Officials say this is the first ban in the United States to ban imports from the entire fishing fleet rather than from individual fishing vessels.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection imposed a new import ban on seafood from the Chinese fishing fleet on Friday, which the agency said is in use Forced labor On its 32 ships, including the abuse of many Indonesian workers.

The US Customs and Border Protection said it will immediately detain Dalian Marine Fishing Co., Ltd. tuna, swordfish and other products at the US port of entry. US Customs and Border Protection officials said that the “detention order” prohibiting imports also applies to the company’s other end-use products containing seafood, such as canned tuna and pet food.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Majorcas, said the move marked the first time that the United States Customs and Border Protection had banned imports from the entire fishing fleet, rather than individual vessels that it used to target.

Majorcas said at a press conference: “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to actively investigate the use of forced labor by fishing boats in distant waters and many other industries.” “Manufacturers and US importers should be aware of attempts to exploit workers. There will be consequences for entities selling goods in the United States.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said that the agency’s investigation revealed that many Indonesian workers employed by the Dalian Ocean Fishing Fleet found conditions that were far from what they expected, and suffered physical violence, wage withholding, debt bondage, and abusive work and work. living condition.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that the United States will strengthen its accountability system for those who use forced labor, “explore individuals for benefits,” and ensure that “the silent are heard and protection”.

The statement said: “Today’s action helps prevent human rights violators from profiting from forced labor.” “This is another example of measures taken by the United States to address harmful fishing practices.”

.@CBP Due to evidence that it was involved in forced labor, China announced restrictions on the seafood products of China’s Dalian Ocean Fishing Company. The international community must fight forced labor anywhere, including fisheries. https://t.co/Fnj8qlgvKm https://t.co/qNrI6zo2UD

—Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) May 28, 2021

Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai drew attention to the issue of forced labor on fishing boats and proposed a new proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to curb subsidies for illegal fishing and asked members to The country recognizes this problem.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that the US imports from Dalian ocean-going fishing are very small, only 233,000 US dollars in the 2020 fiscal year.

However, following the recent numerous import bans related to China’s detention of Uighur Muslims in remote Xinjiang, the issue of forced labor is becoming a growing problem in the tense Sino-US relationship. The move came less than two days after Dai Bingguo had a preliminary dialogue with China’s Vice Premier Liu He.

The Trump administration announced a total ban on the import of all cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang in the last week of taking office in January, on the grounds that these products are produced by Uyghur forced labor. This is a far-reaching measure that requires clothing and textiles. The industry takes action. Rearrange their supply chain.