Congressman Cleaver Pleased to Hear of President Obama’s Effort to Target U.S. Imports of Seafood Produced by Slave Labor in Southeast Asia
Back in December 2015, Cleaver Called on DOL and FDA to Investigate Reports of Retailers Selling Seafood Produced by Slaves in Thailand
Congressman Cleaver meets with Thai Ambassador Pisan Manawapat this week in Washington.
Washington D.C. – The Environmental Justice Foundation speaks of cases of migrant workers who have been trafficked into Thailand and forced to work on shrimp and fishing vessels. Some of them have not received wages for years and are unable to escape this form of slavery. Addressing human rights violations, human trafficking, and child labor abuses is an issue Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05) has long been concerned about.
Most recently, in December of 2015, Congressman Cleaver wrote to the Labor Department and the Food and Drug Administration demanding investigations and called on them to take all "administrative actions available" to punish American companies linked to slave labor in Thailand's seafood industry.
In the letter, dated December 16, 2015, Congressman Cleaver wrote,
"I am deeply concerned for the welfare of adult and children shrimp peelers in Thailand who are forced to work in one of the most abhorrent slavery schemes of the 21st century… I urge that more should be done. I respectfully request that the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Labor launch full investigations into US companies doing business with Thai shrimp processors known to be associated with slavery."
Just this week, Congressman Cleaver met with Thai Ambassador Pisan Manawapat and had a productive discussion about these critical issues. Ambassador Manawapat shared the administrative efforts that Thailand has made since Congressman Cleaver originally called for an investigation in 2015.
In their meeting, Ambassador Manawapat informed Congressman Cleaver that Thailand has stepped up the monitoring of living and working conditions of those at sea, banned employment of workers below the age of 18, and has enhanced their enforcement efforts across the industry.
"I was pleased to hear this week that President Obama has directed his Administration to enforce a ban on importing goods made by children and or slaves under new provisions of a law signed by the President," said Congressman Cleaver. "Seafood produced by slaves in Thailand will be among those goods banned from sale in the United States. It is important to know that the United States will no longer contribute to this form of labor abuse."
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.
For more information, please contact Heather Frierson at 816-842-4545 or Heather.Frierson@mail.house.gov