THE US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has lifted an import ban against Malaysia-listed glove manufacturer Supermax Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries on the back of a “successful remediation of forced labour indicators in the company’s supply chain”. 

Supermax’s wholly-owned units are Supermax Glove Manufacturing, Maxter Glove Manufacturing and Maxwell Glove Manufacturing.

Effective immediately on Tuesday (Sep 19), the CBP will allow the imports of disposable gloves manufactured by Supermax Corporation Bhd and its wholly-owned subsidiaries to enter the country, provided they are otherwise in compliance with the respective laws, the authority said. 

The US CBP had put in place, since October 2021, a withhold release order (WRO) against Supermax, based on information that reasonably indicated the company’s use of forced labour in its manufacturing operations. 

The authority had reportedly found the presence of 10 of the 11 International Labour Organization indicators of forced labour. 

In response to the WRO, the company demonstrated to the US CBP that it has taken steps to remediate the forced labour indicators identified in its supply chain.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Apart from Supermax, a number of other Malaysian glove makers such as Smart Glove, Brightway Group and YTY Group have also had run-ins with the US CBP. 

Singapore-listed Top Glove was also one of the companies that was slapped with a WRO from the US CBP. The order was lifted in September 2020. 

Shares of Supermax ended Wednesday higher on the Bursa Malaysia, gaining 5.6 per cent or RM0.045 to finish at RM0.855.