Developed by the Walk Free Foundation, research in the 2018 Global Slavery Index assessed countries not only on their level of vulnerability and response by government, but also where products commonly produced through modern slavery are sold and consumed, with a specific focus on the G20 countries. Compliance and risk officers can use the index to refine how they assess modern slavery risk in their own operations and supply chain.
Globally, the index revealed that imports are a key driver of modern slavery, with the United States being the biggest importer among G20 nations of products at risk of being produced through forced labor. The $144 billion a year of at-risk products being imported into the United States is more than three times that of the second-largest G20 importer, Japan ($47 billion), followed by Germany ($30 billion), the United Kingdom ($18 billion), and France ($16 billion).
