THE US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has claimed that certain products by Top Glove Corp Bhd had been manufactured with the use of forced or indentured labour.

In a notice published today, it alleged that certain disposable gloves had been “produced or manufactured by the rubber glove maker with the use of forced labour, and are being, or are likely to be, imported into the US”.

“This finding applies to any merchandise described in Section II of this notice that is imported on or after March 29, 2021. 

“It also applies to merchandise that have already been imported and have not been released from CBP custody before March 29, 2021,” it said.

Citing Section 307 of the Tariff Act 1930, the CBP said goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labour or forced labour under penal sanctions shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the US, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited.

“Under this section, ‘forced labour’ includes ‘all work or service, which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its non-performance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily’ and includes forced or indentured child labour,” it said.

Based on this, the regulator said the port director may seize the goods for violation of the Act and commence forfeiture proceedings unless the importer could prove that no prohibited labour was used in the manufacturing process.

The findings of the CBP was reviewed and approved by the secretary of Homeland Security on March 23.

Top Glove declined to comment when contacted by Bernama today.

In July last year, Top Glove was slapped with a detention order by the CBP, which is usually issued to prevent the import of goods suspected of having been produced by forced labour.

This included products from Top Glove Sdn Bhd and TG Medical Sdn Bhd, both subsidiaries of Top Glove Corp Bhd.

The company then hired a consultant who was also engaged by another glove company, WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, to resolve the issue.

The world’s largest glove manufacturer said on March 9 the independent consultant it appointed found no systemic forced labour within the group. 

At the close of Bursa Malaysia trading today, Top Glove shares declined 10 sen to RM5.05. – Bernama, March 29, 2021.