US senators demand action after AP exposes palm oil abuses

Lawmakers said Friday that the U.S. government needs to ban the import of products made with child or forced labor after an Associated Press investigation found widespread exploitation in the palm oil industry, from debt bondage to outright slavery.

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden —who spearheaded efforts to close a loophole in a federal law that had allowed the import of products made with forced labor— also called on companies that buy goods tainted by labor abuses to be held accountable.

“The federal government needs to enforce this law and investigate all instances of forced labor in supply chains and block imports made with forced labor from coming into the U.S.,” said Brown, an Ohio Democrat. “In addition to strong government enforcement, corporations need to hold themselves accountable.”

An Associated Press investigation into the $65 billion palm oil industry found labor abuses among an invisible workforce consisting of millions of men, women and children from some of the poorest corners of Asia, including stateless Rohingya Muslims sold onto plantations after fleeing persecution in their homeland. The fruit they harvest makes its way into the supply chains of the planet’s most iconic food and cosmetics companies like Unilever, L’Oreal, Nestle and Procter & Gamble.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-senators-demand-action-ap-213535016.html