On October 20 and October 21, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against disposable gloves from Malaysian company Supermax Corporation BHD and its three wholly owned subsidiaries as well as a separate WRO against tomatoes produced by Mexican farms Agropecuarios Tom S.A. de C.V., Horticola S.A de C.V., and their subsidiaries, respectively.

CBP issued the disposable glove WRO against Supermax Corporation and its three subsidiaries – Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., Maxwell Glove Manufacturing Mhd., and Supermax Glove Manufacturing – based on information that indicated that the company used forced labor in its manufacturing operations. CBP specifically identified 10 of 11 possible indicators of forced labor from the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) list in its investigation.

For the Mexican tomato WRO, CBP identified at least 5 of 11 possible indicators of forced labor from the ILO’s list in its investigation into Agropecuarios, Horticola, and their subsidiaries, which included:

  • Abuse of vulnerability
  • Deception
  • Withholding of wages
  • Debt bondage
  • Abusive working and living conditions

With these two new orders, CBP has now issued 7 WROs as well as two forced labor findings in Fiscal Year 2021.

WROs are issued by the U.S. government when information reasonably but not conclusively indicates goods were made in whole or in part using forced labor. Merchandise detained under a WRO order must be exported immediately or a substantial submission made that provides specific information showing that the goods were not made with forced labor. To obtain a release of any shipment that has been subjected to a WRO, a certificate of origin along with this detailed statement regarding the merchandise’s production and supply chain origin must be submitted to CBP. CBP makes a determination on a case-by-case basis.

The Press Release for the disposable glove WRO is available here, and the Press Release for the tomato WRO is available here.

For more information on actions addressing human rights and forced labor abuses, contact our team and see previous posts below.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Modifies Withhold Release Order on Carpet and Hand-Knotted Wool Products from Nepal – International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

CBP Issues Withhold Release Order (WRO) on Certain Silica-Based Products from Xinjiang, PRC – International Trade Law (cmtradelaw.com)

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Photo of John Brew John Brew

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations…

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations on matters involving customs administration, enforcement, compliance, litigation, legislation and policy.

John represents clients in proceedings at the administrative and judicial levels, as well as before Congress and the international bureaucracies that handle customs and trade matters. He advises clients on all substantive import regulatory issues handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as classification, valuation, origin, marking, tariff preference programs, other agency regulations, admissibility, import restrictions, quotas, drawback, audits, prior disclosures, penalties, investigations, Importer Self Assessment and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs, importations under bond, the Jones Act, vessel repairs, and foreign trade zone matters.

Photo of David Stepp David Stepp

David Stepp is an experienced trade lawyer who provides multinational companies with strategic advice on global customs and international trade compliance matters. David is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Crowell & Moring.

His practice focuses on advising companies on their…

David Stepp is an experienced trade lawyer who provides multinational companies with strategic advice on global customs and international trade compliance matters. David is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Crowell & Moring.

His practice focuses on advising companies on their e-commerce strategies globally, conducting global customs and international trade audits, and assisting clients on improving, benchmarking, and coordinating compliance programs across borders.

David has over 30 years of experience handling international trade regulatory matters, including those related to tariff classification, valuation, country of origin marking, free trade agreements, and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT).

Photo of Frances P. Hadfield Frances P. Hadfield

Frances P. Hadfield is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group in the firm’s New York office. Her practice focuses on forced labor and withhold release orders (WRO), import regulatory compliance, and customs litigation. She regularly advises corporations on matters involving…

Frances P. Hadfield is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group in the firm’s New York office. Her practice focuses on forced labor and withhold release orders (WRO), import regulatory compliance, and customs litigation. She regularly advises corporations on matters involving customs compliance, audits, customs enforcement, as well as import penalties.

Frances represents clients before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as in proceedings at the administrative level. She advises corporations on both substantive federal and state regulatory issues that involve U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife in matters pertaining to product admissibility, audits, classification, import restrictions, investigations, marking, licenses, origin, penalties, and tariff preference programs.

Photo of Martín Yerovi Martín Yerovi

Martín Yerovi is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. He provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection…

Martín Yerovi is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. He provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He works closely with attorneys developing courses of action for clients impacted by investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. He also supports unfair trade investigations, including antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, sunset reviews, and changed circumstance reviews before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC).