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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp TPGC.KL said on Friday it has been allowed to resume sales to the United States, after customs authorities lifted a year-long ban imposed for alleged forced labour found at the world’s largest medical glove maker.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had banned gloves made by Top Glove in July 2020, saying it had found abuses of migrant workers, including debt bondage, in the production process.
Top Glove said in a statement its disposable gloves would be admissible at all U.S. ports of entry as of Sept. 10.
Its shares jumped 10% in early trade on Friday.
The company cited a CBP notice filed to the U.S. Federal Register, saying the customs agency had determined upon additional information that Top Glove’s products were no longer being produced by forced labour.
The notice is available on the Federal Register website. The CBP was not immediately available for comment outside U.S. business hours.
Top Glove said in April it had resolved all eleven indicators of forced labour as determined by the International Labour Organisation, citing a report by independent consultant Impactt Limited.
Top Glove has taken a hit to reputation and business from the U.S. shipping ban. Its glove production in Malaysia has dropped, and a plan to list its shares in Hong Kong delayed.
Reuters reported in June that Top Glove’s plans to raise up to $1 billion in the Hong Kong offering was delayed because of the ban. Top Glove said last month it planned to renew a lapsed application to list in Hong Kong.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Tom Hogue)
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