Palm Oil Importer Argues for Expedited Case Over Imports Excluded From Entry Due to WRO

Palm oil importer Virtus Nutrition, LLC wants an expedited ruling on itsmore than $2 million in palm oil imports held up by CBP, filing a motion for assignment of a judge and an application for an order directing the U.S. government to show cause why an expedited litigation schedule should not be entered on May 12. Due to storage fees of over $35,000 a month agreed to between Virtus and the port director of CBP for the Port of San Francisco/Oakland, the importer wants to quickly get a ruling on the case and free up the palm oil imports.

Virtus' palm oil was initially detained on Feb. 8 then excluded from entry to the U.S. on March 23, under suspicion that the goods were subject to exclusion under a recent Withhold Release Order. The WRO barred the entry of palm oil products made in Malaysia by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd on the grounds that the manufacturer's palm oil was made with forced labor. Virtus says that its palm oil is made by a different Malaysian producer, Wilmar. Aside from the storage fees, Virtus wants the palm oil released, so it can manufacture long fatty-acid chain calcium salts used in cattle nutrition at its Corocan, California, plant.

In seeking an expedited ruling, Virtus contacted Department of Justice attorneys Justin Miller, Marcella Powell and Monica Triana to discuss the filings of the case. According to the filings, the discussions between Virtus and DOJ led to the assurance that CBP will "maintain the status quo," scrapping the need for Virtus to file for a preliminary injunction. CBP will not seek to seize or rule deemed abandonment on the palm oil imports. Virtus has also said it would likely withdraw its lawsuit if CBP were to produce credible evidence that the importer's palm oil goods were made with forced labor, Virtus said in the brief.