CBP issues Withhold Release Order on Zhen Fa 7

Agency will detain seafood imports harvested using forced labor

WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a Withhold Release Order May 28, against Zhen Fa 7, a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel. Effective immediately, CBP officers at all U.S. ports of entry will detain seafood, including but not limited to squid, harvested by Zhen Fa 7 based on reasonable suspicion that the vessel uses forced labor to harvest such seafood.

“Combatting forced labor is central to CBP’s mission to protect the economic security of the United States,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Pete Flores. “The President recently charged us to restore American seafood competitiveness by combatting unfair trade practices, and issuing this order is one way we are contributing to that goal.”

CBP identified the following International Labor Organization forced labor indicators within Zhen Fa 7’s operations: abuse of vulnerability, isolation, retention of identity documents, abusive working and living conditions, physical and sexual violence, and debt bondage. As a result of these forced labor abuses, Zhen Fa 7 benefitted from lower labor costs, produced goods below market value, undercut American businesses, and unjustly earned profits.

“Stopping forced labor and protecting law-abiding businesses are key priorities for CBP,” said CBP Office of Trade Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan S. Thomas. “We’re working on all fronts to prevent goods made with these unfair labor and trade practices from entering U.S. commerce.”

CBP enforces U.S. trade and customs laws to protect U.S. seafood markets from the unfair trade practices of foreign nations by investigating the use of forced labor in the seafood supply chain. The WRO against Zhen Fa 7 is the latest action CBP has taken to address forced labor around the world. With this WRO issuance, CBP currently oversees and enforces 52 WROs and nine findings under 19 U.S.C. § 1307. This is the sixth WRO CBP has issued on a fishing vessel since 2020.

Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1307) prohibits the importation of “all goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor, or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions.”  reasonable suspicion that imported goods are made, wholly or in part, with forced labor in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307, the agency will order personnel at U.S. ports of entry to detain shipments of those goods.  Importers of detained shipments may seek to destroy or export their shipments or demonstrate that the merchandise is admissible.

CBP receives allegations of forced labor from a variety of sources, including government agencies, media, non-government organizations, and members of the public.  Any person or organization that has reason to believe merchandise produced, wholly or in part, with forced labor is being, or is likely to be, imported into the United States, can report detailed allegations by contacting CBP through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.

Follow CBP Office of Trade on X @CBPTradeGov and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/cbp-office-of-trade/.