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WASHINGTON: The United States said it will ban all shipments of palm oil from one of the world’s largest producers after finding indicators of forced labor and other abuses on plantations that feed the supply chains of some of the food and cosmetic companies. most famous in the United States.
The order against Malaysia-owned Sime Darby Plantation and its local subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates, followed an intense months-long investigation by the US Customs Trade and Border Protection Office, said Ana Hinojosa, one of the the executive directors of the agency.
Hinojosa said the investigation “reasonably indicates” abuses against workers including physical and sexual violence, restriction of movement, intimidation and threats, debt bondage, withholding of wages and excessive overtime. Some of the problems appeared to be systemic, occurring in numerous plantations, which are spread across wide swaths of the country, he said.
“Importers should be aware that there are legal, financial and reputational risks associated with importing goods manufactured through forced labor into the United States,” Hinojosa said in a telephone news conference.
The order was announced just three months after the federal government imposed the same ban on another Malaysian palm oil giant, FGV Holdings, the first palm oil company in Customs history over concerns about forced labor. The United States imported US $ 410 million of crude palm oil from Malaysia in fiscal year 2020, representing a third of the total value shipped.
The bans, sparked by petitions from nonprofit groups and a law firm, came in the wake of an in-depth investigation by The Associated Press into labor abuses on plantations in Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia, which together produce around 85 percent of the $ 65 billion supply of the world’s most consumed vegetable oil.
READ: COVID-19 pandemic forces Malaysia’s palm industry to reconsider reliance on foreign labor
Palm oil can be found in about half of the products on supermarket shelves and in most cosmetic brands. It’s in paints, plywood, pesticides, pet food, biofuels, and even hand sanitizer.
The AP interviewed more than 130 current and former workers from two dozen palm oil companies, including Sime Darby, for its investigation. Journalists found everything from rape and child labor to trafficking and outright slavery on plantations in both countries.
Earlier this month, 25 Democratic lawmakers from the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives cited the AP investigation in a letter calling on the government to crack down on the oil industry. palm trees in Malaysia and Indonesia, asking Customs and Border Protection if they had considered a blanket. prohibition of imports from those countries.
“In our view, these hateful labor practices and their widespread impact on supply chains highlight the need for an aggressive and effective compliance strategy,” the letter said.
Sime Darby, who did not immediately comment, has palm oil plantations covering almost 1.5 million acres, making him one of the largest producers in Malaysia. It supplies some of the biggest names in the business, from Cargill to Nestlé, Unilever and L’Óreal, according to the companies’ most recently published lists of palm oil suppliers and factories.
Hinojosa said the agency’s decision to issue the ban should send an “unequivocal” message to the business community.
“Consumers have the right to know where palm oil comes from and the conditions in which that palm oil is produced and what products that particular palm oil is destined for,” he said.
The announcement marked the fourteenth time this year that Customs has issued an order to stop shipments from a variety of sectors following similar investigations into forced labor. They include shellfish and cotton, along with pieces of human hair believed to have been made by Uighur Muslims persecuted in Chinese labor camps.
According to Wednesday’s order, palm oil products or derivatives traceable to Sime Darby will be detained in US ports. Shipments can be exported if the company cannot prove that the goods were not produced by forced labor.
