Anti-slavery commissioner Chris Evans accuses Trump administration of weaponising human rights
The federal government’s anti-slavery commissioner has accused the Trump administration of weaponizing major human rights issues by trying to impose tariffs on Australia and dozens of other countries for not doing enough to prevent forced labor.
The government will press for the United States to eliminate the proposed 12.5 percent tariff or at least reduce it to the less burdensome 10 percent rate proposed for some other countries in negotiations with the United States.
Commissioner Chris Evans, a former Labor Cabinet minister, acknowledged Australia had not done enough to prevent forced labor in its supply chains but said the Trump administration had not acted with genuine concern for workers’ rights.
Evans said the United States Trade Representative’s office conducted a “very cursory review of the issues” that included an interview with Australian officials.
“It was effectively a show trial,” he said in the byline of the investigation published Thursday.
“This is not about modern slavery, which is a significant human rights issue. This is a distraction and weaponization of trade measures, not about modern slavery concerns… This is an attack on businesses and jobs in Australia.”
But he pushed back on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s claim that Australia has “robust” and “world-leading laws” against forced labor and modern slavery.
Evans said Australia’s Modern Slavery Act was ahead of its time when it was passed in 2018 but was now a very light touch.
He said that “the legislation is not fit for purpose or at the gold standard level.”
“We have real problems with our supply chains, particularly in Southeast Asia. We need to do more to ensure the products Australians buy are not spoiled by forced labour.”
Evans said Australia should impose a due diligence obligation requiring Australian companies to go beyond disclosure and take reasonable, proportionate action to prevent forced labor in their supply chains.
But he said Australia was “by no means the worst offender” and that the Trump administration’s crackdown was “motivated by the wrong reasons”.
“It is clear that the Trump administration has an agenda to impose higher tariffs,” he said.
Trade Minister Don Farrell met face-to-face with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development meeting in Paris to argue that the proposed tariffs should not be applied to Australia.
Albanese told ABC radio on Thursday: “Any tariffs on Australian exports to the US are unfair, contrary to our free trade agreement and also contrary to the details put forward by trade representatives.
“Australia has robust, comprehensive and world-leading legislation against forced labor and modern slavery.”
He added: “We continue to use every opportunity we have to argue that US tariffs imposed on Australia are unwarranted and, of course, our view is that the tariffs are in fact a penalty for US consumers.”
Major Australian exports to the US, including beef, pharmaceuticals, rare earths and gold, are excluded from the proposed tariffs, suggesting the overall economic impact will not be dramatic.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said: “Australia continues to assert our view that we do not support tariffs, and we continue to value open trade that benefits both Australia and the United States.
“We do not believe the government has a basis for these additional trade measures and we will continue to make the case strongly.”
A small group of six economies (Canada, the European Union, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico and Pakistan) faced a lower tariff of the proposed 10 percent because the investigation found they were the only countries “that have not failed to impose a forced labor import ban.”
The current 10 percent tariff, which the Trump administration imposed on all countries, including Australia, in February is expected to expire in July.
