Argument Against Child Labor

In February 2016 long overdue legislation was passed to close a loophole in the trade laws. The 1930 Tariff Act barred imported goods that were made, in some part, with child labor; the loophole was the exception that if the product was needed to meet US consumer demands, the product could be imported. This Tariff Act gave US Customs and Border Patrol the authority to seize shipments that child labor was suspected in and could block further imports. This Act was last enforced in the year 2000 and had only been used 39 times (Chen, 2/23/2016). This seems to be an aristocratic point of view that if citizens of the United States really liked a product and there was a high demand for it, then it was considered reasons enough to use child labor to produce it. The new legislation is a step forward in fighting against child labor. Child labor breaks laws, robs children of their childhood, keeps children from getting an education to better themselves, puts them at …show more content…
These children are often sold to companies and their pay is given to their families to help them survive. Other children go to work each day, from their homes, in order to contribute to their family income. Without the income from their children, many families would not be able to survive. This brings up the questions of why these families are not able to support themselves without the help of their children. The fact that families need these children to help support themselves brings light to a larger problem that starts with the government of that country. Many would think that in this century countries would be able to find ways to help and support their own citizens. Yet this is not true. This is a global problem, one that needs to be addressed, in order to protect human rights. Ignoring this problem only allows more and more children to lose their childhood and never be able to better