Trade deals with a social conscience

When the EU adopted a revolutionary approach to negotiating trade agreements in 2003, the event passed largely unnoticed. The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan set out to create legally binding agreements between the EU and timber producing countries with an in-built focus on improved governance, reduced corruption and reforms in forest laws.

The implications of nearly a decade of FLEGT trade agreements will be the topic of a conference in the European Par...