The Senate voted on Thursday to close the slave labor loophole that has existed since the Tariff Act of 1930, which allowed imported goods made from forced labor to enter the country if domestic supply couldn’t meet demand. The loophole amendment was part of a trade enforcement bill that is expected to be signed by President Obama. The closure of the loophole follows several well-publicized lawsuits against candy companies Hershey Co., Mars, Inc., and Nestle SA for ignoring forced labor on West African cocoa plantations. The United Nations estimates that almost 21 million people worldwide provide forced labor in order to generate $150 billion in illegal revenue.
See "Slave-Labor Loophole Closed by U.S. Senate After 8 Decades", Erik Larson, Bloomberg Business, February 11, 2016