Rock Quoted on US Labor Provisions in Southeast Asian Trade Deals

Lucas A. Rock was quoted on how recent labor provisions in trade agreements with Cambodia and Malaysia and frameworks for deals with Thailand and Vietnam signal increased focus on forced labor enforcement.

These recent agreements and frameworks include new labor provisions aimed at preventing forced labor and improving enforcement of labor laws. These provisions are seen as a response to concerns about transshipment of goods made with forced labor, particularly from China, through third countries.

Lucas said that though the provisions appear to be a shift toward requiring American partners to adopt stronger import bans on goods made with forced labor, they could be signaling the Trump Administration’s desire to prevent the transshipment of tainted products into the United States through third countries, a common enforcement loophole.

This approach “places more responsibility on foreign manufacturers and partner governments to combat forced labor,” he said.

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