The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Withhold Release Order for goods from the Linglong tire manufacturing factory in Zrenjanin. This measure takes effect immediately, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will detain shipments of these tires at all U.S. ports due to evidence that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor in their production, according to the statement.
“The message is clear – the USA will not tolerate forced labor in the supply chain,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.
This order, the fifth in 2025 and the second in fiscal 2026, was issued due to U.S. law that prohibits the import of goods produced by forced labor. When CBP has evidence indicating that imported goods were made by forced labor, the agency reacts by detaining those shipments via a Withhold Release Order, N1 reports.
This specific order is the result of a CBP investigation that showed the tire manufacturer Linglong uses forced labor.
CBP analyzed worker statements, photographs, employee contracts, screenshots of SMS messages, NGO reports, media reports, and academic research, the statement said.
When everything is taken into account, workers at Linglong were subject to nine indicators of forced labor of the International Labor Organization: withholding of identification documents, intimidation and threats, isolation, overtime work, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive living and working conditions, deception, and abuse of vulnerability, it is pointed out.
It is added that importers of detained shipments can request the destruction or export of their shipments or attempt to prove that the goods were not produced by forced labor.
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Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Printscreen YouTube / N1