U.S. bans imports from Chinese fishing boats on labor practices

Officials say this is the first time that the United States has banned imports from the entire fishing fleet, rather than from individual vessels.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection imposed a new import ban on seafood from the Chinese fishing fleet on Friday, which the agency said is using the fleet. Forced labor On its 32 ships, including the abuse of many Indonesian workers.

CBP stated that it will immediately detain the tuna, swordfish and other products of Dalian Ocean Fishery Co., Ltd. at the US port of entry. A CBP official stated that the “suspended release order” prohibiting imports also applies to other end-use products containing the company’s seafood, such as canned tuna and pet food.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said the move marked the first time that CBP had banned imports from the entire fishing fleet, rather than targeting individual vessels in the past.

“The Department of Homeland Security will continue to actively investigate the use of forced labor by ocean fishing vessels and other broad industries,” Majorcas said at a press conference. “Both producers and U.S. importers should understand that entities that try to exploit workers to sell goods in the United States will face consequences.”

CBP officials stated that the agency’s investigation revealed that many Indonesian workers employed by Dalian ocean-going fishing vessels found conditions significantly different from what they expected, and suffered physical violence, wage deductions, debt bondage, and poor working and living conditions.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that the United States will pursue those who use forced labor to “exploit individuals for profit” and ensure that “the silent are heard and protected.”

The statement said: “Today’s action helps prevent human rights violators from profiting from forced labor.” “This is another example of the United States taking measures to address harmful fishing practices.”

.@CBP Announced restrictions on seafood products of the Dalian Ocean Fisheries Company, which is headquartered in China, because there is evidence that the company is involved in forced labor. The international community must fight forced labor everywhere, including in fisheries. https://t.co/Fnj8qlgvKm https://t.co/qNrI6zo2UD

— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) May 28, 2021

Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai called for attention to the problem of forced labor by fishing boats and submitted a new proposal to the World Trade Organization to curb subsidies for illegal fishing, and asked member states to recognize this. problem.

CBP stated that the amount of US imports from Dalian offshore fisheries is very small, only 233,000 US dollars in fiscal year 2020.

But after the recent multiple import bans related to China’s detention of Uighur Muslims in the remote western region of Xinjiang, the forced labor issue has become a growing fuse in the tense US-China relationship. The move came less than two days after Thailand had a preliminary dialogue with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

The Trump administration announced a total ban on the import of all cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang in the last week of taking office in January because these products were accused of using Uyghur forced labor to produce them-a far-reaching move that will require the apparel and textile industries to reorder Their supply chain.