October 10, 2025 — Environmental nonprofit Greenpeace has alleged that the U.S. government is too lenient on cracking down on trafficking, especially as it relates to major seafood supplying nations.
The organization made the claim in response to the U.S. government’s ranking of Taiwan and Indonesia in its yearly Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the most recent edition of which included Taiwan achieving a Tier 1 ranking for the 16th time and Indonesia achieving a Tier 2 ranking.
June 25, 2024 — The U.S. State Department has released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, and NGOs are criticizing the choice to maintain the rankings of Taiwan and Thailand.
The TIP report classifies countries into a number of different tiers based on the prevalence of forced labor and human trafficking in their supply chains – with Tier 1 being the best and Tier 3 being the worst. In the latest report, Taiwan maintained its position in Tier 1, and Thailand maintained its position in Tier 2 – a move that Global Labor Justice (GLJ) criticized as overlooking abuses in both countries.
September 5, 2023 — The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a report identifying several nations it alleges are engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing or that have not done enough to eliminate the use of forced labor within their domestic fleets.
Angola, Grenada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, The Gambia, and Vanuatu were all alleged to have participated in IUU fishing in 2020, 2021 and 2022, according to the report. Mexico, China, and Russia were given negative certifications for failing to remedy IUU fishing activities, which could lead to the U.S. denying those nations’ access to American ports and waters or import bans.
June 16, 2023 — The U.S. Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report on 15 June, revealing Taiwan and Thailand retained the rankings they held in previous years, despite calls from environmental and labor organizations for them to be downgraded.
The TIP report classifies countries into multiple tiers – Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3 – based on the prevalence of forced labor and human trafficking in the countries, with a lower number representing a country of lower concern.
June 5, 2023 — The Seafood Working Group is calling for the downgrade of Thailand and Taiwan in the forthcoming 2023 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
The Seafood Working group is composed of 28 organizations including the International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), Greenpeace USA, and the Environmental Justice Foundation that was formed to advocate for effective government policies and industry actions to end labor exploitation, illegal fishing, and overfishing in the global seafood industry.
October 3, 2022 — Taiwan and Thailand both feature prominently on the new edition of a U.S. Department of Labor report on child and forced labor, which identifies abuses in both countries’ seafood sectors.
Released 28 September, 2022, the “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor,” dinged Taiwan and Thailand for alleged use of forced labor in their fishing sectors, while Thailand also received mention for alleged use of child and forced labor in its shrimp-processing industry.
August 1, 2022 — Non-governmental organizations and fishing industry groups have had sharply differing reactions to the latest edition of the U.S. government’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP), which was published 19 July, 2022.
The latest edition of TIP, published annually the U.S. State Department, kept Taiwan at Tier One status while upgrading Thailand and Ireland to Tier Two, despite claims of labor abuse in the fishing industries of all three states. Those rankings dismayed some fisheries-focused NGOs, who said geopolitical considerations are blunting Washington’s ability to curb labor abuses in global fisheries.
April 28, 2022 — Taiwanese fishing representatives have issued a joint statement to protest the treatment they have received from non-governmental organizations including the Seafood Working Group and Greenpeace.
The Taiwan Deepsea Tuna Longline Boatowners and Exporters Association, Taiwan Squid Fishery Association, Taiwan Tuna Purse Seiners Association, Taiwan Tuna Longline Association, and Distant Fisheries Youth Association said the industry’s continuing efforts on labor are “simply ignored” by the campaign groups.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
April 8, 2022 — The representative body for the Taiwanese tuna industry has criticized the decision by an American NGO to take a case against a Taiwan-based tuna processor instead of collaborating with government and industry on solutions.
Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) filed suit against San Diego, California, U.S.A.-based Bumble Bee Seafood – a major tuna brand and subsidiary of Fong Chun Formosa Fishery Company (FCF), a Taiwan-based seafood trader and fishing company – over what GLJ ILRF said were its “false and deceptive” marketing claims made by Bumble bee that it sources its tuna through a “fair and safe supply chain.”
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
February 14, 2022 — Taiwan will soon revoke the “authorization for investment in operation of foreign-flagged fishing vessels” granted to the owner-operator of the Da Wang, a Taiwanese-owned (and Vanuatu-flagged) vessel which was the subject of a recent finding by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that labor abuses took place on board.
On 18 August, 2022, the U.S. CBP, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, issued a withhold release order refusing all seafood caught by the Da Wang at U.S. ports of entry. On 28 January, 2022, the CBP issued a forced labor finding against the Da Wang, citing an investigation that discovered evidence of all 11 of the International Labour Organization’s forced labor indicators on the vessel. The elevated ruling will result in all seafood affiliated with the Da Wang to be confiscated at all U.S. ports.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource