The United States recently announced investigations into 60 countries to assess whether their acts, policies, and practices are resulting in the importation of goods made with forced labour. Canada is one of the countries under investigation. Above Ground made a submission to the Office of the United States Trade Representative as part of these investigations.
In our submission, we argue that while Canada urgently needs to effectively enforce our existing import ban on goods made with forced labour, action taken simply to appease concerns of the U.S. administration and avoid significant penalties may prove neither thorough nor sustainable. Instead, a collaborative approach that includes technical assistance and capacity building and that is grounded in consultation with workers’ rights organizations and unions could help support effective enforcement.