Background

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a new withhold release order against imported goods made wholly or in part with seafood harvested by the Yu Long No. 2, a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel. CBP issued this order, which requires the detention of such goods at all U.S. ports of entry effective May 11, based on information that indicates the use of forced labor.

For more information on this or other withhold release orders and how they may affect your business, please contact trade consultant Nicole Bivens Collinson or trade attorney Elise Shibles.

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 withhold release orders 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 withhold release orders and findings is available here.

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