CBP issued a forced labor finding on imports of stevia from China, it said in a notice released Oct. 19. It's the first time a finding has been issued since 1996, according to a list of CBP actions. The forced labor finding applies to “stevia extracts and derivatives, mined, produced, or manufactured” in China by the Inner Mongolia Hengzheng Group Baoanzhao Agriculture, Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., CBP said. The finding follows a withhold release order issued in 2016 on Baoanzhao (see 1605310019) that resulted in the first CBP penalty for forced labor (see 2008140016). CBP has ratcheted up its use of authorities this year under provisions to stop goods made with forced labor (see 2009140040).
CBP personnel at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport stopped a shipment of 32 cartons of women's leather gloves from China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region “suspected to have been manufactured using forced labor,” the agency said in an Oct. 15 news release. The gloves were subject to the Withhold Release Order on apparel made by Yili Zhuowan Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Baoding LYSZD Trade and Business Co., Ltd (see 2009140040).
FGV Holdings Berhad is planning to hire a third-party auditor as part of an effort to convince CBP that forced labor isn't used in its palm oil supply chain, the company said in an Oct. 15 news release. Palm oil and palm oil products from the Malaysian company are subject to a withhold release order issued last month (see 2009300012). “FGV has communicated with the CBP via conference call to seek clarification on its investigation findings and on steps expected to be taken by FGV for the revocation of the WRO,” it said. “Information around the CBP’s investigation findings is imperative to enable FGV to address and resolve any remaining gaps in its practices.” CBP told FGV “that it would consider a petition for the revocation of the WRO together with information or reports arising from audits from credible, unbiased, third-party auditing firms,” the company said. “In relation to this, FGV is already in communication with several independent organisations to explore options for an imminent audit of FGV’s operations. FGV expects to finalise the appointment of such an audit firm in the next couple of weeks and to proceed with the audits shortly after.”
CBP posted recordings and some frequently asked questions from each of the sessions during the agency's Virtual Trade Week (see 2009110014), 2009090057, 2009100002 and 2009100049).
CBP posted multiple documents ahead of the Oct. 7 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
The Labor Department updated its “list of goods -- along with countries of origin -- that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards,” it said in a notice released Oct. 1. The ILAB is required to maintain a list of such goods, which CBP often uses in investigations into the use of forced labor (see 2005200043). The 2020 edition adds six “new goods (gloves, rubber gloves, hair products, pome and stone fruits, sandstone, and tomato products)” and “two new countries (Venezuela and Zimbabwe) and one new area (Taiwan)” to the list, it said. “This edition also features the removal of cattle produced with child labor in Namibia” from the list. Separately, the ILAB also proposed to add bricks from Cambodia to its list of goods that require certification that no forced labor was used prior to federal government procurement of the product.
CBP will detain imports of “palm oil and palm oil products made by FGV Holdings Berhad and its subsidiaries and joint ventures” starting Sept. 30, the agency said in a news release the same day. The Withhold Release Order “is the result of a year-long investigation that revealed forced labor indicators including abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime,” CBP said. “The investigation also raised concerns that forced child labor is potentially being used in FGV’s palm oil production process,” it said. Palm oil is frequently used in products in grocery and convenience stores, including “processed foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soap and biodiesel.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that a bill that overwhelmingly passed the House last week that would change the presumption of guilt for goods coming from China's Xinjiang region may not get a vote in the Senate this year. “They haven't been moving much legislation,” he told International Trade Today during a phone call with reporters Sept. 30. “We'll see when we get to the lame duck, what the status of that is.”
A bill that would change the presumption of guilt for goods coming from China's Xinjiang region passed the House of Representatives on a 406-3 vote Sept. 22. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., an original co-sponsor of the bill, spoke on the floor of the House before the vote. He said “creating a rebuttable assumption” of forced labor in all Xinjiang products is the most important part of the bill.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 14-18 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.