The Tiers
Tier 1
Countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards.
Tier 2
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
Tier 2 Watch List
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND:
The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing;
There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
Tier 3
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.