On June 23, 2021, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), Research and Policy (R&P) Unit released its updated List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (List) as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations. The updated List comprises 156 goods from 77 countries.
ILAB maintains the List primarily to raise public awareness about forced labor and child labor around the world and to promote efforts to combat them; it is not intended to be punitive, but rather to serve as a catalyst for more strategic and focused coordination and collaboration among those working to address these problems. Publication of the List has resulted in new opportunities for ILAB to engage with foreign governments to combat forced labor and child labor. It is also a valuable resource for researchers, advocacy organizations and companies wishing to carry out risk assessments and engage in due diligence on labor rights in their supply chains.
R&P Unit researchers work throughout the year to collect relevant data from public sources, U.S. government agencies, foreign governments, NGOs, and their own field missions to countries. They then compile the data into specific and actionable information in the Unit’s three reports – the List, Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, and List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor. Data from these three reports are available in the Sweat & Toil app. In addition, ILAB’s Comply Chain app provides companies with steps for developing a robust social compliance system for monitoring labor practices in their supply chains.
Finally, the R&P Unit oversees ILAB’s policy engagement on human trafficking, coordinating with the Department’s domestic agencies and other federal agencies to carry out its international-facing anti-trafficking mandate and convey the efforts of the Department to address this crime within the United States and around the world.