State Expected to Upgrade Malaysia in Trafficking Report, Free Trade Critics Cry Foul
The State Department is poised to upgrade Malaysia on its human trafficking scale in the 2015 annual report on the issue, according to a Reuters report released on July 8. The trafficking reports are typically issued in June, and the 2015 rendition is expected to surface soon. State is preparing to move Malaysia from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on the scale, said Reuters (here).
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Free trade supporters have been attempting for months to modify human trafficking language in Trade Promotion Authority, which President Barack Obama signed into law at the end of June (see 1506290045). Current provisions prohibit expedited consideration of free trade agreements with Tier 3 countries. Lawmakers have planned to add an off-ramp to that ban as part of Customs Reauthorization conference (see 1507070066).
Malaysia is a Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating party, and trade supporters have feared the provision will create an obstacle to closing the deal with all twelve parties. The transfer of Malaysia to Tier 2 would render that concern moot.
Meanwhile, free trade critics hit back at the report, claiming ulterior motives are driving the change. “We are outraged by this clearly political decision, which undermines the integrity of the TIP Report and signals that the U.S. is willing to turn a blind eye to modern slavery and grave human and labor rights abuses in order to advance its trade agenda,” said the AFL-CIO in a statement. “The situation in Malaysia has not improved: forced labor, human trafficking, and exploitation remain pervasive. If Malaysia is rewarded with greater market access under the Trans-Pacific Partnership without having to first undertake fundamental reforms, there will be little incentive for Malaysia to end this brutality.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., echoed that criticism. “The only reason to upgrade Malaysia to a tier two country is to bypass the ban that is currently in U.S. law … this is an irresponsible, unacceptable political game,” she said in a statement. “Further, this year’s delay in issuing the annual Trafficking In Persons report has been inordinately long. The administration must stop stalling and make an honest determination that is driven by facts, not politics.” House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., called the expected change “deeply disturbing.”