[CTC] Menendez: Malaysia getting ‘sweetheart deal’ in trafficking report

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Three items below...

POLITICO

Menendez: Malaysia getting ‘sweetheart deal’ in trafficking report

7/10/15 1:14 PM EDT
Sen. Robert Menendez said he would pursue an inquiry if the State Department decides to graduate Malaysia from the worst offenders on the agency’s annual human-trafficking report.

Media outlets reported this week that State was considering the move, which would avoid a requirement in recently passed trade promotion authority legislation that would bar trade agreements with countries in the worst tier from receiving fast-track treatment. Malaysia is participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.

“If that is true, that looks to me like a cynical maneuver to get around the clear intent of Congress,” Menendez said in a call with reporters today, adding that the country appears to be getting a “sweetheart deal” if reports are true.

If State changes Malaysia’s status, Menendez said he would urge Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker to convene a hearing on the matter. If a hearing isn’t held, Menendez said he would seek an investigation into the decision by State’s inspector general.

Menendez said he has attempted to speak to Secretary of State John Kerry about the pending decision and is organizing a letter to Kerry raising alarm. He also said he has raised the issue when U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met with the Senate Finance Committee this week.

An amendment to pending customs legislation could reverse the human rights language in the TPA bill, but Menendez said he was asking members of a conference committee to oppose the measure when they meet to finish that legislation. Sen. Ron Wyden, who will participate in the conference “did express concerns” about the reports of Malaysia’s graduation in the meeting with Froman, Menendez said.

— Adam Behsudi

For Immediate Release: July 10, 2015            Contact: Stephanie Niedringhaus 202-347-9797, ext. 224
                                                                                                                Chloe Schwabe 202-832-1780
 
Religious groups oppose State Department’s proposed upgrade of Malaysia’s trafficking status 

Groups fear final Customs bill could further weaken trafficking, other standards to protect vulnerable populations.
 
Fourteen religious organizations with a presence in the U.S. and in countries overseas today sent a letter <http://www.networklobby.org/files/Jul10LetterTrafficking.pdf> to members of a conference committee in Congress to express deep moral concerns related to H.R. 644, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015” (also referred to as the Customs bill), particularly the version that passed in the House. The chief concern was that the final bill could weaken strong anti-trafficking provision in the trade promotion authority bill signed into law June 29, 2015. 
 
It has been reported that Malaysia, a country that the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking In Persons report had elevated to a “Tier 3” country for their lack of action to combat trafficking will be back to a “Tier 2” status this year. Malaysia is a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that the Obama Administration hopes to complete by the end of 2015. 
 
According to Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby: “This can only be seen as a cynical political action meant to bolster Malaysia’s trade status with the U.S. at the expense of countless human trafficking victims. Coming so soon after the discovery in May of almost 150 graves in Malaysian camps of trafficking victims, the State Department’s reported decision cannot be justified on any level.”
 
Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, II, director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness stated: “The United States' willingness to compromise on holding Malaysia accountable for its human rights abuses simply to secure the Trans-Pacific Partnership is yet another mark of a broken trading system. Actions such as this show an active disregard for those with the least power in our societies. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not support the TPP, nor does it support weakening our stance against human trafficking in any form. As a country, our diplomacy should be focused on improving the quality of life for all individuals around the world - without exception.”
 
“We are very concerned about the possible upgrading of Malaysia from the lowest tier of the U.S. State Department annual Trafficking in Persons list of worst human trafficking countries,” reported Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Director for Social Mission, Leadership Conference of Women Religious. “It is problematic on many levels. It disregards the suffering and death of trafficked persons in Malaysia; sends a dangerous message to countries who continue to turn a blind eye to the exploitation of persons within their borders; and threatens the integrity of the TIP report and the commitment of the U.S. government to ending human trafficking.”
 
“In April 2014, Pope Francis condemned human trafficking as a crime against humanity, a scourge and an open wound in contemporary society. The TIP report has been an important tool to encourage governments to curb and one day end this terrible offense,” reported Gerry Lee, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, “We urge the State Department to uphold high standards rather than to make exceptions for countries when convenient for economic gains for the few that will benefit from the TPP.”
 
 
The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment is a group committed to asserting a stronger presence of communities of faith in public policy discussions on trade and investment.
 
##
POLITICO


Morning Trade: State says human trafficking report not about politics 

By Victoria Guida | 7/10/15 5:46 AM EDT

With help from Doug Palmer

STATE DEPT: HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORT NOT DONE: State Department spokesman John Kirby emphasized Thursday that the agency’s annual human-trafficking report has not been finalized and declined to comment on whether Malaysia has been upgraded from the lowest tier.

[Work continues on it here at the State Department, and so it would be very premature for me to get into any characterization of what may or may not be in that report,” Kirby said. “What I can tell you is that the analysis that the report represents is based on a very pragmatic set of assessments in each case, and it’s something we take very, very seriously. And when the report is finalized and when we can talk about it and the contents of it, we will.”

Malaysia’s status is relevant because trade promotion authority legislation passed last month by Congress bars agreements with countries in the lowest tier from receiving fast-track treatment. When asked if the Trans-Pacific Partnership played into the considerations for Malaysia's status, Kirby said the report is “not done from a political perspective, but he also emphasized that he was “not going to talk about hypotheticals.” “It’s done from a pragmatic analysis of progress or not made in trafficking of people,” Kirby said. State’s report is expected to be released next week.

HARSH WORDS FOR ADMINISTRATION: Two House Democrats on Thursday blasted the reported move by State, criticizing it as an apparent effort to keep TPP from being held up by the relevant language in the TPA law.

“Reports of a change in Malaysia’s human trafficking ranking are deeply disturbing," House Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin said in a statement Thursday. "I will thoroughly review the rationale in the report when it is released. It is crucial that consideration of Malaysia’s record on human trafficking reflect the realities on the ground and not a glossing over of those realities to assist Malaysia’s participation in TPP.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro also had critical words for the State Department. The United States' "legitimacy and moral authority on the issue of human trafficking is being undermined in an effort to smooth the path for the TPP," she said. She pointed to May reports of 139 human skeletons found at a site where Rohingya Muslims were kept by human traffickers as well as “jungle camps” where refugees and migrants are held captive. “The only reason to upgrade Malaysia to a tier two country is to bypass the ban that is currently in U.S. law," she said.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka also weighed in, saying he was “outraged” by the move, and Sen. Robert Menendez, who championed the TPA language, will hold a press conference this morning on the issue.


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