UPDATED: CBP issues withhold release order on tomatoes produced by farm in Mexico
UPDATED: Effective Oct. 21, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at all U.S. ports of entry will detain fresh tomatoes produced by the tomato farm Agropecuarios Tom S.A. de C.V., and Horticola S.A de C.V., and their subsidiaries, according to a statement from the agency.
CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Agropecuarios, Horticola, and their subsidiaries based on information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor against its workers, according to the statement. The statement said CBP identified at least five of the International Labor Organization’s indicators of forced labor during its investigation, including abuse of vulnerability, deception, withholding of wages, debt bondage, and abusive working and living conditions. This WRO will only affect fresh tomato imports into the United States from this specific farm and its subsidiaries.
“The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement established a strong framework for CBP to work closely with our Mexican and Canadian counterparts,” said Troy Miller, CBP Acting Commissioner. “We trust that the foundations we’ve built with our Mexican partners will allow for a collaborative and multi-lateral response to forced labor enforcement actions within North American supply chains.”
Federal statute 19 U.S.C. 1307 prohibits the importation of merchandise produced, wholly or in part, by convict labor, forced labor, and/or indentured labor, including forced or indentured child labor. CBP detains shipments of goods suspected of being imported in violation of this statute. Importers of detained shipments have the opportunity to export their shipments or demonstrate that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.
In October 2020, the CBP statement said Mexican authorities took action against allegations of forced labor conditions on the same tomato farm, demonstrating the Mexican government’s shared commitment to protecting the human rights of workers.
Reuters has reported that Mexico’s government indicated on Oct. 22 that it has established a working group to look into the allegations of forced labor at the two tomato export firms.
FPAA statement
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, said the action by U.S. Customs and Border Protection won't materially impact tomato supplies from Mexico.
The FPAA released a statement about the action:
Social responsibility, including fair and just treatment of employees, is important no matter where in the world a company is doing business - A message from the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
The Fresh Produce Association of America (FPAA) supports the strong enforcement tools used by U.S. Customs and Border protection to both safeguard our ports of entry and to investigate and enforce the fair treatment of people working across supply chains. The FPAA also supports collaboration between CBP and the Government of Mexico for these and other important issues under the strong framework of established trade agreements.
Social responsibility, including fair and just treatment of employees, is important no matter where in the world a company is doing business. Consistent with these values, our members work with their suppliers to provide consumers around the world with safe and healthy fresh fruits and vegetable grown in a socially responsible manner.
The FPAA also works to prevent abuses by providing education programs on the labor supply chain and social responsibility best practices. Our most recent event on October 15 was held in conjunction with Alianza Hortofrutícola Internacional para el Fomento de la Responsabilidad Social (AHIFORES) to educate companies on Mexican labor standards, USMCA labor provisions, the importance of social responsibility programs, and companies’ responsibilities to their employees.
