Courtesy of Tobacco Association of Malawi
Malawi: Premium Burley to the World
Sun-drying racks.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) modified its withhold release order which banned tobacco imports Malawi. Now tobacco from Premium Tobacco Malawi Ltd. (PTML) are admissible at all US ports of entry.
The modification applies only to tobacco harvested by Club Growers in Malawi. The withhold release order continues to apply to tobacco imports from Malawi by any company that has not demonstrated to CBP that its supply chain is free of forced labor.
CBP in November 2019 prohibited tobacco imports from Malawi to the US based on suspicion that they were produced using forced labor and forced child labor.
This is the third time CBP modified the withhold release order on tobacco from Malawi. The first time allowed imports of tobacco from Alliance One International starting in June 2020, followed by another modification in August 2020 to allow imports from Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company.
John Leonard, acting executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade, said, “CBP’s forced labor enforcement efforts continue to effect positive change for workers around the globe. Eliminating forced labor from our supply chains prevents the abuse of vulnerable workers, safeguards the competitiveness of law-abiding businesses, and protects consumers from unethically made products.”