KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — A Kansas City-bound shipment of 4.68 million latex gloves made by a subsidiary of Top Glove Corporation Bhd has been seized by the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
CBP said the estimated value of the shipment was US$690,000 (RM2.85 million).
“CBP personnel seized the shipment due to information indicating that the gloves were made by forced labour,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kansas City port director Steven Ellis said considering the seizure takes place in the heartland of America, it showed that imports produced by alleged forced labour affect everyone nationwide.
“CBP will not tolerate forced labour in US supply chains,” he said.
CBP said that on March 29, 2021, it had directed personnel at all US ports of entry to begin seizing disposable gloves produced in Malaysia by Top Glove.
“The shipment in Kansas City was seized after an inspection by CBP officers revealed that the gloves were produced in Malaysia by a subsidiary of Top Glove,” it added.
CBP issued a forced labour finding on March 29 based on alleged evidence of multiple forced labour indicators in Top Glove’s production process, including debt bondage, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions, and retention of identity documents.
— Bernama
