FEBRUARY 2023 RECOMMENDATIONS RELEASE

Strengthening Federal Procurement through

the National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct

Isabelle Glimcher

 Our seven specific and ambitious recommendations are designed to ensure federal procurement relies on responsible supply chains, and to use the U.S. Government’s massive buying power to drive human and labor rights compliance around the world.  The recommendations build on the below report and reflect a range of conversations with government officials across Executive agencies and departments.  These recommendations should be included in the Biden Administration’s forthcoming National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct. 


September 2020 Report Release

Purchasing Power:

How the U.S. Government Can Use Federal Procurement

to Uphold Human Rights

Isabelle Glimcher

Workers making goods for the United States government face rights violations abroad

The U.S. federal government purchases goods made by workers who are forced to endure serious human and labor rights violations, including excessive working hours, harsh working conditions, health and safety risks, child labor, debt bondage, and forced labor. This implicates the US in the mistreatment of these workers and makes it harder for companies that protect workers' rights, including American companies, to compete for government contracts. The federal government must reform its procurement process in four high-risk sectors - electronics, minerals, apparel, and food - to ensure workers are protected and competition is fair.

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Read our recommendations to policymakers.

The way forward

We make a series of recommendations for how the federal government can improve its procurement process, leveraging its significant buying power to drive rights compliance by prime and subcontractors. This is an ambitious undertaking, but the recommendations aim to minimize challenges and create a system that supports and incentivizes compliance by contractors. Through these changes, workers around the world can enjoy more comprehensive rights protection, American companies can compete on a more level playing field, and Americans can feel confident that their government is doing everything it can to make the world safer and fairer for all.