I feel that if we are to respond to the developments as I described earlier we must look to better tax systems, or zero tax systems and other mechanisms, but not to (and here I know I use a loaded phrase) imposing minimum conditions of work or even institutional strategies for collective bargaining on developing countries. In my opinion the cost of such conditions and strategies could be quite substantial for the developing countries and bring modest, if any, gains to the advanced countries.
This being said, I would like to stress that there should not be any argument about the so-called core human standards, or core labor standards, if we could agree exactly on what constitutes such a core. There must, indeed, the core conventions that are very strong, closely monitored and taken quite seriously on such issues as slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude or coercive labor, especially coercive child labor, on freedom of association, freedom to bargain, and the like. However, I would draw the line at dictating the institutional details in these standards, particularly on such issues as the nature of our bargaining structure, and so forth. Their basic strategy should be comfortable for all because they really are the underpinnings of free societies. I do not think these standards are ideologically loaded between the left and right and, as believers in individual liberties and freedoms, trade economists should be able to accept them just as much as everyone else. Where many of them demur is on other kinds of labor standards such as minimum wages, conditions of work, hire and fire terms, industrial relations systems, the nature of collective bargaining, and the like.
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