U.S. Department of Labor Letter to the Southern Shrimp Alliance Emphasizes Continued Focus on Slavery in Seafood Supply Chains
In a letter to the Southern Shrimp Alliance dated January 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) explained that in evaluating information regarding forced labor in distant water fishing fleets, “OFCT took into account the information provided” by the Southern Shrimp Alliance in a January 13, 2020 submission. Based on OCFT’s […]
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Combatting Slavery in Seafood Supply Chains Remains Priority of the U.S. Shrimp Industry
Robust enforcement of the law prohibiting the importation of goods produced through forced labor, found at 19 U.S.C. § 1307, has proven to be the most important tool available to counter the continued existence of slavery in overseas supply chains, including seafood supply chains. Although this law has been on the books since 1930, in the seventy-eight (78) years between its […]
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Southern Shrimp Alliance Tells U.S. International Trade Commission that IUU Seafood Harms U.S. Commercial Fishing Industries
On December 19, 2019, the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) conduct an investigation of the potential economic effects on U.S. fishermen of competition with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (“IUU”) seafood imports. In response, the ITC initiated a factfinding investigation, Investigation No. 332-575, regarding seafood obtained via IUU […]
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GAO Report Highlights Weaknesses in CBP’s Enforcement of Ban on Goods Produced through Slave and Child Labor
On Thursday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report following its year-long review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) enforcement of a law – section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) – that prohibits the importation of goods produced through convict, forced, slave, or child labor. The Committee on Natural Resource of […]
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Southern Shrimp Alliance Asks the Department of Labor to Close Loopholes in the Identification of Seafood Produced through Slave Labor
Yesterday, in response to a request for information and invitation to comment from the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor (“ILAB”), the Southern Shrimp Alliance asked the agency to close loopholes that exempt entire categories of seafood from being identified as produced through child or forced labor. Since 2009, ILAB has published a list of goods produced through […]
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Southern Shrimp Alliance Lauds U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Issuance of Five New Withhold Release Orders
On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued five Withhold Release Orders (WRO) on a variety of goods imported into the United States that are produced through forced or prison labor. The WRO was issued pursuant to CBP’s authority under 19 U.S.C. 1307, banning the importation of goods produced through forced or child labor. CBP issued WROs covering: (1) garments […]
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Imported Shrimp May Use Human Trafficking
Shrimp consumed in the United States may have been produced using human trafficking according to the U.S. Department of Labor and human rights organizations. Human trafficking is a crime that exploits women, children and men for numerous purposes including forced labor and sex. Documented examples of human trafficking in the shrimp supply chain include individuals held at sea to catch […]
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World Day Against Child Labor Includes Shrimp
The U.S. government, other governments, and human rights organizations have all documented labor abuses in the shrimp supply chain in several countries. On June 12, the Southern Shrimp Alliance is promoting resources to help shrimp purchasers avoid sourcing from supply chains that use forced labor, child labor, and forced child labor as part of World Day Against Child Labor. Resources […]
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Issues Withhold Release Order Barring Imports from Fishing Vessel
In the context of the $6.5 billion worth of shrimp imported into the United States from all over the world in 2017, the $4.6 million in shrimp we imported from Myanmar (Burma) that year was just a small drop in a huge ocean. But $4.6 million worth of shrimp is still a lot of shrimp. And it was a substantial jump up […]
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SSA Condemns Criminal Defamation Case Filed Against Prominent Labor Activist in Thailand
In a letter sent today to U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca of the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Southern Shrimp Alliance expressed grave concern regarding the recently filed criminal defamation charges in Thailand against Andy Hall, a British citizen resident in Thailand. According to published reports, Mr. Hall, a long-time advocate of humane […]