“Using the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house: 307 petitions as a human rights tool”, 31 August 2020

On July 15, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) for rubber gloves produced by two subsidiaries of Top Glove … based on reasonable belief that the subsidiaries were using forced labor … In issuing this WRO, CBP blocked all imports of these rubber gloves into the US, closing the companies’ access to the US market.

Section 307 of the Tariff Act

Section 307 is a part of the Tariff Act of 1930. It … means that CBP can prohibit any good that has been manufactured even in part by forced or prison labor from entering the US.

Top Glove’s Remediation

… [T]wo weeks after the WRO had been issued, Top Glove started to state publicly that it would remediate recruitment fees – as much as $12.65 million (53 million ringgit) to be paid to 10,000 workers -- and would improve workers’ accommodations…

[This] is a tangible example of how Section 307 can be leveraged as a rights-promoting tool, and not just a tool for protectionism…

Are we using the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house?

… [However] there are clear tensions for civil society organizations that try to leverage the Tariff Act.

… a WRO, if issued without accompanying efforts that push companies to make changes that benefit their workers, can have devastating consequences for workers and local economies…

… CBP: it is the same agency that terrorizes families on the border. It is a part of the Department of Homeland Security …

Third, the fact that the remedy under Section 307 is under CBP’s sole control means that at most civil society may be able to influence the outcome, but not make the final decision…

Lastly … CBP needs to issue a greater number of WROs on a regular basis -- and include remediation requirements as in the Top Glove case -- in order to make it a more powerful tool.