The Human Costs of Exiting and Revising Trade and Investment Agreements: Local Community Interests, Human Rights, and Global Politics

Treaty exits and treaty revisions are basic matters for states. While these alterations do not typically warrant significant analysis, rapid international economic treaty changes that have occurred recently merit further review. In particular, the real human costs of these decisions to exit or revise trade and investment treaties may be obscured by the haste of these changes. But, these recent alterations also provide a significant opportunity for states to write the terms of the international economic system in a manner that deliberately respects and protects the fundamental human rights of communities, individuals, and groups that comprise states' populations.

These human rights commitments are arguably an intrinsic part of states' social contracts with its citizens. This Essay highlights the causes of these recent treaty alterations and outlines the fundamental protections that these alterations should protect.