Prospects VII. Labor Rights in the Fisheries Supply Chain On April 29, 2024, the second phase of negotiations under the USTaiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative started in Taiwan. This round of talks focused on agriculture, environment, and labor issues, with labor topics proving to be the most challenging. In early April, the US side presented a detailed agenda for discussion on labor rights. They emphasized protecting workers’ rights across supply chains, including distant water fishing vessels, to ensure trade activities are aligned with a commitment to laborcentric principles. Key labor-related topics included strengthening protections for migrant workers, addressing recruitment fees, and ensuring procedural safeguards, such as the dissemination of information on labor rights and promoting Wi-Fi access for distant water fishers. They also proposed areas for collaboration, which included promoting labor rights for digital economy workers, improving labor protections across supply chains, and improving working conditions aboard distant water fishing vessels. During negotiations, both sides discussed ways to promote internationally recognized labor rights, in particular, the elimination of forced labor in global supply chains. A significant focus was on the role and responsibility of corporations in safeguarding labor rights. The US emphasized that any discovery of forced labor in supply chains should result in halting the movement of such products downstream. They urged Taiwan to prevent the import of such products, including implementing border controls, and to target domestic removal if such products are found in the local market. However, the primary challenge lies in Taiwan’s lack of a comprehensive system to address this issue, necessitating new 108