US launches sweeping forced-labour trade probe

WASHINGTON – The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has launched Section 301 trade investigations into 60 of America's largest trading partners over their failure to ban imports of goods produced with forced labour — a move with far-reaching implications for the global textile and apparel industry.

Announced late last week, the probe covers a broad sweep of major garment-exporting nations including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Turkey and China. Although not all these regions have been subject to allegations of forced labour in apparel supply chains.