Sara A. Carter:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has collected $575,000 in penalties from Pure Circle U.S.A., Inc., a company that imported ‘forced labor products’ from China, according to a press release
“As part of its trade enforcement responsibilities, CBP will hold companies accountable for importing goods produced with forced labor,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade.
“Companies have a responsibility to proactively monitor their supply chains to mitigate the risk of importing goods into the United States that were produced with forced labor.”
Pure Circle imported stevia produced in China by Inner Mongolia Hengzheng Group Baoanzhao Agricultural and Trade LLC, according to CBP. CBP began investigating the imports after it was alerted by a nongovernmental organization to its alleged inhumane activities. Later, CBP issued a Withhold Release Order on those products. MORE
Hey joe get these guys off our backs, isn’t that what we pay you and the drug addict for?
OK, now let’s see similar actions on U.S. companies that profit from U.S. prison labor. Working convicts make on average a bit less than $1.00 per hour, and some make the handsome wage of $0.00 per hour.
I have no particular objection to making convicts work so long as that’s a specifically stated part of a sentence, but that’s not the way it works unfortunately.