SEAFOODNEWS.COM [ASEAN Affairs] — September 10, 2014 –Five Thai products may not be removed from US child, forced labour abuse watch lists.
Thai Ministry of Labour and business operators are drafting their request for the US to remove five Thai products from its list of products involving child labour and forced labour when the US Department of Labour reviews the list in early October, according to a senior official of Department of Foreign Trade.
Panjit Pisawong, deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, however, said she was not certain if they would be removed from the list.
She said Brazil took three years to get off the list, while Thailand is just beginning its attempt this year.
The five products are shrimp, fish, sugarcane, garments and pornographic media.
“The US Department of Labour changes the time frame of its announcement of the list to every two years and the next announcement is due in October 2016. Including Thai item does not cause US government agencies to stop importing Thai products,” Ms Panjit said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and other concerned agencies planned to report Thailand’s efforts against human trafficking and labour abuse by next March to convince the US to remove Thailand from its worst human-trafficking watch list next June.
Thailand has made much progress in the efforts due to the policies of the National Council for Peace and Order to legalize and protect alien labour in Thailand and suppress human traffickers.
As Thailand enters the Tier 3 watch list, the US president is authorized to implement non-trade sanctions against the country within 90 days after being included in the list.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.