President Barak Obama. (Photo: Pete Souza)
Obama tightens restrictions to prevent slave labour seafood entry
UNITED STATES
Saturday, February 27, 2016, 02:20 (GMT + 9)
US President Barack Obama signed a bill on Wednesday that includes a provision banning U.S. imports of fish caught by workers under slave-like conditions in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa and garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh.
Until now, US customs law banning imports of items produced by forced or child labour had gone largely unenforced because of two words: "consumptive demand". This implied that if there was not sufficient supply to meet domestic demand, imports were allowed regardless of how they were produced, Associated Press informed.
Senator Sherrod Brown, who offered the amendment eliminating that exception, said, "It's embarrassing that for 85 years, the United States let products made with forced labour into this country, and closing this loophole gives the US an important tool to fight global slavery."
On his part, Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for National Fisheries Institute, which represents about 75 percent of the U.S. seafood industry, said their members are eager to see the ban enforced.
The issue gain visibility when last year, an investigation by Asociated Press found Thai companies ship seafood to the U.S. that was caught and processed by trapped and enslaved workers.
Among the countries facing slave and illegal labour problems, Thailand stands out as one of those likely to be hard hit by the law.
However, the Thai Foreign Ministry assured the bill would not affect Thai exports.
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