Cornell International Law JournalThe preeminent source for scholarship on foreign and international law

There is growing evidence that private corporate and multi-stakeholder initiatives— often termed ‘Supply Chain Solutions’—are failing to address the social and environmental challenges arising from the governance of Global Value Chains (GVCs). GVCs themselves challenge traditional labor laws and employment regulations due to their multi-tiered supply structures, the dynamics of private power, and the cross-border reach of contracting firms. These factors render traditional labor law tools largely inaccessible or irrelevant to workers in the lower tiers of GVCs. Efforts to regulate labor in GVCs, such as corporate Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) legislation, have fallen short. These top-down approaches, typically originating in the Global North, lack input from affected communities in the Global South, exclude meaningful worker participation, and often lack enforcement mechanisms. This raises a critical question: can labor law address the harsh working conditions created by GVC dynamics under supply chain capitalism?

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