美國不能再以需求爲由進口奴役勞工產品

For the past 84 years, an exemption in U.S. law allowed the import of goods produced by slaves and others forced into Labor, including children, as long as demand exceeded supply. In two weeks, that will be illegal.

President Barack Obama signed a trade bill Wednesday that includes a provision closing a loophole in a law that went into effect in 1932.

That measure, the Tariff Act of 1930, did prohibit slave labor imports, but said the ban did not apply to any goods that were not otherwise produced in large enough quantities to "meet the consumptive demands of the United States."

The new bill was introduced last year as rights groups called attention to abusive labor practices, particularly in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia.

The U.N.'s International Labor Organization estimates 21 million people are victims of forced labor worldwide, more than half of them in the Asia-Pacific region. That labor brings companies more than $150 billion in illegal profits, according to the U.N.過去84年來，美國法律的一項豁免條款規定，只要是美國市場供不應求，就允許進口奴役勞工生產的產品，包括童工生產的產品。兩週以後，這種做法將不再合法。

美國總統奧巴馬星期三簽署了一項貿易法案，其中一個條款堵住了這一法律漏洞，而這一法律漏洞可以追溯到1932年。

1930年通過的關稅法案禁止進口奴役勞工產品，但同時又規定，這一禁令不適用於在美國市場上生產量不足以滿足消費者需求的產品。

人權組織大聲呼籲關注勞工受虐的情況，特別是在東南亞地區的捕魚行業，因此才於去年催生了這部新法案。

聯合國國際勞工組織估計，世界上有2100萬人被強制勞動，其中半數以上在亞太地區。聯合國說，奴役勞工爲企業創造了1500多億美元的非法利潤。