CBP Ruling From 2002 Allows for Forced Labor in Packaging Operations

The textile and apparel industry is at particular risk of being caught up in CBP's efforts to stop imports of goods made with forced labor “since the complete supply chain is enormous by any measure,” U.S. Fashion Industry Association Customs Counsel John Pellegrini said in the USFIA's monthly update. Pellegrini said that “CBP brought to our attention a ruling which provides some, but not much relief, in this area.”

Among the concerns are for where forced labor is potentially used early in the supply chain and far from the final product. For example, Pellegrini said one 2016 Withhold Release Order that mentioned rayon fiber seemed to be based on the salt sourced from a forced labor facility that was “used in the production of a chemical which is used to create the slurry that breaks down cellulosic fibers, a very preliminary step in the manufacture of the rayon fibers.” The Viscose/Rayon Fiber component of the WRO on goods manufactured in China by Tangshan Sanyou Group and its Subsidiaries has since been removed, according to CBP's list of WROs.

The ruling mentioned by Pellegrini is from 2002 and involves consumer products that were manufactured without forced labor but were then sent to a prison for packaging. CBP said in that ruling that the packaging, “although indisputably a process effected by convict labor, does not rise to the level of 'manufacturing' for purposes of that statute. Such labor does not change the name, character or use of the consumer product in question.”

A CBP spokesperson confirmed that the ruling “was a precedent setting case that CBP must abide by.” In fact, there was an allegation involving forced labor and packaging last year in which CBP “had to respond based on the 2002 decision,” she said.