On December 4, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a forced labor finding concerning aluminum extrusions and profile products produced wholly or in part by Kingtom Aluminio S.R.L. (“Kingtom”), a Chinese-owned aluminum extruder in the Dominican Republic. Effective December 4, CBP will seize any articles that are covered by CBP’s forced labor finding and commence asset forfeiture proceedings unless the importer shows with satisfactory evidence that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.
19 U.S.C. § 1307 prohibits the importation of any product “mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor.” Forced labor is defined to include any “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.” To enforce this prohibition, CBP can issue withhold release orders or forced labor findings, among others, and require the seizure of the products covered by those orders/findings.
CBP’s investigation was initiated upon a petition filed by the Aluminum Extruder Council and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union. According to a press release, during its investigation CBP identified issues concerning multiple International Labour Organization forced labor indicators, including withholding of wages and restriction of movement, in Kingtom’s facilities. As a result, CBP concluded that there is sufficient information to support its finding that Kingtom is using forced labor in the Dominican Republic to produce aluminum extrusions and profile products and derivatives, and that such products are being imported into the United States. These products are “used widely to build transportation and construction products, furniture, electronics, and more.”
Unlike withhold release orders, reexporting the goods will not be an option for products covered by this forced labor finding. According to CBP’s notice, the finding covers “aluminum extrusions and profile products and derivatives produced or manufactured wholly or in part with aluminum and articles thereof classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7604.21.0010, 7604.29.1010, 7604.29.3060, 7604.29.5050, 7604.29.5090, 7608.20.0090, 7610.90.0080 and any other relevant subheadings under Chapter 76, which are produced or manufactured wholly or in part by” Kingtom.