NGO asks US government to bar squid imports from vessel implicated in Outlaw Ocean Project forced labor investigation

The Human Trafficking Legal Center is asking the US government to bar imports of squid harvested using forced labor by the Zhen Fa 7, a Chinese distant water squid fishing vessel identified in an investigation conducted by the Outlaw Ocean Project.

The NGO submitted a Withhold Release Order (WRO) petition to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, requesting it prevent imports from entering the United States.

A WRO prevents imports from entering the United States due to “reasonable but not conclusive” evidence that forced labor was used in the overseas production of the goods.