Malaysian-owned Sime Darby Plantation and local subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates are accused of abuses against workers including physical and sexual violence, restriction of movement, intimidation and threats, debt bondage, withholding of wages and excessive overtime. The U.S. said it will ban all shipments of palm oil from one of the world’s biggest producers after finding indicators of forced labor and other abuses on plantations that feed into the supply chains of some of America’s most famous food and cosmetic companies. “Importers should know that there are reputational, financial and legal risks associated with importing goods made by forced labor into the United States,” Hinojosa said in a telephone press briefing. The order was announced just three months after the federal government slapped the same ban on another Malaysian palm oil giant, FGV Holdings Berhad -- the first palm oil company ever targeted by Customs over concerns about forced labor. The U.S. imported US$410 million of crude palm oil from Malaysia in fiscal year 2020, representing a third of the total value shipped in.-AP

Source: The Standard December 31, 2020 05:37 UTC