To: President Donald Trump
President Obama – Don’t turn a blind eye to slavery
We believe that upholding human rights and enforceable standards to eradicate human slavery should be at the center of any multilateral trade negotiations. We urge you to not abandon those standards in your push to negotiate a trade deal that includes Malaysia.
Why is this important?
There are many problems with the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade deal being negotiated by the Obama Administration, and the consequences for working families in the United States will be devastating.
But as bad as TPP will be for the US, the consequences pale in comparison to what will happen if the US removes Malaysia from its official list of the world's worst human trafficking offenders.
According to the Huffington Post, “The maneuver would allow the administration to continue negotiating a controversial trade agreement with Malaysia and 10 other Pacific nations. Legislation authored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) effectively bars the U.S. from enacting trade deals with countries deemed ‘Tier 3’ violators of human trafficking standards -- the worst of the worst in the State Department's formal reckoning of governments that facilitate modern-day slavery.
“Malaysia earned its spot on that list, alongside Iran and North Korea, from years of human trafficking, including rampant sex slavery and forced labor in the agriculture and the textile industries, according to 2014 State Department documents. Malaysia's electronics industry also is rife with forced labor. This year, mass graves for trafficking victims were discovered in Malaysia near its northern border with Thailand.”