… as long as it happens outside the United States
In a rather disappointing June decision, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Nestle USA (a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Nestle, most famous for their chocolate) and Cargill Inc. (one of the largest privately held U.S. companies and an agricultural goods transporter and corn syrup processor) could not be held liable for child slavery on the cocoa farms that produce the cocoa they use.
For context, six African men claimed they had been trafficked as adolescents from Mali to Ivory Coast (which, along with Ghana, produces 60% of the world’s cocoa) and forced to work on cocoa farms, supervised by armed guards and paid only in basic food. The lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Act, “which lets non-U.S. citizens seek damages in American courts in certain instances,” according to Reuters. The court’s opinion stated that while Nestle and Cargill provided resources to cocoa farms using child slave labor, the plaintiffs couldn’t prove decisions made on U.S. soil directly affected child slavery on the farms.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority: “Nearly all the conduct that they say aided and abetted forced labor — providing training, fertilizer tools and cash to overseas farms — occurred in Ivory Coast.”
We obviously disagree with Thomas. We should not have to argue the immorality of child slavery. Any financial or material help a company provides to a business that uses forced child labor does, in fact, perpetuate child slavery, and that company should be held accountable for human rights violations. In this case, it should not matter that the resources provided did not come directly from the U.S.
As the BBC reported, the plaintiffs say “both companies perpetuated that slave trade to keep cocoa prices low.” And that is the other side of the issue.
As long as there is free or cheap labor and resources somewhere else, and no consequences for the companies, American businesses will continue to outsource, regardless of the negative impact it might have.
This is not an indictment of American workers demanding a living wage. All workers, here and abroad, working full-time deserve to earn enough money to live on. This is an indictment of the economic system that incentivizes administrators at the top to maximize profits for themselves, no matter the human or environmental cost.
The solution is not to lower American workers’ standards, but to raise the rest of the world’s standards and to have repercussions for dangerous or exploitative business practices. Because until it is more cost effective to conduct business ethically than unethically, corporations will continue to turn a blind eye to human rights violations within their companies and supply chains.
The fact of the matter is, Nestle and Cargill, no matter their spokespeople’s objections, will continue to work with operations that use child slave labor until there is a consequence for doing so that cuts into their bottom lines.
