US lets in Thai fish caught by slaves despite law

Source: Associated Press

US lets in Thai fish caught by slaves despite law
By MARTHA MENDOZA, Associated Press National Writer | April 21, 2015 | Updated: April 21, 2015 4:13pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fourteen years after the U.S. first criticized Thailand for labor abuse in its annual trafficking report, seafood caught by slaves on Thai boats is still slipping into the supply chains of major American stores and supermarkets.

The U.S. has not enforced its own law banning the import of goods made with forced labor since 2000 because of significant loopholes, The Associated Press has found. It has also spared Thailand from sanctions slapped on other countries with similar records because of a complex political relationship that includes cooperation against terrorism.

The question of labor abuse in Thailand will come up at a congressional hearing Wednesday, in light of an AP investigation that found hundreds of men beaten, starved, forced to work with little or no pay and even held in a cage on the remote island village of Benjina. While officials at federal agencies would not directly answer why the law and sanctions are not applied, they pointed out that the U.S. State Department last year blacklisted Thailand as among the worst offenders in its report.

"No one can claim ignorance anymore," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division. "This is a test case for Washington as much as Bangkok."


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/US-lets-in-Thai-fish-caught-by-slaves-despite-law-6214385.php