CBP posted multiple documents ahead of the March 17 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
Malaysian palm oil importer Sime Darby Plantation Berhad filed a lawsuit against Duncan Jepson, the managing director of non-governmental organization Liberty Shared, attempting to force the turnover of information relevant to an investigation into forced labor allegations filed by Jepson with the Securities Commission of Malaysia, the company detailed in a news release. The case was brought before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 9 to get Jepson to provide information to help Sime Darby comply with the foreign proceeding in which Jepson alleged wrongful disclosures in the Malaysian company's 2019 Sustainability Report that resulted in the company reporting false or misleading statements about its use of forced labor. The Securities Commission investigation marks the second major governmental inquiry into allegations of forced labor in Sime Darby plantations, with CBP issuing a withhold release order on the importer's products in December.
Therese Randazzo, director of the forced labor division in the trade remedy and law enforcement directorate at CBP, said that although there have been far more withhold release orders than findings since legislation eliminated a forced labor loophole in 2015, the trade community should expect to see more findings in the future. Randazzo, who was speaking on a panel on forced labor at the annual Georgetown Law International Trade Update on March 11, declined to comment on whether CBP has opened an investigation into forced labor in polysilicon from China (see 2101080044). That's an input for solar panels, and about two-thirds of the world's solar panels are made in China.
The U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom, an advisory committee to Congress, heard from four witnesses that passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is the most important thing the U.S. could do to convince companies that sell in the U.S. to exit China's Xinjiang region. One witness, from the Heritage Foundation, said a better first step would be a two-year region-wide withhold release order, which would give CBP time to gather more convincing evidence about the scope of forced labor in the western Chinese province.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from March 1-5 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The recent focus on forced labor has also created some trade facilitation problems, both of which appear unlikely to go away under the Biden administration, said Paul Rosenthal, a lawyer with Kelley Drye, during the virtual International Trade Update hosted by Georgetown Law on March 9. Rosenthal was asked about the corporate compliance difficulties following CBP forced labor enforcement actions, particularly in countries that the company isn't directly connected to. “The shift has been away from concern about U.S. manufacturing interests to social interests” involving child and forced labor, he said. “And I don't see that shifting. In fact, I see that continuing and accelerating and I think one the big issues” for the administration “will be how to balance those interests,” he said
CBP posted a new fact sheet on the process for modifying or revoking withhold release orders issued out of suspicion that forced labor was used in the supply chain of imported goods. The fact sheet follows a recent Government Accountability Office report that recommended that CBP provide more information on the subject (see 2103010042).
British online fashion retailer Boohoo is being investigated by CBP after the agency was sent a petition from a British lawyer claiming not enough is being done to curb forced labor practices at the retailer's factories in Leicester, according to a March 2 report from Sky News. The report says CBP is considering the petition, but that Boohoo has not been notified of any ongoing investigation into its supply chain. The clothing retailer claims that United Kingdom investigators have found no evidence of forced labor in its supply chain. British anti-slavery lawyer Duncan Jepson has requested two bans, issued via withhold release order, on Boohoo and most of its suppliers, and received confirmation from CBP that enough evidence is available to begin an investigation, the report said.
Todd Owen, former executive assistant CBP commissioner who worked in the Office of Field Operations before retiring, said during a March 3 webinar that the trade community should expect to see a lot more traditional customs work over the next few years, such as missed descriptions, undervaluation, duty evasion and import safety. Owen, who is a senior trade adviser at Diaz Trade Law, also said during the webinar that he thinks stopping goods made with forced labor is going to continue to be a priority for the Biden administration. “I don’t see this going away,” he said.
Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP), Malaysia's largest producer of palm oil, has created an Expert Stakeholder Human Rights Assessment Commission to identify forced labor issues in its supply chains, according to a March 1 news release. The move comes after CBP imposed a withhold release order on SDP's palm oil on Dec. 30 over evidence that the products were being made with forced labor (see 2012300007). SDP has appointed ethical trade consultancy Impactt Limited to lead the commission in evaluating SDP's labor practices in Malaysia. According to the release, the commission will also be made up of a stakeholder consultation panel that will provide additional input to supplement Impactt's assessment methodology.