July 6 -- The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is coordinating with all relevant United States federal agencies to develop a focused trade strategy to combat forced labor. The strategy will identify priorities and establish an action plan for utilizing existing and potential new trade tools to combat forced labor in traded goods and services. USTR invites public comments to inform the development of the strategy. The deadline for the submission of written comments is August 5, 2022.
On January 25, 2022, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that USTR would develop the first-ever trade strategy to combat forced labor. In developing the strategy, USTR is conducting an interagency review across the U.S. Government through the Trade Policy Staff Committee's (TPSC) Subcommittee on Trade, Forced Labor, and Child Labor of existing trade policies and tools used to combat forced labor, including forced child labor, to determine areas that may need strengthening and gaps that may need to be filled. USTR will use this analysis to establish objectives, priorities, new tools, and key action items to advance development of the strategy. The process is inclusive to maximize input from stakeholders, including labor organizations, civil society, survivors, and the private sector.
USTR invites interested parties to submit comments to assist in the development of the forced labor trade strategy. In submitting comments, parties are invited to consider the following questions.
What actions could the U.S. Government pursue with like-minded trade partners and allies to combat forced labor as an unfair trade practice?
How can the U.S. Government bolster the forced labor components of trade agreements and trade preference programs to have greater effect?
What new and innovative trade tools can the U.S. Government develop and utilize to advance efforts to combat forced labor in traded goods and services?
How can the U.S. Government make the development of trade policy on forced labor a more inclusive process?
Do you have additional recommendations for monitoring, tracing, or eliminating forced labor in traded goods and services in supply chains?
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-14355
