Recap: Senate Finance Hearing on Forced Labor
- By [ Blake Harden ]
- 03/19/2021
Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the implementation of the U.S. forced labor statute. You can find a recording of the hearing here.
Julie Hughes, President of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and a co-lead along with RILA, NRF and AAFA of the Forced Labor Working Group, represented the industry perspective during the hearing.
During her testimony, Hughes emphasized the need for a multi-stakeholder response to forced labor. "My personal belief is that to eliminate forced laborwe need to go beyond what companies can do on their own, and go beyond an emphasis on punitive measures, to use multi-stakeholder approaches. The combination of civil society, NGOs, compan ies, governments and international institutions is needed to reach our shared goal to eliminate forced labor," said Hughes.
Hughes also mentioned the two pilot programs funded by the Department of Labor that will focus on developing solutions to forced labor that bring together technology, tracking and supply chain.
Hughes also highlighted the critical need for more transparency from CBP regarding bad actors and best practices to help the industry avoid forced labor in supply chains.For more information about RILA's advocacy work on trade and supply chain issues, please contact Blake Harden.
Tags
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Ensuring a Safe, Sustainable Future
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International Trade
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Retail Works for All of Us
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Supply Chain
