CBP collects $575,000 in penalties, imports made with forced labor
CBP collects penalties, imports made with forced labor
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported it has collected $575,000 in penalties following the closure of a civil enforcement action against an importer for imports made with forced labor.
According to the CBP release, this is the first penalty action since the passage of the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.”
Under U.S. law, goods produced in whole or in part with forced labor are prohibited from entering the United States. Shipments suspected of being produced with forced labor will be detained by CBP and excluded if CBP determines that forced labor was used in the production of the goods. CBP reported that an investigation established that there were at least 20 shipments that were processed in China with prison labor in violation of U.S. law, and accordingly CBP issued a penalty against the importer. The merchandise at issue had already entered the United States when CBP discovered that forced labor had been used in its production.
The civil penalty against was reported to be one of many actions that CBP has taken to address the use of forced labor over the past year. Since September 2019, CBP has issued 11 withhold release orders to prevent merchandise made with forced labor from entering the United States, including four orders on products from China.
For more information on this topic or to learn more about KPMG’s Trade & Customs Services, contact:
Doug Zuvich |
John L. McLoughlin |
Andy Siciliano |
Steve Brotherton |
Luis (Lou) Abad |
Irina Vaysfeld |
Amie Ahanchian |
Christopher Young |
Gisele Belotto |
George Zaharatos |
Andy Doornaert |
Jessica Libby |
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