A quiet administrative decision in Washington has created shock waves across the global human rights community. The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, a long-established unit inside the U.S. Department of Labor and the government’s most important institution for tackling forced labor abroad, has seen its international partnership contracts terminated and its staff sharply reduced. These decisions, taken by the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year, have weakened the practical tools that have long supported international anti-trafficking efforts, even as trade enforcement and border scrutiny intensify under U.S. law. The consequences reach beyond a single agency. The cuts threaten to widen gaps between U.S. commitments to eliminating forced labor in supply chains and the capacity needed to uphold those promises. They also undermine the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and run counter to international obligations under core International Labour Organization conventions. With global supply chains becoming more complex and labor exploitation shifting to new regions, the reductions at ILAB arrive at a moment when global coordination is more necessary than ever.

ILAB’s Global Partnerships Once Anchored U.S. Leadership on Forced Labor Prevention

The cancellations of ILAB-funded programs in March and April 2025 abruptly ended decades of international engagement. ILAB’s model had always been built on partnerships with civil society groups, worker organizations and multilateral institutions. Its programs supported Uzbekistan in ending forced cotton picking, strengthened protections for agricultural workers in Mexico, and provided safety nets and training efforts for cocoa-sector workers in West Africa. These partnerships helped governments establish credible inspection regimes, supported the creation of grievance channels for workers and improved recruitment practices in fields where exploitation is widespread. Business groups, trade associations and labor advocates reacted quickly and critically. The American Apparel and Footwear Association warned that companies relied on ILAB programs to navigate high-risk sourcing environments responsibly. Labor unions argued that the cuts would weaken global anti-trafficking efforts and hinder trade enforcement. As staffing reductions followed, the agency lost key expertise at a time when forced labor risks are growing increasingly interconnected across industries, regions and global logistics networks. Although ILAB continues to publish globally used research such as the annual reports on goods produced with forced or child labor, this analytical output cannot replace the on-the-ground capacity building that once formed the backbone of U.S. engagement.

A Growing Divide Between U.S. Laws and the Tools Needed to Implement Them

For years, ILAB’s work has been central to implementing bipartisan U.S. laws designed to eliminate forced labor from supply chains. Enforcement measures at U.S. borders have strengthened significantly since the signing of the UFLPA, which bars imports produced in Xinjiang unless companies can demonstrate the absence of forced labor. Customs and Border Protection has blocked hundreds of shipments, and the Treasury and Commerce Departments have deployed sanctions and entity list restrictions to reinforce these efforts. Without ILAB’s corresponding field partnerships, companies now face a disjointed compliance landscape. Enforcement continues to rise, but the upstream mechanisms that help prevent forced labor in the first place are disappearing. This mismatch creates inefficiency and places the greatest burden on communities where exploitation is most entrenched. International law also places obligations on the United States. ILO Convention 29 and its 2014 Protocol require governments to prevent forced labor, protect victims and offer remedies. They also call on governments to strengthen inspection systems, support responsible recruitment practices and encourage public and private sector due diligence. ILAB’s partnerships historically served as the operational arm of these global commitments.

A Wave of Program Terminations Leaves High-Risk Regions Without Support

The impact of ILAB’s retreat is especially acute in regions where forced labor is systemic and long-standing. The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report highlights persistent weaknesses in enforcement in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and mining across Southeast Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet these are precisely the programs that were halted. In Malaysia and Indonesia, ILAB-backed efforts aimed at strengthening social compliance in palm oil production and electronics manufacturing were cancelled. These industries have repeatedly appeared in U.S. trafficking reports for high rates of forced labor among migrant workers. In Ecuador, the termination of AgroJusto eliminates support for fair recruitment in a sector where vulnerable workers often lack contractual protections. Costa Rica loses help with enforcing labor laws in agricultural export supply chains, despite chronic oversight challenges. Colombia’s gender-responsive initiatives, such as Proyecto Pilares and Vamos Tejiendo, have ended at a moment when violations in rural areas remain widespread. Similar cuts in Mexico remove essential assistance for identifying trafficking victims at a time when local inspection authorities struggle to enforce labor protections written into the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Projects in Ethiopia and Tanzania, aimed at combating child labor in agriculture and small-scale gold mining, were also withdrawn. Civil society organizations in both countries continue to document exploitation among women and children, yet key programs such as She Thrives and Watoto ni Hazina have been halted. Each cancellation leaves a gap in worker protections, inspection programs and community support systems in places that need them the most.

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The Function ILAB Provided: Linking Global Risk Assessment With Practical Solutions

ILAB occupied a unique space in the federal government. It was both an analytical institution and a direct partner to communities confronting forced labor. Its research mapped global risks and guided U.S. policymakers, while its partnerships provided concrete mechanisms for remediation, training and institutional strengthening. Corporate due diligence teams relied on ILAB findings to assess risks in sourcing countries. Inspectors and local advocates relied on ILAB-backed training to identify violations and respond with credible documentation. Workers relied on grievance channels built through these projects. In many countries, ILAB programs were among the only mechanisms that connected local realities to global supply chain requirements. With partnerships gone, companies will lose a trusted resource at a time when global legislation, from EU due diligence laws to new Asian anti-trafficking frameworks, is increasing expectations for corporate responsibility.

Growing International Retreat From Human Rights Capacity

The reductions at ILAB mirror a broader contraction of human rights capacity across parts of the U.S. government. The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor has suffered its own staff constraints, even as global trafficking cases increase and civil society faces shrinking space in many countries. These changes are often described as part of an effort to roll back diversity and equity initiatives across the federal government. But human rights obligations predate contemporary DEI frameworks and are rooted in decades of bipartisan policy and long-standing treaty commitments. Lawmakers from both parties, including those representing Native communities, have argued that human rights protections should not be conflated with domestic political debates.

A Critical Disconnect Between Enforcement Pressure and Preventive Capacity

Other federal agencies continue to expand enforcement efforts. Customs and Border Protection blocks goods linked to forced labor. Commerce restricts companies tied to trafficking practices. Treasury sanctions individuals and entities involved in modern slavery. None of these agencies, however, directly support community-level prevention abroad. Without ILAB’s coordination role, the continuum between field-level interventions and border enforcement is breaking down. This weakens the credibility of supply chain oversight. Companies face higher penalties and expectations, yet fewer tools to demonstrate or build compliance capacity. Governments in partner countries lose technical assistance that historically helped them introduce reforms and monitor sectors effectively.

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What the Shifts Mean for Business, Policymakers and Workers?

As Congress heads into another budget cycle, lawmakers will confront difficult questions about how the United States intends to uphold long-standing bipartisan commitments to eliminating forced labor. Business associations are already calling for reinstatement of ILAB projects, arguing that the costs of prevention are far smaller than the economic, legal and reputational risks associated with supply chain abuses. If left unaddressed, the reductions will increase the likelihood of hidden exploitation in sourcing markets, weaken local enforcement systems and complicate corporate due diligence under both U.S. and international law. For millions of workers in supply chains across agriculture, textiles, mining and manufacturing, the loss of ILAB partnerships means fewer protections at the very time when global economic conditions make exploitation more likely.

A Pivotal Moment for U.S. Leadership on Labor Rights

The United States has long positioned itself as a global leader in combating forced labor. The erosion of ILAB’s partnership model risks weakening that leadership during a period of rising trafficking risks and growing demand for rights-based supply chain oversight. While ILAB’s research and policy expertise remain intact, the absence of field-level interventions marks a critical turning point. Unless these programs are restored, the global efforts to eradicate forced labor will lose one of their most effective and respected tools. Congress, civil society and the private sector are already signalling the need for renewed investment. The question now is whether federal leadership will align with this urgency before supply chains become more opaque and the workers most vulnerable to exploitation lose one of their strongest sources of support.

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