This document contains the Seafood Working Group (SWG)’s comments concerning Taiwan’s ranking in the United States Department of State’s upcoming 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Convened by Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), the SWG is a global coalition of 26 labor, human rights, and environmental non-governmental organizations to hold governments and companies accountable and drive change.

The SWG recommends that Taiwan be downgraded to the Tier 2 ranking since it has not met the minimum standards as set forth in the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, particularly in the following key areas: (1) Inherent risks of human trafficking in the current employment system; (2) Evaluation of human trafficking from other U.S. government agencies; (3) Major gaps in implementation in areas of prevention, prosecution and protection; and (4) Other aspects. 

The report analyzes the Taiwanese government’s efforts and progress in addressing human trafficking and related labor rights abuse in the fishing industry. The government’s efforts addressing human trafficking in other industries are outside the scope of this report.

This report was prepared by Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) and Greenpeace. The findings and recommendations are supported by the Seafood Working Group.