Impact on supply chain due to US order on palm oil firms worries MPOC

 

Larry Sng (second from right) with the US CBP representatives Eric Choy (extreme left) and John Leonard (third from left) and others at the meeting in Washington last month.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has conveyed its concerns to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency on how the Withhold Release Order (WRO) issued by the body on two oil palm companies may impact others in the supply chain, said Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Larry Sng.

He said this was among the many issues he discussed at the meetings last month that he had with representatives from the US Department of Labour, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the State Department in Washington over allegations that the firms were using forced labour.

“Although we didn’t discuss specifics in relation to the companies that were affected by the WRO, we did however discuss supply chain issues.

“We are concerned about how the WRO could potentially impact other Malaysian companies that may not have been issued with the order but will nonetheless face issues with their goods at the US ports,” he told FMT.

The US slapped two palm oil-linked companies — Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and FGV Holdings Bhd — with the WRO after claiming to have evidence of forced labour.

Last week, CBP’s acting executive director of trade remedy and law enforcement Eric Choy told a virtual press conference with the Malaysian media that Sng had met the agency’s officials to discuss the WRO issue.

Choy said remedying forced labour findings was not an overnight process as it involved significant financial investments by the affected firms, which meant they would have to restructure their companies in the process.

Sng said the dialogue he had with CBP was to deepen Malaysia’s understanding of the agency’s goals and to convey the nation’s palm oil sector’s commitment to address issues related to forced labour.

“The process of resolving the WRO is unclear to many of our industry captains. I am glad that after our discussions with the CBP, we have gained some clarity on ways the industry ought to move forward to address these issues.”

He described the discussions in Washington as positive and said he had since had another meeting earlier this month with the representatives of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association to share his insights from the dialogue.

“I am confident that our companies are doing their very best to compile their reports to the CBP.

“By next month, one of the affected companies will be submitting its report to the US agency,” he said. - FMT