—

having regard to Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

—

having regard to Articles 8, 10, 153(1), 153(2), 157 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

—

having regard to Articles 23 and 33 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

—

having regard to the 2015 EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy,

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 16 June 2016 on gender equality (00337/2016),

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document of 14 July 2015 on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – State of Play (SWD(2015)0144),

—

having regard to the European Pact for gender equality for the period 2011-2020 annexed to the Council conclusions of 7 March 2011 (07166/2011),

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document of 3 December 2015 on the Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019 (SWD(2015)0278),

—

having regard to the Commission’s 2017 report on equality between women and men in the European Union,

—

having regard to the Commission’s 2015 communication entitled ‘Trade for All – Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’(COM(2015)0497),

—

having regard to the Commission’ communication of 13 September 2017 entitled ‘Report on the Implementation of the Trade Policy Strategy Trade for All – Delivering a Progressive Trade Policy to Harness Globalisation’(COM(2017)0491),

—

having regard to the GSP Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 (1)),

—

having regard to the Conflict Minerals Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (2)),

—

having regard to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), in particular Article 4(1) prohibiting slavery and servitude, and Article 14 prohibiting discrimination,

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 18 December 1979,

—

having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, and to the subsequent outcome documents adopted at the UN Beijing +5 (2000), Beijing +10 (2005) and Beijing +15 (2010) special sessions,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), and its Article 3 defining ‘gender’as ‘the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men’, and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Sanctioning and Elimination of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Pará) of 1994,

—

having regard to the 2007 joint strategy of the EU and its Member States entitled ‘Aid for trade: Enhancing EU support for trade-related needs in developing countries’and to the Commission’s communication of 13 November 2017 entitled ‘Achieving Prosperity through Trade and Investment – Updating the 2007 Joint EU Strategy on Aid for Trade’(COM(2017)0667);

—

having regard to the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015, entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’,

—

having regard to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,

—

having regard to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas,

—

having regard to the UNCTAD Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (2015),

—

having regard to the key conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on gender equality, including the Equal Remuneration Convention (No 100), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No 111), the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention (No 156) and the Maternity Protection Convention (No 183),

—

having regard to Chapter 7 of the Action Plan of the EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State 2015-2017, adopted in Brussels in June 2015,

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2006 on the human rights and democracy clause in European Union agreements (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2010 on human rights and social and environmental standards in international trade agreements (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2010 on international trade policy in the context of climate change imperatives (5),

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 September 2012 on the role of women in the green economy (6),

—

having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2015 on the EU Strategy for equality between women and men post-2015 (7),

—

having regard to its resolution of 28 April 2016 on women domestic workers and carers in the EU (8),

—

having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on poverty: a gender perspective (9),

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2017 on equality between women and men in the European Union in 2014-2015 (10),

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2016 on implementation of the 2010 recommendations of Parliament on social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility (11),

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2017 on the impact of international trade and the EU’s trade policies on global value chains (12),

—

having regard to its recommendation of 14 September 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service on the negotiations of the modernisation of the trade pillar of the EU-Chile Association Agreement (13),

—

having regard to the ‘Trio Presidency Declaration on Equality between Women and Men’presented on 19 July 2017 by Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria, the Member States holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the 18-month period from July 2017 to December 2018,

—

having regard to the study by the International Centre for Research on Women entitled ‘Trade liberalisation & women’s reproductive health: linkages and pathways’,

—

having regard to the Africa Human Development Report 2016 entitled ‘Accelerating Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa’ (14),

—

having regard to the 2014 OECD report ‘Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship and Business Leadership in OECD Countries’ (15),

—

having regard to the results of the most recent high-level international debates on gender and trade, with particular attention to those organised under the umbrella of the EU and the WTO/UNCTAD/ITC, including, in inverse chronological order, the ‘International Forum on Women and Trade’, organised jointly by the European Commission and the International Trade Centre (Brussels, June 2017) (16), the annual plenary session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO on ‘Trade as a vehicle of social progress: The gender perspective’(Geneva, June 2016) (17) and the WTO plenary session on ‘What future for the WTO? Trade and Gender: Empowering Women through Inclusive Supply Chains’(Geneva, July 2015) (18),

—

having regard to the increasing international efforts to promote gender equality though trade policies, such as the UNCTAD programme on gender and development (19) (which includes studies on the impact of trade on women, a teaching packet on trade and gender, and online training on the creation of the status of ‘gender champions’) and the World Bank working areas, all 14 of which have, since 2016, a gender strategy,

—

having regard to the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) issue paper ‘The Gender Dimensions of Global Value Chains’(September 2016) (20),

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having regard to the ICTSD issue paper ‘The Gender Dimensions of Services’(September 2016) (21),

—

having regard to the 2015 UN Women report entitled ‘Progress of the world’s women 2015-2016. Transforming economies, realising rights’ (22),

—

having regard to the 2017 WIDE+ gender and EU trade position paper entitled ‘How to transform EU trade policy to protect women’s rights’ (23),

—

having regard to the 2016 study prepared at request of Parliament’s Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee and entitled ‘Gender Equality in Trade Agreements’ (24),

—

having regard to the 2015 study prepared at request of Parliament’s Committee on International Trade entitled ‘The EU’s Trade Policy: from gender-blind to gender-sensitive?’ (25),

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality under Rule 55 of the Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the opinion of the Committee on Development (A8-0023/2018),

A.

whereas Article 8 of the TFEU states that the European Union shall, through all its actions inside and outside of the Union, aim at eliminating inequalities and promote gender equality and combat discrimination, among others, on the grounds of sex, when defining and implementing its policies and activities;

B.

whereas trade policy could serve as a tool to promote global and European values, including gender equality; whereas EU trade and investment agreements and policy are not gender-neutral, meaning that they have different impact on women and men due to structural inequalities; whereas women face gender-specific constraints, such as limited access to and control over resources, legal discrimination and the overburden of carrying out unpaid care work resulting from traditional gender roles;

C.

whereas gender equality should concern both women and men equally; whereas engagement and partnership between public and private sector stakeholders, at international and local levels, are key to promoting the synergies needed to achieve gender equality and women empowerment, and to raise awareness about issues such as: property rights; access to finance, education and vocational training; corporate behaviour; government procurement; the digital gap; and cultural bias;

D.

whereas trade policies aim to achieve, among other things, the sustainable and equitable economic growth and development needed to ensure poverty reduction, social justice and decent work and better living conditions for both women and men, as well as to safeguard women’s rights; whereas gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is not only to be mainstreamed across all UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), but is also a standalone goal; whereas the SDG agenda acknowledges that trade contributes to the promotion of sustainable and equitable development and could contribute to the promotion of the highest international labour and environmental standards and human rights; whereas EU trade policy is an important part of the SDG framework, and a strong gender perspective is an essential element of that framework, the aim of which is to ensure fairer and beneficial outcomes for all; whereas trade policy can also expand opportunities for women entrepreneurship, access to apprenticeship and employment;

E.

whereas the complex relationship between international trade and gender demands a deep understanding of the forces at work, involving the identification, analysis and monitoring of the economic and social dynamics required to develop a efficient trade policy in pursuit of economic development that also promotes women’s empowerment and gender equality; whereas trade policy must therefore take account of its direct and indirect impacts on gender, as well as of specific local contexts, in order to avoid reproducing or exacerbating existing gender gaps and stereotypes, and to strengthen gender equality proactively; whereas the success of trade policy should also be evaluated on the basis of whether it has a positive and equal impact on both women and men;

F.

whereas economic development and gender equality frequently go hand-in-hand; whereas there is a broad understanding that societies in which gender inequalities are lower also tend to grow faster;

G.

whereas the impact of trade liberalisation on individuals also depend on their geographical localisation and on the economic sector in which they are active; whereas important differences exist, both between and within countries, in terms of production structures, female labour force participation rates and welfare regimes; whereas women comprise the majority of workers in sectors such as garment and textile manufacturing, telecommunication, tourism, the care economy and agriculture, where they tend to be concentrated in more low-wage or low-status forms of formal and informal employment than men; whereas this may lead to abuses at the workplace and to discrimination, gender segregation in types of occupations and activities, gender gaps in wages and working conditions, and gender-specific constraints in access to productive resources, infrastructure and services; whereas free trade agreements (FTAs) can lead to employment shifts and losses, particularly in export-related sectors in which women often form the majority of the work force; whereas country-specific and sector-specific gender assessments therefore bring important added value when designing trade agreements;

H.

whereas in the EU in 2011, export-dependent employment accounted for about one out of every nine jobs (11 %) held by women in the EU;

I.

whereas, according to a 2017 Commission study, almost 12 million women in the EU have jobs that depend on the exports of goods and services to the rest of the world (26);

J.

whereas on the basis of fact-based studies, UNCTAD insists in highlighting the limitations that women face in taking advantage of the opportunities offered by trade, arising from factors such as lack of technical training for better jobs, lack of public services to alleviate household responsibilities, and restricted access and control over resources, including credit and land, information as well as networks; whereas, on this basis, UNCTAD recommends that evaluations address the potential impact of trade policies on gender equality and women empowerment in areas such as employment, small business, prices, productivity in agriculture, subsistence agriculture and migration (27);

K.

whereas current EU trade policy and its ‘Trade for All’strategy is based on three key principles: effectiveness, transparency and values, but lack a gender equality perspective; whereas the Commission has renewed and expanded its commitment on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in its review of the Aid for Trade strategy, stating that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also crucial for economic development, making the most of the wide range of EU policy tools available in order to increase their overall impact on growth and poverty reduction; whereas following the provisions included in CEDAW, the EU should provide the basis for realising equality between women and men through ensuring women’s equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political, economic and public life, as well as education, health and employment;

L.

whereas women are affected by trade and trade agreements as potential entrepreneurs, consumers, workers and informal workers; whereas there is a crucial need to recognise and better understand gender-specific impacts of trade policy in order to deliver adequate policy responses; whereas in order to meet this aim, it is necessary to develop an adequate methodology to ensure that the possible impacts of EU trade policy and agreements on gender equality and women’s rights are always evaluated; whereas the Commission should make quantitative gender-disaggregated research by sectors such as, among other, business, science, and technology; whereas, until now, the EU has concluded trade agreements without undertaking assessments of their impact on women and gender equality; whereas the Commission has announced that a modernised Association Agreement between Chile and the EU will include, for the first time for the EU, a specific chapter on gender and trade;

M.

whereas gender issues and women rights are not sufficiently taken into account in the sustainable impact assessments of trade agreements;

N.

whereas an ex-ante assessment of the gender implications of trade policies can make a contribution to women’s empowerment and well-being and, at the same time, help mitigate existing disparities and avoid increasing gender inequality;

O.

whereas a review of current EU multilateral and bilateral agreements shows that 20 % of the agreements with non-European trading partners make reference to women’s rights, and that 40 % of these agreements include references that aim to promote gender equality; whereas references in these agreements to promote women’s empowerment are mainly voluntary and, when binding, they are not enforceable in practice; whereas a recent study by the Commission shows that a gender gap persists in terms of opportunities for access to jobs; whereas the study shows that empowering women could increase global GDP by USD 28 billion by 2025, and that it is essential as much from economic as social and poverty eradication perspectives, given the role of women in communities;

P.

whereas in both developing and developed countries, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) constitute the largest part of the private sector and a vast majority of employment; whereas, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC), MSMEs together represent 95 % of all firms globally, approximately 50 % of global GDP and over 70 % of total employment; whereas up to 40 % of all MSMEs are owned by women while only 15 % of exporting firms are led by women; whereas, however, OCDE figures show that women entrepreneurs still frequently earn 30-40 % less than their male counterparts (28);

Q.

whereas the public debate and reaction across Europe on trade negotiations such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) have shown the need for transparent and inclusive negotiations, taking into account the strong concerns voiced by European citizens in many countries; whereas EU trade policy should not lower any of the EU’s standards, and whereas public services should always be excluded from trade negotiations; whereas any dispute settlement mechanism should be designed to guarantee the capacity of individual governments to regulate in the public interest and to serve public policy objectives; whereas progress must be expected in other critical areas of concern, such as reinforcing companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations in relation to human rights; whereas a global holistic approach to corporate liability for human rights abuses is needed in the context of global value chains;

R.

whereas the UN Guiding Principles on business, trade and human rights are binding on all states and all enterprises, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership or structure;

S.

whereas the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, adopted by the Council in 2016, affirms that human rights must be mainstreamed systematically across all policy sectors and institutions, including international trade and commercial policy;

T.

whereas the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) aims, among other things, to contribute to poverty eradication and promote sustainable development and good governance; whereas GSP+ includes a conditionality aimed at ensuring the ratification and implementation of 27 international conventions – on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance – by eligible developing countries; whereas it is crucial to monitor their implementation on a regular basis, to take action when needed and to pay particular attention to gender equality; whereas CEDAW is one of the relevant conventions under GSP+;

U.

whereas more than 40 % of agricultural work in the Global South is done by women;

V.

whereas the expansion of global trade and integration of developing countries into global value chains (GVCs) can carry the risk of creating gender inequalities when those are used to produce more economically competitive products; whereas it has also allowed many women workers to move from informal to the formal sector; whereas rules of origin have become increasingly important in the context of GVCs, in which the production spans across several countries; whereas clearer and more well-defined rules of origin can create a framework towards establishing full transparency and accountability throughout supply chains, and this can have a positive impact on women, particularly those working in the garment sector;

W.

whereas these new trade-related employment opportunities for women in developing countries contribute significantly to household incomes and poverty reduction;

X.

whereas the garment sector mainly employs women; whereas it is important to recall that 289 people perished in a blaze in Karachi, Pakistan, in September 2012, that a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory, in Bangladesh, in the same year caused the death of 117 people and injured more than 200 workers, and that the structural failure of the Rana Plaza, also in Bangladesh, in 2013 resulted in 1 129 casualties and caused injuries to approximately 2 500 people; whereas all of these were garment factories;

Y.

whereas the majority of the workers in export processing zones (EPZs) are women; and whereas, in some countries, EPZs are exempt from local labour laws, ban or limit union activity and do not provide legal redress to workers, in clear violation of ILO core standards;

Z.

whereas the public and private sectors, civil society (in particular women’s rights organisations), social partners and trade unions have the knowledge and potential to play a crucial role in shaping and monitoring trade policy, and in collecting data that can inform on the issues women face with regard to trade liberalisation, with a view to strengthening women’s rights, their economic empowerment and the promotion of women entrepreneurship;

AA.

whereas events such as the International Forum on Women and Trade organised by the Commission on 20 June 2017 enable many economic stakeholders and representatives of civil society to exchange and launch initiatives on the impact of trade on gender equality;

AB.

whereas multilateral platforms and intergovernmental fora such as the UN SDGs and the Women20 (W20) are crucial for fostering gender-related discussion and action among experts, and for providing a good basis for consensus-building;

AC.

whereas public services, existing or future services of general interest, and services of general economic interest should be excluded from the negotiations on, and scope of application of, any trade agreement concluded by the EU (including, but not limited to, water, sanitation, health, care, social services, social security systems, education, waste management and public transport); whereas, the Commission has committed itself to ensuring that these services remain the competence of the Member States and that governments cannot be required to privatise any service, nor be prevented from defining, regulating, providing and supporting services, in general interest at any time;

AD.

whereas trade in services and public procurement can affect women disproportionately, and whereas public procurement remains a tool allowing governments to have a positive impact on disadvantaged groups of people, especially women; whereas privatisation of health and care services risks increasing inequality and can have a negative impact on the working conditions of many women; whereas an above-average number of women are employed in public services or in the public service sector and, as users of these services, are more dependent on high-quality, affordable, accessible and demand-driven public services than men, particularly with regard to social services such as childcare and care for dependents; whereas cuts in national households and cuts to public services, as well as price increases, tend to shift this care burden nearly exclusively onto women, which will consequently hinder gender equality;

AE.

whereas the intellectual property rights (IPR) system contributes to EU's knowledge-based economy; whereas IPR provisions related to patents that prohibit the production of generic medicines can have a significant impact on the particular health requirements of women; whereas women rely more than men on affordable access to healthcare and to medicines and their availability, especially with regard to their sexual and reproductive health and rights; whereas access to medicines in non-EU countries should not be challenged on the basis of IPR protection;

AF.

whereas decisions on trade and trade agreements are only to a small extent made by women, as negotiating teams, parliaments and governments are still far from achieving gender balance; whereas gender balance in these institutions could not only lead to better integration of gender-equality issues, but also increase the democratic legitimacy of decision making;

AG.

whereas not enough human resources are allocated within the Commission and the EEAS to ensure that a gender perspective is mainstreamed in EU trade policies and, particularly, in the entire process of trade negotiations;

AH.

whereas the Commission, when working on the legal framing of relatively new trade policy areas such as e-commerce, should from the start factor in their impact on gender roles, work-live balance and the amount of unpaid work;

AI.

whereas trade in conflict minerals has proven to be linked directly to widespread human rights violations, including rape and sexual violence against women and girls, child and slave labour and mass displacements;

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