The Trump administration's aggressive use of trade law to address labour issues could better the lives of migrant workers across Asia. Companies will have to rigorously scrutinise their supply chains for signs of forced labour.
With Donald Trump in the White House, some Asian companies may believe they do not have to worry about forced labour in their operations or supply chains impacting their access to the US market. That is flat out wrong.
An updated law prohibiting forced labour is limited to formal employment relationships. Workers in sectors that are unregulated are not sufficiently protected, nor does the law reach workers who have free movement, but suffer mistreatment.
Import bans bring social issues to the fore forcing agribusiness to assess their obligations to their workforces. Are such regulatory bans the best way to address the social issues prevalent in the industry?