{ "id": "R44953", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44953", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 612776, "date": "2019-10-30", "retrieved": "2020-01-09T23:09:47.166335", "title": "The State Department\u2019s Trafficking in Persons Report: Scope, Aid Restrictions, and Methodology", "summary": "The State Department\u2019s annual release of the Trafficking in Persons report (commonly referred to as the TIP Report) has been closely monitored by Congress, foreign governments, the media, advocacy groups, and other foreign policy observers. The 109th Congress first mandated the report\u2019s publication in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; Div. A of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386).\nThe number of countries covered by the TIP Report has grown over time. In the 2019 TIP Report, released on June 20, 2019, the State Department categorized 187 countries, including the United States. Countries were placed into one of several lists (or tiers) based on their respective governments\u2019 level of effort to address human trafficking between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019. An additional category of special cases included three countries that were not assigned a tier ranking because of ongoing political instability (Libya, Somalia, and Yemen).\nIts champions describe the TIP Report as a foundational measure of government efforts to address and ultimately eliminate human trafficking. Some U.S. officials refer to the report as a crucial tool of diplomatic engagement that has encouraged foreign governments to elevate their antitrafficking efforts. Its detractors question the TIP Report\u2019s credibility as a true measure of antitrafficking efforts, suggesting at times that political factors, such as the desire to maintain positive bilateral relations with a given country, distort its country assessments. Some foreign governments perceive the report as a form of U.S. interference in their affairs.\nContinued congressional interest in the TIP Report and its country rankings has resulted in numerous key modifications to the country-ranking process and methodology. Modifications have included the creation of the special watch list, limiting the length of time a country may remain on a subset of the special watch list, modifying some of the criteria for evaluating antitrafficking efforts, establishing a list of governments that recruit and use child soldiers and subjecting these countries to potential security assistance restrictions, and prohibiting the least cooperative countries on antitrafficking matters from participating in authorized trade negotiations. These modifications were often included as part of broader legislative efforts to reauthorize the TVPA, whose current authorization for appropriations expires at the end of FY2021.\nRecent Developments\nLargely due to congressional concerns that the report\u2019s methodology lacks transparency and is susceptible to political pressure, in January 2019 Congress passed two bills that further modified key aspects of the annual country-ranking and reporting process. Taken together, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 (2018 TVPPRA; P.L. 115-425) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (2017 TVPRA; P.L. 115-427) reduce to a degree the State Department\u2019s flexibility and discretion in assigning tier rankings to countries, and may result in increases in the number of countries that fall into the lowest-effort category (Tier 3). The 2018 TVPRRA also broadened the criteria for listing child soldier countries, potentially leading to greater numbers of countries that are listed.\nEnsuring that countries perceive the TIP Report as credible is crucial to its effectiveness in motivating governments to improve their antitrafficking efforts. Changes introduced to strengthen the credibility of the TIP Report\u2019s methodology, however, have also resulted in a ranking process and antitrafficking criteria that have shifted and grown more complex over time, raising potential policy questions. Congress may consider whether the report\u2019s antitrafficking expectations and rankings are perceived by countries as inconsistent or overly elaborate. Congress also may consider if the prospect of achieving an improved ranking in the TIP Report can sometimes appear beyond reach, potentially eroding the TIP Report\u2019s ability to motivate countries to improve their antitrafficking efforts.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44953", "sha1": "51a3025ad73636c19e1550a81c4dd2bc03094423", "filename": "files/20191030_R44953_51a3025ad73636c19e1550a81c4dd2bc03094423.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/0.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_2de4dbf0588f7ffd28dcfeeaa25aa99b94e17855.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/2.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_7ebba8a07c2de0fc63338fcb38afee6279ded633.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/3.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_604bc7e6ee680d543bdf79c3537ecc70f5f15dbd.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/4.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_6dfd3c40772a6311335ac8dc70c18afe6bb4d6bc.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/1.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_9ea6320c71c6dc53b5bdeb1cbff8b937a71b3284.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/5.png": "files/20191030_R44953_images_e31f9ec02fce458bde288c2a206882efced9d07e.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44953", "sha1": "86192809197a6551d5fa42ca846d70a2322f2109", "filename": "files/20191030_R44953_86192809197a6551d5fa42ca846d70a2322f2109.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4787, "name": "State Department & International Organizations" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4878, "name": "International Terrorism, Trafficking, & Crime" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585988, "date": "2017-09-19", "retrieved": "2019-04-18T15:29:03.601599", "title": "The State Department\u2019s Trafficking in Persons Report: Scope, Aid Restrictions, and Methodology", "summary": "The State Department\u2019s annual release of the Trafficking in Persons report (commonly referred to as the TIP Report) has been closely monitored by Congress, foreign governments, the media, advocacy groups, and other foreign policy observers. The 109th Congress first mandated the report\u2019s publication in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; Div. A of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386).\nOver time, the number of countries covered by the TIP Report has grown, peaking at 188 countries, including the United States. In the 2017 TIP Report, the State Department categorized 187 countries. Countries were placed into one of several lists (or tiers) based on their respective governments\u2019 level of effort to address human trafficking between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. An additional category of special cases included three countries that were not assigned a tier ranking because of ongoing political instability (Libya, Somalia, and Yemen). \nIts champions describe the TIP Report as a keystone measure of government efforts to address and ultimately eliminate human trafficking. Some U.S. officials refer to the report as a crucial tool of diplomatic engagement that has encouraged foreign governments to elevate their own antitrafficking efforts. Its detractors question the TIP Report\u2019s credibility as a true measure of antitrafficking efforts, suggesting at times that political factors distort its country assessments. Some foreign governments perceive the report as a form of U.S. interference in their domestic affairs.\nContinued congressional interest in the TIP Report and its country rankings has resulted in several key modifications to the process. Such modifications have included the creation of the special watch list, limiting the length of time a country may remain on a subset of the special watch list, expanding the list of criteria for determining whether countries are taking serious and sustained efforts to eliminate trafficking, establishing a list of governments that recruit and use child soldiers, and prohibiting the least cooperative countries on antitrafficking matters from participating in authorized trade negotiations. These modifications were often included as part of broader legislative efforts to reauthorize the TVPA, whose current authorization for appropriations expires at the end of FY2017.\nRecent Developments\nOn June 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of State released the 17th edition of the TIP Report\u2014the first for the Administration of President Donald J. Trump. In spite of State Department efforts to alleviate congressional concerns that the report\u2019s methodology is susceptible to political pressure, several Members in the 115th Congress have introduced legislation to further modify key aspects of the annual country ranking and reporting process. \nThe most significant changes to the TIP Report methodology are contained in H.R. 2200, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, which passed the House on July 12, 2017. If enacted, the changes could reduce State Department flexibility and discretion in assigning tier rankings to countries and increase the number of countries that would fall into the worst category (Tier 3)\u2014while also making it potentially more difficult for countries to attain the best category (Tier 1). Other proposed changes to the TIP Report methodology are contained in S. 377, S. 952, H.R. 436, H.R. 1191, and H.R. 2219. \nWhile some observers may anticipate that changes to the TIP Report\u2019s methodology will improve its overall credibility and country ranking process, others may question whether such changes will confuse foreign governments and be perceived as too complex. The reputational harm of a poor ranking in the TIP Report has motivated some countries to improve their antitrafficking efforts. It is not clear, however, if this scenario will hold true indefinitely. If the prospect of achieving a top ranking in the TIP Report begins to appear unattainable, could the TIP Report\u2019s ability to motivate countries to improve their antitrafficking efforts\u2014and thus its value as a policy tool for international engagement to combat human trafficking\u2014diminish?", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44953", "sha1": "048f171bb2316220801cb8a910a7e036f4c1a203", "filename": "files/20170919_R44953_048f171bb2316220801cb8a910a7e036f4c1a203.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_8c2481437d18467ce0471f14e95d411c683d386b.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/6.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_bc6ad1006d662ae14caa8d6790fc43cf047d7ad6.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_044a33694bf33c835bfdc2268a683719a30b9731.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_f361d8917270c4b35ec6d1548070b7436e741215.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/4.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_c437fac0b766540c1ee8c24e41ea709e11a5ed7f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_7941bdb43aa5523d87343eb90d9160d7b8b75aea.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44953_files&id=/5.png": "files/20170919_R44953_images_7ec981b8958f1a04122ad5ecd1667d3a9acf6215.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44953", "sha1": "c7d03bfe445ed0b26bec2ad4735c95c4c024d671", "filename": "files/20170919_R44953_c7d03bfe445ed0b26bec2ad4735c95c4c024d671.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4787, "name": "State Department & International Organizations" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4878, "name": "International Terrorism, Trafficking, & Crime" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Foreign Affairs", "Health Policy", "National Defense" ] }