Wants 3 items off US restrictions listings
PUBLISHED: 21 Oct 2024 at 09: 03
The Labour Ministry is vowing to quicken the removal of fishmeal, fish oil and animal feed from the US government’s 2024 Record of Goods Produced by Child Labor, or Forced Labour List.
According to Labour Minister Phumiphat Mueanchan, spokesman for the labor department Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has ordered immediate action to address issues about Thai items appearing on the US’ List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.
This record, which is managed under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, includes items that are suspected to have been produced using baby or forced labor, as well as being known as the TVPRA List.
Also, Thai products appear on the” List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor” under Executive Order 13126, also known as the Entrepreneurship Checklist.
The US Department of Labor just published the 2024 TVPRA and Entrepreneurship Names, which include three Thai products: fishmeal, pet supply and fish oil.
To create a plan to remove these fishery-related items from the lists, the Labour Ministry has been given the task of creating a working group made up of private sector members like the Thai Tuna Industry Association and the Thai Pet Food Trade Association.
Mr. Phumiphat stated that the minister has taken into account the private sector’s concerns about the impact of this listing, particularly in relation to Thailand’s annual exports of fisheries and pet food products, which are valued at more than US$$ 1 billion ( roughly US$ 33 billion ).
Now, five Thai products, including prawns, fish, sugar, garments and sex, remain on the TVPRA List, while garments are the only solution included on the Entrepreneurship List.
All of these items have been the subject of a thorough investigation and remediation plan led by the labor secretary.
According to Mr. Phumiphat, Thailand has made some progress over the past two years in terms of removing child and forced labor from its manufacturing procedures, which has resulted in the removal of shellfish products from both lists.
Sugarcane, which is now harvested with machine, is also being considered for treatment. The Labour Ministry is still conducting workplace inspections and encouraging ethical labor techniques, with the aim of removing all Thai items from US names, according to the official.