美国不能再以需求为由进口奴役劳工产品

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.

美国总统奥巴马星期三签署了一项贸易法案，其中一个条款堵住了这一法律漏洞，而这一法律漏洞可以追溯到1932年。

1930年通过的关税法案禁止进口奴役劳工产品，但同时又规定，这一禁令不适用于在美国市场上生产量不足以满足消费者需求的产品。

人权组织大声呼吁关注劳工受虐的情况，特别是在东南亚地区的捕鱼行业，因此才于去年催生了这部新法案。

联合国国际劳工组织估计，世界上有2100万人被强制劳动，其中半数以上在亚太地区。联合国说，奴役劳工为企业创造了1500多亿美元的非法利润。