
NEW YORK, Oct 2 — The United States has blocked the import of goods from Malaysia and other four countries including China, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazil.
The blocked items are suspected to have been made with forced labour from these five countries, including clothing from China and diamonds from Zimbabwe, Thomson Reuters Foundation quoted officials saying today following a rare crackdown on slave labour abroad.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized five different products this week based on information indicating the goods were made using slave labour overseas.
The other items included rubber gloves made in Malaysia, gold mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and bone black — charred animal bones — manufactured in Brazil.
Under a 2016 law, it is illegal to import goods into the United States that are made entirely or in part by forced labour — which includes prison work, bonded labour and child labour. — Thomson Reuters Foundation