KUALA LUMPUR – The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has assured that it will reasonably corroborate any allegations of forced labour brought to its attention.
This follows reports of the agency revealing that it has no investigative team in Malaysia to probe into allegations of breaches linked to the International Labour Organisation’s 11 forced labour indicators.
According to a statement by the Malaysian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association (Margma), CBP Trade Office deputy executive assistant commissioner John Leonard and acting executive director for trade remedy law enforcement Eric Choy gave their reassurances during a recent meeting between the two groups.
It noted that the officials, in explaining the actions taken against some companies, reiterated that such measures are done through reasonable information, analysis, and assumptions.
“The US team assured and comforted the meeting that the CBP does not intend to act unilaterally without assuming the need to be correct and getting the allegations and accusations reasonably corroborated,” it said.
Since 2019, eight Malaysian companies – mainly rubber and palm oil companies – have been put on a list of firms whose products are banned from entering the US due to “reasonable evidence” of forced labour practices.
Margma added that the meeting was “very informative” with conducive views being exchanged and an agreement was reached to hold regular engagements to better develop an understanding of each other’s role in the governance of labour issues.
Its president Supramaniam Shanmugam said Margma has advocated a zero-debt policy and initiated remedial actions to be undertaken by each member to distance itself from the stigma of forced labour.
“The industry is definitely moving in the right direction and that would certainly be a model industry to emulate in the governance of an equitable workforce.” – The Vibes, June 4, 2022
