Trump hits Thai seafood industry over worker rights

[webfact]

Trump hits Thai seafood industry over worker rights

Thailand is the world's third largest seafood exporter but its supplier status has been tainted reports of slave labour.

 

The suspension of the trade preferences - which Bloomberg said are worth $1.3bn - will go into effect on April 25, 2020 [File:Jiraporn Kuhakan/Reuters]

 

Donald Trump will suspend trade preferences for Thailand's seafood industry after it failed to take steps to improve worker rights, dealing a blow to the multibillion-dollar sector.

 

Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter but its supplier status has been badly tainted in recent years by reports of slave labour and trafficking among the mainly migrant workforce.

 

All Thai seafood products will lose their eligibility for the trade preferences due to "longstanding worker rights issues in the seafood and shipping industries," Bloomberg News reported Saturday, quoting the Office of the US Trade Representative.

 

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/trump-hits-thai-seafood-industry-worker-rights-191026165916666.html

 

-- © Copyright AL JAZEERA 2019-10-28

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[Fex Bluse]

Love this!

[ukrules]

Why does Thailan deserve any trade preferences? Thailand treats the US with utter contempt when it comes to imports.

 

The time for some long overdue reciprocity is coming. When it comes it could decimate foreign trade.

 

My personal thoughts are that Trump is tightening the screws for his upcoming visit where he will do some kind of deal with Thailand and he will want something solid in return for any change in policy. What he asks for is anyones guess right now.

[Cadbury]

15 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter but its supplier status has been badly tainted in recent years by reports of slave labour and trafficking among the mainly migrant workforce

Another chicken coming home to roost. The world's a wake up. The EU has been banging this drum for years and now Trump has revived the issue it might be doubtful if the EU will pursue to idea of an FTA with Thailand.

PM Prayut's word that he is fixing the fishing industry is just his usual appeasement tokenism. Human rights is not high on the priority list of military generals.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/01/23/hidden-chains/rights-abuses-and-forced-labor-thailands-fishing-industry

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Donald Trump will suspend trade preferences for Thailand's seafood industry after it failed to take steps to improve worker rights, dealing a blow to the multibillion-dollar sector

Take this rotters !

[Assurancetourix]

5 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Human rights is not high on the priority list of military generals.

 

I find you even very generous;
Human Rights are an unknown expression of the Thai military.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

My personal thoughts are that Trump is tightening the screws for his upcoming visit where he will do some kind of deal with Thailand and he will want something solid in return for any change in policy. What he asks for is anyones guess right now.

 

A Bidens investigation by Thailand, no doubt!!  

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts and replies have been removed:

 

Forum Netiquette

 

7. Please do not post off-topic responses in an attempt to hijack the thread. Such posts will be deleted. 

 

 

A post commenting on moderation has been removed. 

Edited October 28, 2019 by metisdead

[donnacha]

4 minutes ago, nickstav said:

Respectfully, when the title of the article names Trump, and is about worker's rights, I don't think it is inappropriate to highlight the irony of his negative history in this regard.

Here he is, doing exactly what human rights campaigners have been asking him to do for years - something Obama refused to do - and, yet, your instinct is to use it to highlight his supposed anti-worker nature.

I am not an American but, from the outside, it seems clear to me that, for whatever reason, it took a renegade Republican to do what both the Democrat and the Republican establishment have refused to do for decades: actually do more than just talk about protecting American workers.

No one is saying the guy is classy, but he does appear to be targeting the things that affect workers. Perhaps there is not much that can be done, but at least he is trying, not just talking about it.

[CNXexpat]

Thailand can export duty free many goods to the US. Which goods can be exported to Thailand from the US tax free? Cars? Wine? Oh no, at everything are high tariffs. So don´t complain Thailand!

[DannyCarlton]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

Why does Thailan deserve any trade preferences? Thailand treats the US with utter contempt when it comes to imports.

 

The time for some long overdue reciprocity is coming. When it comes it could decimate foreign trade.

 

My personal thoughts are that Trump is tightening the screws for his upcoming visit where he will do some kind of deal with Thailand and he will want something solid in return for any change in policy. What he asks for is anyones guess right now.

No guessing there. Revocation of the ban on glyphosate.

[HOAX]

Thailand third largest seafood exporter?

 

They must've made a big jump this year because none of the statistics I've seen places Thailand anywhere near as the third largest seafood exporter.

 

China ($25billion)

Norway ($12.1bn)

Vietnam ($7.7bn)

India ($7bn)

Chile ($6.8bn)

United States ($6.1bn)

Thailand ($6bn)

Canada ($5.4bn)

Ecuador ($5bn)

Indonesia ($4.6bn)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268269/top-10-exporting-countries-of-fish-and-fishery-products/

 

China ($14.1bn)

Norway ($8.8bn)

Vietnam ($5.8bn)

United States ($5.1bn)

India ($4.6bn)

Canada ($4.2bn)

Chile ($4bn)

Sweden ($3.7bn)

The Netherlands ($3.13bn)

Indonesia ($3.11bn)

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-fish-and-seafood-exporting-countries.html

 

On the other hand, Thai Union Group, a Thai company, is the third largest seafood company, ($6bn/net income) which is great in itself and despite being a large exporter too it doesn't make it the third largest exporter. A big part of the company is made up of many smaller local subsidies in other countries who either export very little or nothing at all as well as vast majority of their profits being from seafood sold locally in Thailand. In other words TUG isn't anywhere near the third largest seafood exporter.

 

That being said. Hit'em hard, make the Thai Baht plummet. Not that I think it will make that much of a difference, but the more Trump hit the Thai economy the worse it will get, until it burst... and my money will finally be worth more again ????

[Oziex1]

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

Why does Thailan deserve any trade preferences? Thailand treats the US with utter contempt when it comes to imports.

 

The time for some long overdue reciprocity is coming. When it comes it could decimate foreign trade.

 

My personal thoughts are that Trump is tightening the screws for his upcoming visit where he will do some kind of deal with Thailand and he will want something solid in return for any change in policy. What he asks for is anyones guess right now.

Turn away from Chaina.

[zydeco]

6 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

Turn away from Chaina.

The price for Thailand being China's poodle just hit home. And it's about to hit a lot harder. Trump is faced with a stand-off with China in the trade war. What better way to prove his mettle to the folks back home than to make Thailand an object lesson in what happens to countries that take American largess for decades and then join the other side.

[Bob12345]

2 hours ago, HOAX said:

Thailand third largest seafood exporter?

 

They must've made a big jump this year because none of the statistics I've seen places Thailand anywhere near as the third largest seafood exporter.

 

China ($25billion)

Norway ($12.1bn)

Vietnam ($7.7bn)

India ($7bn)

Chile ($6.8bn)

United States ($6.1bn)

Thailand ($6bn)

Canada ($5.4bn)

Ecuador ($5bn)

Indonesia ($4.6bn)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268269/top-10-exporting-countries-of-fish-and-fishery-products/

 

China ($14.1bn)

Norway ($8.8bn)

Vietnam ($5.8bn)

United States ($5.1bn)

India ($4.6bn)

Canada ($4.2bn)

Chile ($4bn)

Sweden ($3.7bn)

The Netherlands ($3.13bn)

Indonesia ($3.11bn)

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-fish-and-seafood-exporting-countries.html

 

On the other hand, Thai Union Group, a Thai company, is the third largest seafood company, ($6bn/net income) which is great in itself and despite being a large exporter too it doesn't make it the third largest exporter. A big part of the company is made up of many smaller local subsidies in other countries who either export very little or nothing at all as well as vast majority of their profits being from seafood sold locally in Thailand. In other words TUG isn't anywhere near the third largest seafood exporter.

 

That being said. Hit'em hard, make the Thai Baht plummet. Not that I think it will make that much of a difference, but the more Trump hit the Thai economy the worse it will get, until it burst... and my money will finally be worth more again ????

Maybe its the third largest exporter of seafood TO THE USA.

 

As the usa is mentioned in both your list, and you cannot export to yourself, i presume the lists show the largest exporters in general, not specifically to the usa.

[khunpa]

This is not a problem. Thailand can survive anything. 

 

Now that billions of super rich Indians are coming soon, I am sure there will be no need to export seafood.

[EricTh]

Trump is on a witch-hunt, first it was China and now Thailand.

 

Who's next?

 

Edited October 28, 2019 by EricTh

[marko kok prong]

^{I am still trying to pick the bones out of this.}

[Nyezhov]

10 hours ago, ukrules said:

My personal thoughts are that Trump is tightening the screws for his upcoming visit where he will do some kind of deal with Thailand and he will want something solid in return for any change in policy. What he asks for is anyones guess right now.

Simple. We let your stuff in under favourable terms, now let our stuff in under favourable terms.

 

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

The price for Thailand being China's poodle just hit home. And it's about to hit a lot harder. Trump is faced with a stand-off with China in the trade war. What better way to prove his mettle to the folks back home than to make Thailand an object lesson in what happens to countries that take American largess for decades and then join the other side.

Its going to be time for folks to chose between the big bad Yanks, who are just bad because its human nature to hate the big dog and the big bad Chinese, who are real bad. Thailand does a great job in walking the fence line, but the choice is going to be made. 

[Nigel Garvie]

7 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Simple. We let your stuff in under favourable terms, now let our stuff in under favourable terms.

 

Its going to be time for folks to chose between the big bad Yanks, who are just bad because its human nature to hate the big dog and the big bad Chinese, who are real bad. Thailand does a great job in walking the fence line, but the choice is going to be made. 

If you look into the US record of exploiting 3rd world labour, and replacing Democracies with military dictatorships in South America, etc etc,  you might take the view that China was just copying it's most successful rival. Who is bad and who is real bad?

 

The biggest laugh here is that a political manouver is being justified by Trump's "Concern" for workers in the Thai seafood industry. Trump cares about Trump only, he hardly cares about US workers unless it is getting their votes.

[Nyezhov]

1 minute ago, Nigel Garvie said:

If you look into the US record of exploiting 3rd world labour, and replacing Democracies with military dictatorships in South America, etc etc,  you might take the view that China was just copying it's most successful rival. Who is bad and who is real bad?

Sucks to be them, then. Toe the line, espcially those so called democracies. and, besides, every nation "exploits". 

 

3 minutes ago, Nigel Garvie said:

Trump cares about Trump only,

Wow. How enlightening. How proveable. You made me change my mind about him, thats for sure. How can I not, in the face of such wisdom?

 

Note to the crowd: watch someone come along now and give me a bad smiley, or respond with some name calling and some childish one liner

[Reigntax]

1 hour ago, khunpa said:

This is not a problem. Thailand can survive anything. 

 

Now that billions of super rich Indians are coming soon, I am sure there will be no need to export seafood.

Hope they are the curried fish eating type

[from the home of CC]

4 hours ago, DannyCarlton said:

No guessing there. Revocation of the ban on glyphosate.

but what galls me is the touching concern over 'workers rights'  - phony hypocritical morons, do they really believe people will swallow that BS..

[fordguy61mi]

So much for the “he only cares about the rich” narrative that fake news CNN and MSNBC likes to tout. They’re just arms of the Democratic Party and should not be confused with actual objective news reporting. You won’t hear about this on those networks.

[zydeco]

1 hour ago, Nigel Garvie said:

Who is bad and who is real bad?

I tend to think the bad folks are the ones who put millions of people in concentration camps because of their religion and then harvest their organs while they are alive and conscious.

[IAMHERE]

3 hours ago, EricTh said:

Trump is on a witch-hunt, first it was China and now Thailand.

 

Who's next?

 

Canada, Mexico, Japan, EU, etc...   Trump is just now getting to Thailand. Thailand does nothing for free or equal trade with America, I am surprised Trump hasn't stopped all trade with Thailand.

[DannyCarlton]

22 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

Canada, Mexico, Japan, EU, etc...   Trump is just now getting to Thailand. Thailand does nothing for free or equal trade with America, I am surprised Trump hasn't stopped all trade with Thailand.

Well he's still very cozy with Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest human rights abusers on the planet.

 

Do you really think he gives a monkeys about Thai fishermen? Dream on.