Lawmaker Requests GAO Review of CBP Forced Labor Imports Enforcement

House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., asked in a Sept. 19 letter that the Government Accountability Office review CBP's enforcement of a prohibition on imports made with forced labor. Grijalva specifically seeks that the GAO look at "illicit labor practices related to the seafood supply chain." Since the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act closed a forced labor loophole in 2016, "CBP's level of enforcement of Section 307 does not match the prevalence of forced labor in global supply chains," Grijalva said. The GAO letter is similar to another letter organized by Grijalva to be sent to the secretaries of the departments of Commerce, State and Homeland Security (see 1809100013).

CBP has not issued any withhold release orders involving the seafood and fishing sector, Grijalva said. Only one of the six active WROs issued by CBP since 2016 "addresses the industry-wide use of forced labor," while the other five "are limited to specific Chinese product shipments to particular importers," he said. While CBP used Form 28 Requests for Information for importers active in the industries, including seafood, and regions considered to be higher risk, "it is unclear how many importers have been asked submit such information," he said. Also unclear is "how CBP assesses accuracy and sufficiency of the information submitted" and how much, if at all, such information has informed CBP's forced labor enforcement under Section 307, he said.

The GAO should examine CBP's enforcement actions and resource allocation related to seafood as compared with other priority trade enforcement issues, Grijalva said. The GAO should also find out how much of the information collected under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program is shared with CBP for identifying potential issues with seafood shipments, he said. Grijalva would also like to know how much coordination there is on the issue with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and whether there's an opportunity for the agencies to work together on identifying non-compliant products.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance expressed support for the effort in a Sept. 19 news release. “The seafood importing community’s lack of interest in taking meaningful steps to eliminate slavery and child labor from the seafood supply chain is deeply troubling,” said John Williams, the groups's executive director. “The actions taken today by Ranking Member Grijalva and his colleagues in the House of Representatives appropriately draw attention back to an issue that seafood importers hope people will just forget. Those that profit from immense human suffering must be held to account.”