world trade law which is fun-
damentally conflictual with non-economic interests. The book puts forward
the idea that the European Union is perfectly placed to develop a narrative
of globalisation considering other areas of public international law when
negotiating trade agreements, and argues that the EU does have the compe-
tences and influence to uphold a role of international leadership in designing
a sustainable global trading system. Will the EU be ambitious enough?
A timely contribution to the growing academic literature on the relation
between world trade law and international human rights law, this book
imagines a central role for the EU in reconciling these two areas of interna-
tional law.
Studies in International Trade and Investment Law: Volume 20
Studies in International Trade and Investment Law
Series Editors
Tomer Broude
Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer
Federico Ortino
This series offers a forum for publication of original and scholarly analy-
ses of emerging and significant issues in international trade and investment
law—broadly understood to include the whole of the law of the WTO, the
public international law of foreign investment, the law of the EU common
commercial policy and other regional trade regimes, and any legal or regula-
tory topic that interacts with global trade and foreign investment. The aim
of the series is to produce works which will be readily accessible to trade
and investment law scholars and practitioners alike.
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The EU, World Trade Law
and the Right to Food
Rethinking Free Trade Agreements
with Developing Countries
Giovanni Gruni
HART PUBLISHING
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain 2018
Copyright © Giovanni Gruni, 2018
Giovanni Gruni has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
to be identified as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
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While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this work, no responsibility for
loss or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result
of any statement in it can be accepted by the authors, editors or publishers.
All UK Government legislation and other public sector information used in the work is Crown Copyright
©. All House of Lords and House of Commons information used in
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of the Open Government Licence v3.0 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
doc/open-government-licence/version/3) except where otherwise stated.
All Eur-lex material used in the work is © European Union,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/, 1998–2018.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
Names: Gruni, Giovanni, author.
Title: The EU, world trade law, and the right to food : rethinking free trade
agreements with developing countries / Giovanni Gruni.
Other titles: European Union, world trade law, and the right to food
Description: Oxford [UK] ; Portland, Oregon : Hart Publishing, 2018. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018011668 (print) | LCCN 2018012293 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781509916221 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509916207 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Foreign trade regulation—European Union countries. | European Union
countries—Commercial policy. | Free trade—European Union countries. | World Trade
Organization—European Union countries. | Economic assistance, European—Developing
countries. | Right to food—Developing countries. | Food supply—Law and
legislation—Developing countries. | European Union countries—Foreign economic
relations—Developing countries. | Developing countries—Foreign economic
relations—European Union countries.
Classification: LCC KJE6791 (ebook) | LCC KJE6791 .G78 2018 (print) |
DDC 382/.456640094—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018011668
ISBN: HB: 978-1-50991-620-7
ePDF: 978-1-50991-621-4
ePub: 978-1-50991-622-1
Typeset by Compuscript Ltd, Shannon
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To Antonietta and Stefano
vi
Acknowledgements
For almost 10 years, the pursuit of this book inspired my personal and pro-
fessional life. Along the way, I received the support of numerous t eachers,
colleagues and friends who believed in the research making this book pos-
sible and shaped me into what I am today. To all of them I am incredibly
grateful.
I would like to express my gratitude to Anne Davies who supervised my
PhD thesis, which I used as a basis for this book. Our countless meetings
in Oxford allowed a first idea to blossom into the defined research agenda
that still motivates my work. To her and to the University of Oxford I owe
the capacity to think critically and the style of writing I developed during
my studies there. At the University of Oxford, I am particularly indebted
to Stephen Weatherill, Mark Freedland and Sandra Fredman all of whom
were involved in the revision of the manuscript, providing invaluable com-
ments, and to the Faculty of Law, Lincoln College and the Future of Food
Programme which hosted my research. I am also thankful to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and the College of Europe that hired me in the
final stages of the research, providing unique opportunities to be in touch
with high-level trade policy circles in Brussels and Geneva. At the College
of Europe I am particularly grateful to Inge Govaere for her guidance on
my career and research, and to my former colleagues at the Department
of Legal Studies for their support during the completion of the first draft
of this book. At the WTO I could not have imagined a more stimulating
working environment than I experienced at the Appellate Body and in the
negotiations of the Doha Round; two experiences that changed my vision
of globalisation.
I am grateful to all the scholars who encouraged me to pursue this
research and career. First of all to Silvana Sciarra for her contagious enthusi-
asm and her invaluable advice and supervision since I was a master’s student
at the University of Florence. I am also thankful to Marise Cremona and all
the professors of the European University Institute who helped me define
the line of research during my year there. A special thanks to Michal Bobek
for his comments and constructive criticism on the first draft of the manu-
script and to Stefaan van den Bogaert, Jorrit Rijpma, Vicky Kosta, Marco
Bronckers, Moritz Jesse and all my new colleagues at the University of
Leiden for their patience and invaluable support during the completion
of this book. I will never forget the inspiring conversations with Francis
Snyder at the Centre of Transnational Law in Shenzhen that provided me
with many ideas on how to refine the manuscript.
viii Acknowledgements
Finally, this book would not have been possible without the help of my
family and of all the friends who supported me unconditionally through this
endeavour. I will always be indebted to Maurizio Pavesi and Paola Bader,
the Pavesi Foundation and the Region of Tuscany for having financed the
first steps of this research project.
Giovanni Gruni
February 2018
Twitter: @giovannigruni
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannigruni/
Contents
Acknowledgements .................................................................................vii
Table of Abbreviations ...........................................................................xiii
1. Introduction .......................................................................................1
I. Why a Book on Human Rights and International
Trade Agreements? .....................................................................2
II. Area of Research .........................................................................4
III. Objective of the Book .................................................................8
IV. Book Outline ............................................................................10
2. The Right to Food in International Law ...........................................15
I. Introduction ..............................................................................15
II. The Content of the Right to Food .............................................16
A. Introduction .......................................................................16
B. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights..................................................17
C. Availability of Food ............................................................18
D. Accessibility of Food ..........................................................19
III. State Duties ...............................................................................21
A. Introduction .......................................................................21
B. Duty to Respect..................................................................22
C. Duty to Protect...................................................................24
D. Duty to Fulfil .....................................................................25
IV. The Right to Food and the Negotiation of Trade Agreements ....28
A. Introduction .......................................................................28
B. Extraterritorial Duties in the Covenant ..............................29
C. Extraterritorial Duties Concerning the Right to Food ........30
D. Extraterritorial Duties to Realise the Right to Food
Based on EU Law ...............................................................32
E. Conclusions........................................................................35
V. Defragmenting International Law: Paths of Legal Dialogue
between Human Rights and Trade Law
and the Role of the EU ..............................................................36
VI. Conclusions ..............................................................................41