US steps up fight against slave labor 'to safeguard American jobs'

US will 'do what it takes to protect vulnerable workers' but frames slavery as a matter of trade competition not human rights

The United States said on Thursday it was boosting its fight against slave-made goods "to safeguard American jobs", signaling that the Trump administration regards forced labor as a trade, rather than a human rights issue.

The new approach was revealed in the Department of Labor's biennial list of goods that it "has reason to believe" are produced by child or forced labor, which became a crime to import in 2016 under a law introduced by Barack Obama.