House Natural Resources Democrats to Seek Tougher Forced Labor Enforcement on Thai Seafood
House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., is circulating a letter among lawmakers to be sent to the secretaries of the departments of Commerce, State and Homeland Security that calls for tougher enforcement on forced labor involved in the seafood supply chain. "We urge your Departments to ensure that the United States does not import any seafood associated with human trafficking, from Thailand or any other country," the letter says. Grijalva is seeking other lawmakers to sign onto the letter by Sept. 12.
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While a forced labor loophole was closed in 2016, the law "has not been enforced to prevent imports to the United States of seafood that has been produced with forced labor in Thailand," it says. The Department of Homeland Security should prevent imports of seafood using forced labor and "inform our staff if CBP needs additional resources or authority to take additional enforcement action on seafood imports."
The State Department should use diplomatic pressure on the Thai government and other governments to stop human trafficking and forced labor in the seafood supply chains, it says. The Commerce Department should expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program beyond 13 species, it says. The SIMP regulations also don't mention forced labor or human trafficking, but such issues should be addressed in the program, it says. "We urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to expand SIMP to address risk factors associated with human trafficking and include all seafood species to ensure that any seafood sold in the United States is not produced using forced labor or in violation of any human rights laws."