CBP Looking at Enforcement Actions on Seafood Processed by North Koreans in China Following AP Reports

CBP is considering enforcement measures following reporting by The Associated Press that found North Koreans working in Chinese factories that produce goods for export to the U.S., an agency spokesman said in an emailed statement. The AP recently reported that North Korean laborers are working in Chinese factories that process seafood and others that make wood flooring and garments, though the AP only tracked seafood shipments from China to the U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law new sanctions against North Korea over the summer (see 1708020030) that prohibit imports of goods made using North Korean forced labor.

CBP is reviewing the AP reports "alleging that certain seafood suppliers are violating the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act," the spokesman said. "CBP has reached out to the AP to request the source material which served as a basis for the news story. With that information, CBP can review the allegations and if warranted, pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation as appropriate."

Lawmakers and White House officials said an enforcement response is needed in a separate AP report on CBP's involvement. Under the sanctions law, CBP presumes any goods produced by North Korean nationals to be prohibited unless there's clear evidence otherwise. If CBP finds evidence of forced labor, it will refer the issue to ICE Homeland Security Investigations for criminal investigation.

The AP found that some of the seafood from the Chinese factories went to grocery stores in the U.S., including ALDI and Walmart. A Walmart spokeswoman said it flagged the Chinese facility earlier this year and prohibited its suppliers from using the facility to make goods for Walmart. "The welfare and dignity of workers is very important to us, and we are working in several ways to help combat the use of forced labor in global supply chains," she said. "We have a system in place to assess suppliers' disclosed factories for compliance with our Standards and take appropriate action when we do identify issues that need to be addressed." Walmart is also working toward "collaborative solutions with industry groups, other retailers, governments and NGOs to create lasting, sustainable change," she said. ALDI didn't immediately comment.

CBP said it considers enforcement of the sanctions law and forced labor prohibitions "top priorities." The agency welcomes "any allegations and/or information from all sources, and will work with our partners in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) to use our authorities to investigate and pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation, as appropriate," it said. CBP "encourages stakeholders in the trade community to thoroughly examine their supply chains to ensure goods imported into the United States are not mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part, with prohibited forms of labor, i.e., slave, convict, indentured, forced or indentured child labor."