For a decade, the European Union (EU) has included “trade and sustainable development” (TSD) chapters in its free trade agreements (FTAs), but research casts doubt on their effectiveness. The recent EU–Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) appears as an exception, as Vietnam, prior to ratification, committed to groundbreaking labor reforms. This article examines the implementation and impact of the TSD chapter in Vietnam. It follows recent scholarship in taking multi-scalar labor regimes in global production networks (GPNs) as a starting point but argues that integrating a strategic-relational conceptualization of the state offers stronger analysis of the contested nature of labor provisions. Based on interviews in the EU and Vietnam, the article shows that implementation of the labor reforms has been delayed and diluted by conservatives in the party-state, in the context of intensified state control over society, and that pressure from the EU has made little dent on the most controversial issues. The article then explores how the TSD chapter confronts labor regimes in the apparel export sector in Vietnam, identifying three ‘mismatches’: the failure to address the most pressing grievances of workers; silence on buyers’ purchasing practices; and an incongruity with existing modalities of labor resistance. The article’s main contribution lies in bringing struggles around state-society relations and GPNs to the fore in analyzing labor provisions. Doing so yields a less optimistic assessment of the EVFTA and highlights the contradictions of promoting labor standards through FTAs that ultimately serve to expand spaces for capital.