"It is clear that publics around the world support the growth of trade," said Steven Kull, editor of WorldPublicOpinion.org, part of the University of Maryland which organised the poll with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

"But it is also clear that many are looking for ways to soften its disruptive impact on the environment and jobs by including environmental and labor standards in trade agreements," he said.

Support for such standards was particularly high in low-cost economies like China and India, flouting the widespread belief that their workers would prefer lax regulation to press home their competitive advantage, the survey said.

"It is possible that the requirement of higher standards is attractive because it generates outside pressure to improve working conditions in their countries," it said.