Taiwan-U.S. trade pact includes forced labor import ban

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States have reached a consensus on labor protections under their newly signed Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), including a ban on imports of goods made with forced labor, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Friday.

In a statement, the MOL said Taiwan will, through domestic review procedures, adopt determinations under Section 307 of the U.S. Tariff Act to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labor.

The ministry also pledged to amend laws to ban the confiscation of migrant workers' identity documents and, within three years, prohibit recruitment fees for migrant workers in the manufacturing and fishing sectors.

Labor groups welcomed the commitments, saying the move would align Taiwan more closely with international labor standards.

The pact, signed in Washington D.C. on Thursday (U.S. time), caps U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent and grants preferential access for U.S. industrial and agricultural exports, including automobiles, beef and pork.