U.S. lifts import ban on Malaysian glove maker Brightway 

KUALA LUMPUR – The United States has lifted a ban on Malaysian glove maker Brightway Group, allowing the firm to resume sales of its products in the country nearly three years after being sanctioned for alleged labour abuses.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had barred imports of disposable gloves produced by three Brightway subsidiaries in December 2021 over suspected forced labour practices.

In a statement issued late on Friday, the CBP said Brightway and its subsidiaries have been allowed to resume exports to the United States from Oct. 11 after the company had “taken actions to fully remediate the forced labour indicators within its manufacturing process”.

Brightway did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2021, the CBP said 10 of the 11 forced labour indicators identified by the International Labour Organization had been found in Brightway’s production process.   

The ILO’s forced labour indicators include excessive hours, debt bondage, physical and sexual violence, and abusive working and living conditions. The CBP did not specify in its 2021 statement which 10 of the 11 indicators it said had been breached.

Malaysia, a big producer of medical gloves, depends on millions of migrant workers for its factories but has faced allegations of exploitation across key export-oriented industries over the years.