KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has modified the withhold release order (WRO) against imports of synthetic disposable gloves manufactured by YTY Group.

The agency announced on Wednesday (Feb 8) that shipments from YTY Group, which had been banned since a year ago due to forced labour allegations, will be allowed to enter the US effective immediately.

“Since the implementation of the WRO, YTY Group has taken numerous actions to remediate forced labour indicators within its manufacturing process and employee housing facilities,” the CBP said in a statement. 

It said YTY Group’s remediation efforts included drafting and implementing a corrective action plan to address indicators of forced labour and reimbursing recruitment fees paid by its migrant workers.

The agency said YTY Group had also commissioned an independent social compliance audit, and submitted comprehensive documentation which sufficiently demonstrated YTY Group’s sustained commitment to remediating conditions of forced labour in its production and housing facilities.

“Accordingly, the CBP determined that YTY Group’s disposable gloves are no longer being produced using forced labour and, specifically, that the conditions of forced labour identified in the January 2022 WRO no longer exist,” the CBP said.

The CBP issued a WRO on Jan 28, 2022 against gloves produced by YTY Group and its subsidiaries in Malaysia, based on the presence of several International Labour Organization forced labour indicators within YTY Group’s production and employee housing facilities.

The agency said these indicators included abuse of vulnerability, intimidation and threats, debt bondage, retention of identity documents, abusive living and working conditions, deception, and excessive overtime. 

Notably, this is the second modification the agency has issued in 2023 for imports from Malaysian companies.

The CBP, on Feb 2, said that palm oil and manufactured products linked to Sime Darby Plantation Bhd are “no longer being produced with the use of forced labour”.

The CBP is the unified border agency, within the Department of Homeland Security, charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of US borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.