The Better Trade Tool was launched this week by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) and developed through the integration of four publicly available U.S. Government sources. The Better Trade Tool is “intended to serve as a resource for users interested in learning about labor exploitation risks in the global supply chains” according to the ILAB.

The Better Trade Tool pulls data from the following sources:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor
• U.S. Department of Labor’s List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor
• U.S. Import Trade Data via the U.S. Census Bureau
• U.S. International Trade Commission Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification of the goods and products listed in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor and List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor

The Better Trade Tool helps provide users an increased level of visibility into the goods imported into the U.S. from the countries included in ILAB reporting. Goods that are being identified as being produced by forced or child labor in a certain country, does not mean that the specific goods imported into the U.S. were produced by child labor, forced labor, or forced or indentured child labor. Rather, it does indicate that the goods may have been produced under high risk conditions.

Importers and trade professionals may check out the new tool here.