 Import Detention Order Targets Seafood |
Source |
American Shipper |
Post Date |
08/24/2020 |
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a new withhold release order that, effective Aug. 18, requires the detention at all U.S. ports of entry of seafood harvested by the Da Wang, a Vanuatu-flagged, Taiwan-owned distant water fishing vessel. CBP states that this is the 12th WRO it has issued since September 2019.
This order was based on information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor, including physical violence, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and abusive living and working conditions. However, importers of detained shipments will have an opportunity to export their shipments or submit proof to CBP that the seafood was not produced with forced labor.
19 USC 1307 prohibits the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in any foreign country by forced labor, including convict labor, forced child labor, and indentured labor. Such goods are subject to exclusion and/or seizure and may lead to criminal investigation of the importer. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 closed a loophole in this law that had allowed imports of certain forced labor-produced goods if they were not produced domestically in such quantities as to meet consumptive demands.
When information reasonably but not conclusively indicates that goods within the purview of 19 USC 1307 are being imported, CBP may issue withhold release orders. CBP has said that it acts on information concerning specific manufacturers, exporters, and goods and does not generally target entire product lines or industries in problematic countries or regions. CBP also does not generally publicize specific detentions, re-exportations, exclusions, or seizures that may have resulted from its WROs or findings.
CBP encourages stakeholders to closely examine their supply chains to ensure their imported goods are not mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, with prohibited forms of labor; i.e., slave, convict, forced child, or indentured labor.
A list of all CBP WROs and findings is
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/trade-community/programs-outreach/convict-importations/detention-orders
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