US law targeting goods linked to forced labour ‘good for Thailand’
A NEW United States law that bans the import of goods that are produced by forced labour will benefit Thailand, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said yesterday.
He said Thai products and manufacturers that do not rely on illegal workers would stand to gain from this law, as the process of inspection would now be more transparent.
“Import goods from Thailand will be more desirable for the US market. It will help create a good image for Thai goods too,” he said.
The US government on Wednesday implemented the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, which requires goods imported into the country to be free from illegal labour. Sek said the act was not targeting Thai fishery products but was aimed at all products imported into the US.
This month at the US-Asean summit in Sunnylands, California, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha assured the summit that Thailand was doing its best to tackle the use of illegal workers in the fisheries industry, human trafficking and forced labour, Sek said.
“We hope that the US government will implement the law with transparency and not [use it] as a trade barrier,” Sek said.