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Article

6 Apr 2016

Author:
Tim Fernholz, Quartz (USA)

US border agents seize shipment of Chinese soda ash - claim it was produced by forced prison labour

"US border agents seized goods tied to forced labor for the first time since 2001", 29 March 2016

US border agents seized a shipment of soda ash from China today, alleging that it was produced by forced prison labor...by the Tangshan Sanyou Group, a Chinese corporation. The agency said it had information “indicating that the Tangshan Sanyou Group and its subsidiaries utilize convict labor in the production of the merchandise”....

The seizure marks the first time since 2001 that US Customs has impounded goods connected to forced labor. They were able to act because president Barack Obama signed a law in January that removed a loophole which made it almost impossible to enforce laws against the importation of goods made with forced labor or by children.

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