US Seizes Imports of Chinese Sweetener After Finding Forced Labor Was Used

On October 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it found “conclusive evidence” a Chinese company used forced labor to make the sweetener stevia, and ordered American ports to seize all shipments. The agency said in a statement on October 20 that after an investigation, CBP had determined that Inner Mongolia Hengzheng Group Baoanzhao Agriculture, Industry and Trade Co. used convict, forced, or indentured labor to produce stevia extracts and derivatives. It added that those products are being, or are likely to be imported to the United States. Stevia is a plant extract used as a sweetener in sodas and other foods. The investigation arose after the agency received a tip-off in 2016 from a non-government organization that stevia produced by the Chinese company was made with prison labor. That year, the CBP issued a detention order on imported stevia produced by Baoanzhao based on “reasonable but inconclusive proof” of forced labor.