TUAC and OECD Watch have issued a joint statement welcoming the OECD Investment Committee’s decision that Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) can be held accountable for their links to labour rights, human rights, and environmental rights violations.
ECAs — government-backed institutions that finance, insure, or otherwise financially support domestic companies’ business activities abroad — have historically operated in an “accountability gap”. As state-backed organisations, they often avoid regulation as multinational enterprises, and as multinational enterprises they frequently also avoid abiding by the rules and treaty obligations of state entities.
Concurrently, ECAs’ investments, which account for USD 2.5 trillion annually, have been linked to appalling human and labour rights abuses such as forced labour and child labour.
We welcome the Investment Committee's decision to address this long-standing concern. ECAs handle trillions in public money - governments must now ensure this financing doesn't continue to enable labour rights violations and environmental damage.
In 2021, TUAC and OECD Watch asked the OECD’s Investment Committee for clarity on whether ECAs should be considered multinational enterprises, and therefore subject to OECD Guidelines. This would allow those whose rights have been violated by ECA-backed projects to bring their grievances to National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct.
The Committee’s response, coming after two and a half years of deliberation, states that ECAs incorporated as commercial companies or registered in commercial registers can be presumed, at first instance, to be multinational enterprises covered by the Guidelines. Additionally, ECAs lacking commercial form may still fall under the Guidelines if their activities are deemed commercial in nature.
Significantly, the Committee also addressed cases where ECAs are considered state entities, noting they remain bound by the state duty to protect human rights under international law. This creates potential pathways for accountability regardless of an ECA’s classification.
The Committee’s clarification is a welcome step toward addressing the accountability gap, but sustained effort will be needed to ensure ECAs meet their responsibilities to workers, communities, and the environment. While it provides a framework for evaluating when ECAs should be subject to the Guidelines, the real test will be how National Contact Points implement this guidance in practice.
This is an opportunity for real change in how ECAs operate. We call on governments to implement robust oversight mechanisms, strengthen due diligence requirements, and ensure National Contact Points are equipped to handle ECA-related complaints effectively.
TUAC urges National Contact Points and governments to adapt their internal policies to reflect these developments, and encourages the OECD to continue strengthening its approach to responsible business conduct and workers’ rights.
Image credit: ASSRGWA and IndustriALL
