Thank you for your question.
The answer is, yes, that should have been done.
The free trade agreements signed to date have a dark past regarding labour and the environment.
With regard to labour, competition from workers in all countries has had a remarkable impact on working conditions. Consequently, measures really need to be taken to improve workers' rights and to make those measures binding, something that will require much more than good intentions.
However, the labour chapters in previous free trade agreements are full of good intentions but provide for absolutely nothing that might achieve actual results in this area. That's clearly unsatisfactory.
As for the environment, we know that this issue absolutely is not a concern in free trade agreements. On the other hand, most of the measures concerning tribunal proceedings, which are addressed in the chapters on the investor-state dispute settlement process, concern environmental issues. That tells you just how much more importance is attached to business interests than to environmental protection.
Furthermore, an interesting about-face has been made in the 2023 Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, which provides, for example, that the parties will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which is very important.
However, I believe we can go much further on this subject if we adopt a vision in which the environment is considered an absolute priority.
When it comes to global warming, we're really talking about the future of the planet. From one report on the subject to the next, we can see just how destructive failure on this issue may be. It all has a price. Consequently, it's very important to make the measures in free trade agreements binding.