Human Rights Groups Ask for Forced Labor Import Ban on All Cotton From Turkmenistan
Labor and human rights groups recently requested CBP issue a withhold release order banning importation of all cotton from Turkmenistan because it is allegedly produced by forced labor. In their April 6 petition (here), the Netherlands-based Alternative Turkmenistan News and the International Labor Rights Forum allege all raw cotton in Turkmenistan is produced under a government monopoly that forces Turkmen citizens to grow and harvest cotton under threat of penalty. The withhold release order should apply to “cotton lint, yarn, fabric and cotton goods from Turkmenistan,” they said. The petition also asked for immediate detention of all cotton products from Turkmenistan while CBP considers the request.
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IKEA and Gamby Global both import cotton products from Turkmenistan that are produced with forced labor and should be subject to the ban, said the petition. According to company owner Mike Scherer, Gamby was unaware of the regulations, and "imported 26K yards of the product from the UAE. That was the extent of our transgression. We have since told our supplier in the UAE," and "they will comply," he said. IKEA, which the petition alleges manufactures its “Nyponros” and “Malou” linen products in Turkmenistan from Turkmen cotton, did not immediately comment, though the petition cites a statement purportedly from IKEA that touts the company’s efforts to avoid forced labor cotton via “enhanced controls and third-party testing in the cotton fields and in production.”
Recent customs reauthorization legislation removed the “consumptive demand” exemption from the general ban on products of forced labor (see 1603010043), which barred enforcement of the ban on forced labor goods if the product was unavailable in sufficient quantities in the U.S. CBP followed suit at the end of March by issuing its first withhold release orders in over a decade (see 1603310034).