{ "id": "R42497", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42497", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 444110, "date": "2015-08-11", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T18:37:32.195022", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": "Congressional Research Service\n7-5700\nwww.crs.gov\nR42497\nSummary\nTrafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that can be tantamount to slavery. Reports suggest that human trafficking is a global phenomenon, victimizing millions of people each year and contributing to a multi-billion dollar criminal industry. It is a centuries-old problem that, despite international and U.S. efforts to eliminate it, continues to occur in virtually every country in the world. Human trafficking is also an international and cross-cutting policy problem that bears on a range of major national security, human rights, criminal justice, social, economic, migration, gender, public health, and labor issues. \nThe U.S. government and successive Congresses have long played a leading role in international efforts to combat human trafficking. Key U.S. foreign policy responses include the following:\nForeign Country Reporting to describe annual progress made by foreign governments to combat human trafficking, child soldiers, and forced labor. \nForeign Product Blacklisting to identify goods made with convict, forced, or indentured labor, including forced or indentured child labor. \nForeign Aid to support foreign countries\u2019 efforts to combat human trafficking.\nForeign Aid Restrictions to punish countries that are willfully noncompliant with anti-trafficking standards.\nConditions on Trade Preference Program Beneficiaries to offer certain countries export privileges to the United States, provided that they adhere to international standards against forced labor and child trafficking.\nFinancial Prohibitions Against Specially Designated Individuals to block assets of selected foreign individuals involved in the use of child soldiers.\nPreventing U.S. Government Participation in Trafficking Overseas to punish and deter trafficking-related violations among U.S. government personnel and contractors. \nAlthough there is widespread support among policy makers for the continuation of U.S. anti-trafficking goals, ongoing reports of such trafficking worldwide raise questions regarding whether sufficient progress has been made to deter and ultimately eliminate the problem, the end goal of current U.S. anti-trafficking policies. This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts.\nThe TVPA and its reauthorizations remain the cornerstone legislative vehicle for current U.S. policy to combat human trafficking. Key issues for the 114th Congress have focused on whether there is a need for enhanced mechanisms for international funding and programming prioritization; the role of congressionally mandated reporting requirements in driving the anti-trafficking agenda; what prospects may exist to invigorate the monitoring and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws and policies, particularly as they relate to U.S. government contractors and subcontractors; and the relationship between trade policy and anti-trafficking goals. \nContents\nIntroduction\t1\nU.S. Foreign Policy Framework\t3\nForeign Policy Issues\t8\nForeign Country Reporting\t9\nForeign Product Blacklisting\t11\nForeign Aid and International Anti-Trafficking Projects\t13\nForeign Aid Restrictions\t17\nConditions on Country Beneficiary Status for Trade Preference Programs\t21\nFinancial Sanctions Against Specially Designated Individuals\t24\nPreventing U.S. Government Participation in Trafficking Overseas\t26\nConclusion\t28\n\nFigures\nFigure 1. International Anti-Trafficking Obligations and Foreign Operations Budget\t16\n\nTables\nTable 1. International Treaties Addressing Trafficking in Persons to Which the United States Has Ratified or Acceded\t6\nTable 2. Summary of Foreign Country Reporting Requirements\t10\nTable 3. Foreign Product Blacklisting Terms Used in Comparison\t12\nTable 4. Assistance to Combat Trafficking in Persons in the State Department\u2019s Foreign Operations Budget\t15\nTable 5. Aid Restrictions and Waivers Pursuant to the TVPA, FY2004-FY2015\t17\nTable 6. Aid Restrictions and Waivers Pursuant to the CSPA of 2008, FY2011-FY2015\t19\n\nContacts\nAuthor Contact Information\t30\nAcknowledgments\t31\n\nIntroduction\nTrafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that some equate with slavery. It is a centuries-old problem that, despite international and U.S. efforts to eliminate it, continues to occur in virtually every country in the world. In a survey of U.N. member countries published in November 2014, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that between 2010 and 2012, 124 countries had identified trafficking victims representing 152 nationalities. Common forms of human trafficking include trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking through forced labor and debt bondage. Other forms of human trafficking also include trafficking for domestic servitude and the use of children in armed conflict (e.g., child soldiers). \nThe modern manifestation of the human trafficking problem is driven by the willingness of labor and service providers to violate anti-trafficking laws and regulations in the face of continued international demand for cheap labor and services and gaps in the enforcement of such rules. Ongoing demand is particularly concentrated among industries and economic sectors that are low-skill and labor-intensive. To address the complex dynamics at issue in human trafficking, policy responses are cross-cutting and international, bringing together diverse stakeholders in the fields of foreign policy, human rights, international security, criminal justice, migration, refugees, public health, child welfare, gender issues, urban planning, international trade, labor recruitment, and government contracting and procurement.\nFurther Reading\nFor additional information on human trafficking beyond selected foreign policy issues covered in this report, see CRS Report RL34317, Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress, by Liana W. Rosen and Alison Siskin. RL34317 provides an expanded overview of the human trafficking phenomenon, both as it exists in the United States and abroad. It also describes and analyzes both the domestic and international provisions in the TVPA and related issues for Congress, including immigration relief for trafficking victims discovered in the United States, aid available to victims in the United States, and domestic investigations of trafficking offenses.\nIn the United States, Congress has enacted legislation to address aspects of the problem, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, Division A of P.L. 106-386, as amended); TVPA reauthorization acts (TVPRAs of 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013); the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA of 2008, Title IV of P.L. 110-457); Title XIII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-4); and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Title III, Chapter 497, as amended). Other trafficking-related provisions have also been enacted through the Trade Act of 1974 (Title V of P.L. 93-618, as amended), the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA, P.L. 106-200, as amended), several additional trade preference programs authorized by Congress, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Fiscal Year 2013 (P.L. 112-239), and the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-26).\nAlthough the United States has long supported international efforts to eliminate various forms of human trafficking, a new wave of contemporary action against international human trafficking galvanized in the late 1990s as news stories drew attention to the discovery of trafficked women and children from the former Soviet Union forced to participate in the commercial sex industries in Western Europe and North America. Across the international community, the transnational nature of the phenomenon highlighted the need for improved international coordination and commitment to halting trafficking flows. To this end, the United Nations (U.N.) adopted in 2000 the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (hereinafter U.N. Trafficking Protocol), a supplement to the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The U.N. Trafficking Protocol is not the first or only multilateral mechanism to address human trafficking; it was, however, the first to define trafficking in persons and require States Parties to criminalize such activity. Most recently in June 2014, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted a new protocol and recommendation to supplement the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 (Convention No. 29). The new Protocol of 2014 reaffirms state obligations to address forced labor in all its forms, including trafficking in persons.\nSince the U.N. Trafficking Protocol entered into force in 2003, the international community has seen an uptick in the number of countries enacting laws that prohibit and criminally punish human trafficking. While observers note that continued vigilance is required to encourage the remaining U.N. members to become States Parties to the U.N. Trafficking Protocol, emphasis from the U.S. foreign policy perspective has also been placed on improving the implementation and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws. According to a U.N. analysis, 146 countries and territories had criminalized trafficking by August 2014; yet, 15% of the countries covered had not recorded a single trafficking conviction between 2010 and 2012.\nContinued public attention and academic research suggest that human trafficking remains an international problem\u2014a key rationale for the repeated reauthorization and enactment of further legislative enhancements to the TVPA. Data on the global scope and severity of human trafficking continue to be lacking, due in large part to uneven enforcement of anti-trafficking laws internationally and related challenges in identifying victims. The sources of victims have diversified over time, as have the industries in which such trafficking victims are found. Known flows involve victims originating not only from Eastern and Central Europe, but also from South and Southeast Asia, North and West Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Observers, however, debate whether existing anti-trafficking efforts worldwide have resulted in appreciable and corresponding progress toward the global elimination of human trafficking. \nAccording to the International Labor Organization (ILO), some 20.9 million individuals worldwide in 2012 were likely subjected to forced labor, including labor and sex trafficking as well as state-imposed forms of forced labor. In 2014, the ILO followed up with an analysis of the financial value of forced labor and related trafficking for the international economy, estimating that it generated $150 billion in illegal profits annually. According to the ILO, two-thirds of this total amount stems from commercial sexual exploitation, while the rest resulted from forced labor. Sectors involving forced labor include the construction, manufacturing, and utilities industries ($34 billion), followed by agriculture ($9 billion) and domestic work ($8 billion).\nPrior Congresses have been active on international human trafficking issues, particularly with appropriations identified for anti-trafficking assistance purposes, proposed legislation related to the TVPA and other anti-trafficking initiatives, and an active record of committee hearings. Key issues for the 114th Congress have focused on whether there is a need for enhanced mechanisms for international funding and programming prioritization; the role of congressionally mandated reporting requirements in driving the anti-trafficking agenda; what prospects may exist to invigorate the monitoring and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws and policies, particularly as they relate to U.S. government contractors and subcontractors; and the relationship between trade policy and anti-trafficking goals. \nU.S. Foreign Policy Framework\nCurrent U.S. foreign policy approaches for addressing human trafficking are a modern off-shoot of anti-slavery policies that centered initially on reinforcing international prohibitions on forced labor during the first half of the 20th century. With time, U.S. and international perspectives on the global scope of human trafficking have expanded to cover a broader range of victims and prohibited activities, including sex trafficking and the exploitation of children in labor, armed conflict, and the commercial sex industry. The ultimate goal of current U.S. anti-trafficking policy is to eliminate the problem and support international efforts to abolish human trafficking worldwide.\nThe U.S. government has long played a leading role in international efforts to combat human trafficking, with Congress in particular driving contemporary U.S. foreign policy responses. Although the U.S. government actively participates in multilateral efforts to combat human trafficking, U.S. responses to human trafficking often extend beyond the scope of international commitments and are based on U.S. foreign policy legislation and executive branch guidance. Such U.S. guidance, which initially focused on combating forced labor practices and eventually expanded to cover broader concepts of human trafficking, has included the following (in chronological order):\nTariff Act of 1930. Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, prohibited the import of all foreign \u201cgoods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part\u201d by convict or forced or indentured labor. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implements the provisions of Section 307 by maintaining a public list of such prohibited goods and barring entry of such products into the United States.\nTrade Preference Program Eligibility. Select countries receive temporary, non-reciprocal, duty-free U.S. market access for certain exports on condition that they adhere to \u201cinternationally recognized worker rights,\u201d including prohibitions on forced labor, as well as eliminate the \u201cworst forms of child labor,\u201d including child trafficking. Such congressionally authorized preference programs include the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as amended and extended through the U.S. Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA); Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as amended and extended through the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA); and African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). \nExecutive Memorandum on Steps to Combat Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Women and Girls. In March 1998, President William J. Clinton identified trafficking in women and girls as an international problem with domestic implications in the United States. In the memorandum, President Clinton established the goals of increasing human trafficking awareness, providing protection to victims, and enhancing the \u201ccapacity of law enforcement worldwide to prevent women and girls from being trafficked\u201d to ensure that traffickers are punished.\nExecutive Order 13126. On June 12, 1999, President William J. Clinton issued Executive Order 13126, the Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (EO 13126). This executive order prohibited U.S. government contractors from using or procuring \u201cgoods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced or indentured child labor.\u201d The U.S. Department of Labor, with consultation from DHS and the State Department, implements the provisions of EO 13126 by maintaining a public list of offending products, as well as a list of the countries from which such products originate.\nTrafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The cornerstone legislative vehicle for current U.S. policy on combating international human trafficking is the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), as amended and reauthorized (TVPRAs). Among other provisions, the TVPA formalized the overall U.S. approach to anti-trafficking through an emphasis on prevention of severe forms of human trafficking, prosecution of traffickers, and protection of victims (the three Ps) both domestically and internationally. It established minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and specific criteria to assess whether such standards have been met. The TVPA also established several key elements in the U.S. foreign policy response to human trafficking, including the State Department Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons; interagency entities to coordinate anti-trafficking policies across U.S. agencies, such as the Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) and President\u2019s Interagency Task Force (PITF); several reporting requirements to Congress; authorities to provide anti-trafficking foreign aid; and mechanisms to withhold U.S. aid to countries that fail to achieve progress in combating human trafficking. \nNational Security Presidential Directive 22. Highlighting the impact of human trafficking on U.S. national security, President George W. Bush in December 2002 issued National Security Presidential Directive 22 on Combating Trafficking in Persons (NSPD-22). NSPD-22 was \u201cbased on an abolitionist approach to trafficking in persons\u201d and established as a U.S. government-wide goal the eradication of international trafficking in persons, including a zero tolerance policy among U.S. government employees and contractors. NSPD-22 also notably identified prostitution and several related activities as \u201ccontributing to the phenomenon of trafficking in persons\u201d\u2014and thus to be opposed as a matter of U.S. government policy.\nChild Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008. Addressing the specific issue of children in armed conflict, the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA of 2008) mandated the U.S. Department of State to annually publish a list of countries in violation of international standards to condemn the conscription, recruitment, and use of children in armed conflict and punish such countries by prohibiting the provision of certain types of U.S. military assistance. Additionally, the U.S. Department of the Treasury may also block the property and property interests of specially designated foreign political or military leaders who have recruited or used children in armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Somalia.\nExecutive Order 13627 and Title XVII of the FY2013 NDAA. In September 2012, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13627, Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts. Soon afterward, Congress enacted P.L. 112-239, which included Title XVII on \u201cEnding Trafficking in Government Contracting.\u201d Both the executive order and the legislative provision mandated that the civilian and defense acquisition councils revise existing contractor guidelines for preventing human trafficking. In January 2015, the acquisition councils announced the final rule, which outlined several additionally prohibited activities and enhanced contractor requirements to monitor and enforce anti-trafficking requirements.\nU.S. government entities involved in combating international trafficking in persons include the Department of State, Department of Labor, Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These departments and agencies are among the participants in interagency coordination mechanisms to combat international human trafficking through the SPOG and the PITF and may also issue agency-specific guidelines against human trafficking that implement enacted laws, federal regulations, and presidential determinations, directives, and executive orders. For example, USAID issued in February 2012 the USAID Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy.\nThe U.S. government also participates in multilateral and regional anti-trafficking efforts conducted by the international community, including through organizations such as the United Nations, the ILO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), among many others. Such activities seek to bolster U.S. interests in the issue at the multilateral and regional levels. See Table 1 for a list of multilateral treaties related to human trafficking in which the U.S. government participates.\nTable 1. International Treaties Addressing Trafficking in Persons to Which the United States Has Ratified or Acceded\nDate of U.S. Accession, Signing, or Ratification\nName of Convention or Protocol\nEntry into Force\n\nDecember 6, 1967 (accession)\n1956 U.N. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery\nApril 30, 1957\n\nDecember 13, 2000 (signed)\nNovember 3, 2005 (ratified)\n2000 U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime\nDecember 25, 2003\n\nJuly 5, 2000 (signed)\nDecember 23, 2002 (ratified)\n2000 U.N. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography\nJanuary 18, 2002\n\nJuly 5, 2000 (signed)\nDecember 23, 2002 (ratified)\n2000 U.N. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict\nFebruary 12, 2002\n\nSeptember 25, 1991 (ratified)\n1957 ILO Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of Force Labor\nJanuary 17, 1959\n\nFebruary 12, 1999 (ratified)\n1999 ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor\nNovember 19, 2000\n\nSources: CRS presentation of data contained in the U.N. Treaty Collection, Status of Treaties, http://treaties.un.org/Home.aspx?lang=en, and ILO Database of International Labor Standards, http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newratframeE.htm.\n\n\nKey Trafficking Terms in U.S. Foreign Policy Context\nAs various terms are defined and used in international treaties as well as domestic statutes, choice in the application of these terms may trigger different policy consequences. The following section identifies and compares several terms frequently used in the context of foreign policy discussions related to human trafficking. \nHuman Trafficking\n\u201cHuman trafficking\u201d is a generic term to describe what the U.N. Trafficking Protocol defines as \u201ctrafficking in persons\u201d and the TVPA in U.S. statute defines as \u201csevere forms of trafficking in persons.\u201d The U.N. and U.S. terms share similarities, but are applied in different policy contexts. They are both precedent-setting, as two of the earliest official definitions broadly conceived to describe human trafficking as a combination of prohibited acts (e.g., recruitment, harboring, or transportation of victims) and prohibited methods or means of procuring commercial sex and other labor or services (e.g., force, fraud, or coercion). Both afford enhanced protections for children against victimization in the commercial sex industry, as well as protections against their subjection to work under conditions of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Neither the U.S. nor the U.N. definition requires trafficking victims to be physically moved across international borders. \nIn general, the U.S. term defined in the TVPA is considered more restrictive than the U.N. definition, resulting in a less expansive basis for the concept of human trafficking and a more narrowly defined scope for U.S. foreign policy activities to combat human trafficking. The intended foreign policy purposes of the definitions also differ. The U.N. term was created to facilitate international cooperation for legal and technical assistance. The U.S. term is intended to be used to measure and rank foreign countries\u2019 progress in combating trafficking. It can trigger unilateral U.S. government restrictions on foreign aid to countries with a record of poor performance to combat severe forms of human trafficking. Additionally, it can also affect federal contracting and procurement policies. Domestically, the U.S. term also has implications for the criminal justice system and immigration status categories.\nForced Labor\nThe U.N. Trafficking Protocol does not define forced labor. Instead, the primary international definition of forced labor can be found in ILO Convention No. 29, the Forced Labour Convention of 1930, which defines \u201cforced or compulsory labour\u201d as \u201call work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.\u201d ILO\u2019s Protocol of 2014 to Convention No. 29 reaffirms the 1930 definition and requires Member states to prevent and eliminate forced or compulsory labor, including trafficking in persons. The TVPRA of 2008 (P.L. 110-457) amends the U.S. Criminal Code and indirectly defines \u201cforced labor\u201d by describing the circumstances under which an individual could be punished for knowingly providing or obtaining the labor or services of a person.\nThe ILO term for forced labor is broader than both the U.N. and U.S. definitions of human trafficking. The ILO term is relevant in the U.S. anti-trafficking policy context, as it is the governing definition for the U.S. import ban on foreign goods produced with convict, forced, or indentured labor (\u00a7307 of the Tariff Act of 1930). The ILO definition also applies to U.S. decisions to apply or revoke trade preference beneficiary status to select foreign countries (e.g., GSP, CBERA/CBTPA, ATPA/ATPDEA, and AGOA). The U.S. Department of Labor also applies the international definition in its preparation of two additional mandates: (1) a list of foreign goods produced with exploitative child labor that may not be used in federal contractor supply chains (EO 13126), and (2) a list of foreign goods produced by forced labor or child labor (TVPRA of 2005; P.L. 109-164). \n\n Worst Forms of Child Labor\nILO Convention No. 182, the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention of 1999, defines \u201cthe worst forms of child labour\u201d to include child slavery and prostitution, as well as use of children in illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, and other work, which by its nature, is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children. This term is used in the U.S. foreign policy context in decisions to apply or revoke trade preference beneficiary status to foreign countries. It is also the governing definition used by the Labor Department for its annual report on Findings of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (hereinafter Worst Forms of Child Labor Report). However, not all of the ILO-specified worst forms of child labor necessarily constitute human trafficking, as defined by either the U.N. or the TVPA. This term is to be distinguished from other terms used in U.S. foreign policy contexts, including \u201cforced and indentured child labor\u201d (as is used by EO 13126) and \u201cchild labor\u201d (as is used to develop a list of foreign goods produced by forced or child labor, pursuant to the TVPRA of 2005).\n\nForeign Policy Issues\nOverall, U.S. foreign policy to address and eliminate international human trafficking includes several dimensions that are not mutually exclusive. They are summarized below, and key issues associated with each line of activity are discussed in the subsequent sections.\nForeign Country Reporting. Congress requires the U.S. Departments of State and Labor to report annually on foreign country efforts against human trafficking, child soldiers, and the worst forms of child labor, as well as country efforts to support human rights, including prohibitions on forced and compulsory labor and child trafficking. \nForeign Product Blacklisting. Congress mandates the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to maintain, respectively, a list of foreign goods produced with child or forced labor and a list of foreign products made with convict, forced, or indentured labor to be barred entry at U.S. ports. Additionally, the President, through EO 13126, requires the Department of Labor to maintain a list of foreign goods made with forced or indentured child labor prohibited from use in federal procurement supply chains.\nForeign Assistance and Related Projects to Support Anti-Trafficking Efforts Abroad. Congress authorizes and appropriates to the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Labor funds to support foreign countries\u2019 efforts to combat human trafficking. Between FY2005 and FY2012, these departments and agencies obligated approximately $595 million for international anti-trafficking activities, including assistance to foreign governments, NGOs, and civil society organizations, as well as researchers. Some in the 114th Congress are considering alternative mechanisms to deliver anti-trafficking assistance (e.g., S. 553, the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015).\nRestrictions on Foreign Assistance to Poor-Performing Countries. Congress requires that non-humanitarian, nontrade-related foreign aid be denied to countries that are willfully noncompliant with anti-trafficking standards. Separately, Congress also requires that certain types of U.S. military assistance be denied to countries that harbor or recruit child soldiers. \nConditions on Foreign Country Trade Preference Beneficiary Status for Anti-Trafficking Purposes. Through several legislative vehicles, Congress authorizes certain countries to export to the United States specified products duty-free. Eligibility for this privilege, however, is conditioned on whether such countries are committed to certain foreign policy goals, including internationally recognized worker rights, such as prohibiting forced labor, and the elimination of the worst forms of child labor, such as child trafficking. Recent congressional efforts to connect human trafficking and trade policy have emerged in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (e.g., P.L. 114-26, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2015, and H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation Enforcement Act of 2015).\nFinancial Prohibitions against Specially Designated Individuals. The U.S. Department of the Treasury may also block the property and property interests of specially designated foreign political or military leaders who have recruited or used children in armed conflict in Central African Republic (CAR) (Executive Order 13667), the DRC (Executive Order 13413), Somalia (Executive Order 13620), and South Sudan (Executive Order 13664).\nPrevention of Trafficking in U.S. Operations Overseas. Congress and the White House have issued several policies and regulations emphasizing prohibitions on trafficking-related activities among U.S. military personnel, contractors, peacekeepers, and post-conflict and humanitarian aid workers. Anti-trafficking laws and regulations bar not only \u201csevere forms of human trafficking,\u201d as defined by the TVPA, but also procurement of commercial sex (e.g., prostitution) while contracted with the U.S. government, the use of forced labor in the performance of the contract, and other acts that increase worker vulnerability to trafficking conditions. \nThese lines of activity reflect a long-standing and broad-based set of U.S. policy commitments to eliminate international human trafficking. The problem of human trafficking, however, continues to persist, challenging policy makers to modify and improve existing U.S. foreign policy responses to the problem. Persistent reports of human trafficking worldwide may also challenge policy makers to evaluate whether anti-trafficking programs can achieve current U.S. foreign policy goals within a realistic time frame.\nForeign Country Reporting\nOne line of U.S. foreign policy activity to combat human trafficking is through foreign country reporting. Congress has mandated that the Departments of State and Labor regularly report on foreign countries\u2019 policy responses to human trafficking and forced labor, identify countries that recruit and harbor child soldiers, and evaluate efforts made by foreign countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including child trafficking. \nThe most targeted of these reports is the State Department\u2019s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (hereinafter TIP Report),", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42497", "sha1": "a1fd0641d31172028bca8e99e67ff8f582642961", "filename": "files/20150811_R42497_a1fd0641d31172028bca8e99e67ff8f582642961.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42497", "sha1": "bb072b2a77df862a7990f9f8f04aab6c425a8e7b", "filename": "files/20150811_R42497_bb072b2a77df862a7990f9f8f04aab6c425a8e7b.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 272, "name": "International Trafficking and Crime" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3605, "name": "United Nations" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc227756/", "id": "R42497_2013Jul24", "date": "2013-07-24", "retrieved": "2013-11-05T18:07:05", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": "Report that explores current foreign policy issues regarding U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130724_R42497_e3a11c9a518bb4633ee32350873a2ddcca7f65f5.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130724_R42497_e3a11c9a518bb4633ee32350873a2ddcca7f65f5.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Forced labor", "name": "Forced labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Slavery", "name": "Slavery" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Crimes against humanity", "name": "Crimes against humanity" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Organized crime", "name": "Organized crime" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810318/", "id": "R42497_2013Jan09", "date": "2013-01-09", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130109_R42497_bba346d646580781c97271da861ac75f25ca3824.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130109_R42497_bba346d646580781c97271da861ac75f25ca3824.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821888/", "id": "R42497_2012Oct17", "date": "2012-10-17", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20121017_R42497_9a51f277f14446c84959689c776f2437fb93d2cc.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20121017_R42497_9a51f277f14446c84959689c776f2437fb93d2cc.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc122225/", "id": "R42497_2012Sep24", "date": "2012-09-24", "retrieved": "2012-11-30T09:28:34", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": "This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts. The 112th Congress has introduced and taken action on several bills related to human trafficking. Given recent challenges in balancing budget priorities, the 112th Congress may choose to consider certain aspects of this issue further, including the effectiveness of international anti-trafficking projects, interagency coordination mechanisms, and the monitoring and enforcement of anti-trafficking regulations, particularly as they relate to the activities of U.S. government contractors and subcontractors operating overseas.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120924_R42497_d3d3a3c7a3226a11dc8afe524783e25e7473d33f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120924_R42497_d3d3a3c7a3226a11dc8afe524783e25e7473d33f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Forced labor", "name": "Forced labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Slavery", "name": "Slavery" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Crimes against humanity", "name": "Crimes against humanity" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Organized crime", "name": "Organized crime" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc96720/", "id": "R42497_2012Jul06", "date": "2012-07-06", "retrieved": "2012-08-07T13:52:45", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": "This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts. Given recent challenges in balancing budget priorities, the 112th Congress may choose to consider certain aspects of this issue further, including the effectiveness of international anti-trafficking projects, interagency coordination mechanisms, and the monitoring and enforcement of anti-trafficking regulations, particularly as they relate to the activities of U.S. government contractors and subcontractors operating overseas.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120706_R42497_0fa792e391fa24dabb2fee82b24210e121c688ff.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120706_R42497_0fa792e391fa24dabb2fee82b24210e121c688ff.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Forced labor", "name": "Forced labor" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Slavery", "name": "Slavery" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Crimes against humanity", "name": "Crimes against humanity" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Organized crime", "name": "Organized crime" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc85409/", "id": "R42497_2012Apr20", "date": "2012-04-20", "retrieved": "2012-06-06T14:34:05", "title": "Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress", "summary": "This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts. 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