President Barack Obama is all set to sign a law that will effectively ban all US imports of fish caught by slave labor in the Southeast Asia. Such a law would close a loophole that has allowed the entry of seafood caught by forced labor into the country for the past few decades. Legislation had passed by Congress sometime during the previous week.
The bill aims to end an exemption in the US Tariff Act of 1930. The Act had allowed goods made by slaves to be imported should the demand by consumers fail to be met without them. Widespread worker abuses have been uncovered in the past year, which includes child miners in Africa and women forced to stitch garments in Bangladesh. Around 90% of seafood consumed by Americans is reportedly imported from overseas.
