KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry’s intention to not dispute the United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) ruling, its minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin has labelled the claims that led to the federal authority banning local products as “unfair and biased”.
Bans currently imposed on Malaysian palm oil, its products, and rubber gloves, she said, are based only on allegations of forced labour claims made by non-government organisations (NGOs) and other groups.
“As much as we cannot totally agree with CBP’s reliance on remote or third-party evidence in its investigation process, we have to accept that the enforcement agency is vested with the prerogative to act based on what it deems as proprietary information,” she said in a statement today.
As such, Zuraida opined, local palm oil and related products may have to bear the brunt of being in direct competition with soybean oil, of which the US is the world’s top producer and second biggest exporter.
In the meantime, she called on industry leaders in the labour-intensive rubber gloves and plantation sectors to enact a remedial action plan to avoid another withhold release order for accusations of forced labour.
Besides that, she also commended the Malaysian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association for its recent engagement with CBP.
During the meeting, CBP Trade Office deputy executive assistant commissioner John Leonard and acting executive director for trade remedy law enforcement Eric Choy had assured that the agency will reasonably corroborate any allegations of forced labour brought to its attention.
This follows reports of the US federal 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.
Yesterday, it was reported that the Malaysian government is demanding that the US release its confiscated Malaysian goods seized over allegations of forced labour if the country refuses to accept them.
According to Zuraida, she had conveyed the message to CBP during her visit to Washington last month, adding that she had told them that a better mechanism is needed to identify and verify allegations of forced labour, particularly when it involves the source country. – The Vibes, June 8, 2022
