El Ciudadano
Original article: Trabajo forzado en la agroindustria y salmoneras: Develan las razones de las sanciones comerciales de EE.UU. a Chile
Forced Labor in Agricultural Exports and Salmon Farming: US Proposes Trade Sanctions Against Chile
The United States has proposed an additional 12.5% tariff on imports from Chile due to the country’s insufficient measures against forced labor, opening a new chapter of international pressure on Chilean export models, especially in agriculture and intensive salmon farming.
This measure was announced as part of an investigation initiated by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), questioning the lack of robust mechanisms to prevent, detect, and penalize the production of goods made under forced labor conditions. Specifically, it requires countries to implement import bans on products made with forced labor and to have institutional frameworks and resources to combat this issue.
This proposal comes just weeks after Fundación Libera formally reported the Chilean state to the USTR for allegedly tolerating forced labor in strategic export sectors.
According to the investigations presented by the Chilean organization, there are indications of the 11 recognized forced labor indicators by the International Labor Organization (ILO), particularly in the agricultural production of export fruits and in the salmon industry.
The complaint asserts that migrant agricultural workers in vulnerable situations are exposed to practices such as deceptive contract terms, wage retention, mobility restrictions, threats, excessive work hours, and degrading living conditions. Simultaneously, salmon divers are subjected to a subcontracting system that hides massive and systematic violations of their working conditions, lives, and safety.
Investigation Initiated by Washington
The proposed tariff stems from an investigation initiated by the United States in March 2026 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This process aims to determine whether the investigated countries have effectively applied prohibitions or controls on products linked to forced labor.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that for years, American companies and workers have had to compete against foreign producers who gain cost advantages from these labor practices.
In the report submitted to the USTR, Libera substantiates systematic conditions of deception in the recruitment of migrant agricultural workers, isolation on remote farms without access to basic services, movement restrictions, wage retention and illicit deductions, excessive work hours of ten to twelve hours daily six days a week without overtime pay, physical violence from contractors, threats of reporting to immigration authorities as a control mechanism, and overcrowded and unhealthy living conditions. Salmon divers, in turn, are subjected to serious and systematic violations of minimum health and safety conditions that endanger their lives, with little ability to resist.
Chile Fails to Meet All Standards on Forced Labor Required by the United States
The criminalization of irregular migration in Chile reinforces a framework of hidden labor slavery, with the complicity and legal sanction of the state.
The far-right government project of José Antonio Kast to double current productions and exports of salmonids by 2040, primarily targeting the United States—which represents 40% of the total value of Chilean salmon exports ($2.5 billion annually)—without implementing urgent labor structural reforms, will only deepen the violations and abuses documented against the divers working in deregulated and precarious conditions in intensive salmon farming centers. Likewise, the poor migrant agricultural workers, whose production of vegetables and fruits is mainly destined for export, will continue to face adversity.
The accusations regarding the salmon export industry made by Fundación Libera, with support from Centro Ecoceanos, reinforced the conclusions reached by the USTR.
The president of Fundación Libera, Carolina Rudnick, stated, «The severity lies not in lacking an import ban, but in not even having a domestic prohibition against forced labor.»
The lawyer explained that Chile lacks both the tools to prevent the entry of goods produced under labor exploitation and effective mechanisms to prevent, detect, and sanction these practices within its own economy.
In the view of the organization, the presence of indicators of forced labor in agriculture and salmon farming, coupled with a weak state response, renders the country a risk for its export destination markets.
The United States identified that efforts and the level of compliance by the Chilean state to combat forced labor are low and insufficient, a situation previously reported in international organization reports such as the IACHR and the UN Human Rights Committee.
The identification of forced labor indicators in the salmon industry was also noted in the 2020 report by the Social Security Superintendency (SUCESO) regarding high-risk labor conditions and the precariousness faced by divers working in low-safety conditions up to 30 meters deep in salmon cage rafts.
«We urge Chilean society and international actors in the global market to pay attention to this grave situation,» stated Fundación Libera.
The Chilean State and the Salmon Industry Fail to Meet USTR Standards
The report issued by the USTR states that Chile does not make effective efforts to prohibit and effectively enforce the importation of goods produced with forced labor, indicating a lack of effective control mechanisms, due diligence, and commercial exclusion of goods produced with forced labor.
The list of USTR demands for an effective prevention and inspection system against forced labor highlights the multiple shortcomings of Chile: absence of a legal definition of forced labor based on international law, lack of a designated enforcement authority, non-existence of public lists of involved entities, absence of clear evidentiary standards, lack of reparation mechanisms for victims, and weakness in transparency and reporting mechanisms.
Additionally, Chilean law does not independently define or criminalize forced labor. There is only the trafficking for forced labor provision, which in practice is insufficient, as it fails to capture the entire nature and extent of the phenomenon and its impact on national workers.
What distinguishes forced labor from mere labor infractions is coercion, abuse of vulnerability, and deception. Therefore, specific legislation is required to prevent these dynamics.
Rudnick stated that the USTR recommendations align with historical demands made by civil society organizations, environmentalists, unions, and victims. «The USTR report precisely indicates actions that civil society and workers have demanded of the state,» she asserted.
Among them, she noted the necessity to classify forced labor according to international standards, strengthen labor legislation in high-risk sectors, and improve inspection, reporting, and reparation mechanisms.
It is important to highlight that Chile maintains separate functions for the Labor Directorate and the Public Ministry in this regard, with insufficient clarity about competencies and responsibilities. There is also no specialized authority for forced labor or regarding imported products linked to these practices.
Currently, a Commission Advising Against Forced Labor operates, created during Sebastián Piñera’s second government, which during the subsequent administration of Gabriel Boric elaborated an action plan considered weak by social organizations.
Chile: Irregular Migration, Agriculture, and Export Salmon Farming
The criminalization of irregular migration in Chile increases the risk of forced labor among migrant individuals, both in the agriculture and salmon farming sectors.
When irregular migration is criminalized, it gives employers nearly absolute control over migrant workers, consolidating subjugation mechanisms with state backing.
«Criminalizing clandestine entry would imply a true authorization of forced labor for irregular migrants,» warned Rudnick.
The reporting organizations caution that progressing in this direction legitimizes contemporary forms of labor slavery.
The Presence of Forced Labor in the Expansion of the Chilean Salmon Industry
There is evidence of forced labor in all three stages of salmon farming: hatcheries, cultivation centers, and processing plants.
The investigation by Fundación Libera and Centro Ecoceanos specifically focused on the divers in cultivation centers, identifying practices associated with the 11 internationally defined indicators of forced labor.
According to civil society organizations, there is systematic abuse of vulnerability, low wages, job instability, deceptive contract terms, and constant exposure to potentially deadly working conditions.
The 90 divers’ deaths recorded over the past 13 years, documented by Ecoceanos, highlight a labor regime that systematically violates fundamental rights in southern Chile, where industrial salmon farming is practically the only available source of employment.
Public announcements made by the current government and representatives of business associations regarding plans to expand into the Chilean Patagonia, aiming to reach two million tons annually by 2040, anticipate a deepening of these violations, threatening fair trade in the North American market.
Additionally, the recent lifting of the prohibition requiring that divers working in Chilean waters be exclusively Chileans has now allowed for the hiring of foreign workers, which will increase vulnerability factors for those workers who depend directly on the regulatory and supervisory capacity of the state.
On this point, Rudnick warned about the need to ensure «the highest standards in health and safety» to prevent practices constituting forced labor in an industry marked by a record high mortality rate globally.
The proposed tariff by the United States is not yet final. Written comments will be accepted until July 6, 2026, and a public hearing will occur on July 7.
Fundación Libera and Centro Ecoceanos have urged the Chilean government to take advantage of this window to implement genuine structural reforms, involving public participation and oversight, rather than merely defending local and transnational business interests in Washington.
«The Chilean government has weeks to demonstrate to the US government and American consumers that it has understood the rejection signal and active monitoring conveyed by Chilean civil society and migrant workers’ organizations,» concluded Rudnick.
La entrada Forced Labor in Chile’s Agroindustry and Salmon Farming: Uncovering the Reasons Behind US Trade Sanctions se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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