According to the latest reports, the government of the United States has blocked imports of seafood from China. The reports suggest that the government of the US has issued the statement on Friday, May 28, 2021. As per the statement, an entire fleet of a company from China has been blocked from shipping seafood to the US ports.
The government of the United States has alleged the particular Chinese shipping company for using forced labor. The government has also stated that the particular company is treating its workers like slaves during their work.
The government of the United States has also alleged that due to the forced labor, several fishermen have lost their lives. The report suggests that the fisherman who lost their lives are from Indonesia, and the incidents occurred last year.
As a result, Customs and Border Protection has made an official statement in regards to imports from the particular company. The regulatory authority has announced that with immediate effect, it has ceased all importing activities from the particular company.
The reports have confirmed that the name of the Chinese company in Dalian Ocean Fishing. The company reportedly operates 30 vessels for delivering seafood to the United States of America. The regulatory authority has quoted the United States law while blocking the imports from Dalian Ocean Fishing.
According to the law, if the United States Government suspects forced labor being conducted at any company linked with it. It is to cease all trade activities until the issue has been dealt with.
The Dalian Ocean Fishing mainly ships high-quality fish to the United States ports and high-grade tuna on top of the list. Back in 2018, the imports from Dalian to the United States exceeded the $20 million benchmark.
Afterward, the shipments experienced a significant drop in the years 2019 and 2020. The reason behind the drop in the shipment rate was Dalian’s focus on the Asian markets. As Dalian started focusing more on Asian markets, its shipments to the US in 2019 came down to $1.8 million. Then in 2020, the shipment figure dropped to $321,000, and then $763,000 from the start of 2021 until April 30.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security Secretary talked about the recent developments against the Dalian Ocean Fishing Company. Mayorkas stated that under no circumstances they would ever tolerate or ignore any acts of violence or forced labor.
Therefore, they will not link, let alone work with a company that is responsible for promoting forced labor by not doing anything to stop it. He stated that the United States Government and its oppositions stand united against such acts and they will not deal with Dalian until the matter has been dealt with.