Reference no: EM132985918

International Trade Law:

Over half of the world's chocolate is produced using cocoa from West Africa. However, much of this cocoa is produced on plantations which utilise child slave labour, one report stating (for example) that perhaps as many as 15,000 children often under the age of 12 are used as slave labourers on plantations in the Ivory Coast producing cocoa. Around the world, many organisations and individuals have lobbied governments to ban the sale of cocoa produced in such conditions. Australia imports cocoa because it does not produce cocoa in commercial quantities. The Australian Government is considering introducing legislation that bans the importation into Australia of cocoa unless it is certified that the cocoa is produced on plantations which do not use child slave labour.

Would such a measure by the Australian government be consistent with Australia's trade treaty obligations? Australia and a number of West African nations have ratified the Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999. Does this change your answers to the questions above?