$2.5 Million Worth of Palm Oil Shipments Seized Over Forced Labor
CBP has seized "four shipments of palm oil in Baltimore since February 11 due to information indicating that the palm oil was manufactured by forced labor," the agency said March 8. The shipments involved palmitic acid, which is palm oil refined into a powder, the agency said. Produced in Malaysia, the palmitic acid was "destined to a processing facility in Delaware. The combined weight of the four shipments of palmitic acid came to 544,176 pounds and had an appraised value of about $2,466,500." CBP issued a forced labor finding in January involving palm oil and palm oil products from Sime Darby Plantation in Malaysia (see 2201270036).
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CBP "initially detained the first three shipments on November 30, 2021 and detained the latest shipment on December 3, 2021," it said. "CBP provides importers of detained shipments an opportunity to export their shipments or demonstrate that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor. The importer did not respond to CBP within the three-month period for taking one of these actions, and CBP seized all four shipments."