USA – Trade

Section I: Responsible Business Conduct and Due Diligence
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“Prohibitions against federal contractors and sub-contractors engaging in trafficking in persons or using forced or indentured child labor; preferential purchasing for sustainable environmental practices in new contracts; export controls; and trade laws and regulations are all tools the USG uses to promote RBC and incentivize due diligence in both the private and public sectors.” (p.6-7)

Section III: Additional National Action Plan Commitments
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Table 1: Expanding Engagement and Coordination on Responsible Business Conduct Commitments

“Through the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will promote increased alignment of industry operations and governance mechanisms to the OECD Guidance and local governance expectations; amplify insights from high-quality independent data that identify key barriers to impactful due diligence; and test and analyze solutions to these challenges. The PPA is a global partnership between civil society, the USG, and the private sector to leverage members’ knowledge, networks, and experience to inform global responsible minerals sourcing.” (p.17)

Table 4: Technology Commitments

The Department of State is “releasing U.S. Guidance for Online Platforms on Protecting HRDs. The USG, building upon joint guidance released with the European Union through the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, is publishing detailed guidance for online platforms on how companies can effectively collaborate and coordinate with civil society and other relevant stakeholders to identify, address, mitigate, prevent, and enable access to remedies for online threats and attacks against HRDs.” (p.28)

Workers’ Rights

“[…] The USG regularly leverages its diplomatic engagement, trade policy, programming, and reporting to foster respect for internationally recognized labor rights and help develop commitments by key stakeholders to respect these rights. This includes a steadfast commitment to promoting RBC both domestically and internationally. […]

Table 5: Workers’ Right Commitments

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will address forced labor in traded goods and services by establishing a Forced Labor Trade Strategy to identify priorities and establish an action plan for utilizing existing and potential new trade tools. USTR will conduct an interagency review across the USG through the Trade Policy Staff Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade, Forced Labor, and Child Labor to examine existing trade policies and tools used to combat forced labor, including forced child labor, in order to identify areas that may need to be strengthened and gaps that may need to be filled. USTR will use this analysis to establish objectives, priorities, new tools, and key action items to advance development of the strategy. The process will maximize input from stakeholders, including victims; labor and human rights organizations; civil society; and the private sector.” (p.30)

Table 6: Environment, Climate, and Just Transitions Commitments

The Office of the US Trade Representative will “advance environmental sustainability at home and abroad by prioritizing trade policies that are resilient, sustainable, and inclusive in the implementation of its framework to advance environmental sustainability. USTR will leverage trade policy tools and associated cooperation to advance environmental sustainability and support mitigating the impact of the climate crisis on underserved and overburdened communities, including by pressing trade partners to continually reassess domestic policies to ensure they provide for high levels of environmental protection.”

The Department of State, “in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agricultures’ Forest Service, will implement a program in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries to increase capacity at seed banks and nurseries to promote women’s leadership and expertise.”
(p.34)