CBP Issues New Forced Labor WRO Aimed at Malaysian Palm Oil Imports

CBP issued a withhold release order on “palm oil and products containing palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and affiliated entities in Malaysia,” the agency said in a news release Dec. 30. The WRO follows a monthslong investigation into SDP, Malaysia's largest producer of palm oil, Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP’s Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Division, said during a Dec. 30 call with reporters. “It's pretty clear, we're expecting the trade community to know your supply chain,” she said.

The agency “is now the global leader in leveraging customs and border authorities to address forced labor in supply chains,” she said. Hinojosa pointed to the recent growth in forced labor enforcement actions (see 2012020032) and said “these successes reflect CBP's significant investment in forced labor enforcement over the last four years.” The increase in forced labor enforcement is unlikely to subside after the Trump administration ends, Hinojosa said. Forced labor in supply chains is “a very bipartisan issue,” she said. The number of WROs issued should continue “at least at the same pace” in the coming months and years, she said.

The WRO marks the second such action aimed at palm oil imports from Malaysia (see 2009300012). Palm oil is frequently an ingredient in packaged baked goods, chocolate and other common consumer staples. CBP data shows that some $410 million of crude palm oil from Malaysia was imported into the U.S. during fiscal year 2020, about a third of all crude palm oil imports, Hinojosa said. CBP has detained shipments under the previous palm oil WRO on FGV Holding Berhad but declined to say the end result of those detentions. CBP continues to be in discussion with Top Glove, a Malaysian disposable glove manufacturer subject to another WRO, over removal from the order (see 2009080041), she said.