House Ways and Means Democrats Say Palm Oil WRO Not Sufficient
The Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, led by its chairman and trade subcommittee chairman, told CBP that its answers on its enforcement strategy on forced labor “have been insufficient” so far, and they want specifics on what the agency is doing to stop the import of palm oil made with forced labor.
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“We were pleased to see CBP take a step forward by issuing a withhold release order (WRO) on one of the worst actors in the palm oil sector, FGV Holdings Berhad,” they wrote in a letter sent Dec. 15 to acting Commissioner Mark Morgan. “However, issuing a single WRO will clearly not address the ubiquitous forced labor problems in the palm oil sector,” they said, referring to an Associated Press investigation into palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia, and the Department of Labor's findings that forced and child labor is present in palm oil production in those two countries and in Sierra Leone. “The kinds of products impacted by these abhorrent labor practices are broad. Estimates suggest that palm oil is used in about half of items one would find in a typical grocery store, including an expansive number of everyday products,” they wrote. “Thus, an incredibly expansive range of U.S. supply chains are likely tainted by the labor practices used to produce palm oil.”
They requested that Morgan answer several questions by Dec. 29 on enforcing the palm oil WRO. They also asked what FGV has been asked to do to come into compliance, and if CBP has considered doing a countrywide WRO on palm oil from Malaysia or Indonesia.