MPOC Calls on EU to Reconsider Stance on Sustainable Palm Oil

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) notes with concern the European Parliament’s decision to vote in favour of new rules on deforestation and renewable energy, which will punish palm oil producers and accelerate the EU’s planned ban on palm oil biofuels. The EU’s new deforestation regulations require companies to ensure that products sold in the…

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Malaysian Palm Oil Comment on USTR’s Trade Strategy to Combat Forced Labor

Key Highlights: Malaysia and the United States should convene a bilateral forum that specifically addresses forced labour in supply chains. Malaysia and the United States should leverage existing standards infrastructure to create a framework for forced labour and palm oil that is compatible with trade agreements and raise labour standards in trade agreements. This framework…

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Petition to U.S. CBP against Malaysian Palm Oil Lacks Transparency; Significant Errors Found

In the third part of this series, we look at NGO petitions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on palm oil as a means of blocking palm oil shipments. Over the past three years there have been two major petitions made to CBP on this issue. One came from the law firm Grant and…

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U.S. Dept of Labor’s Malaysian Palm Oil Assessment: Hammer Searching For A Nail?

In this second blog in our four-part series, we look at how the U.S. Department of Labor has approached the Malaysian palm oil sector. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) undertakes assessments of slave labour and child labour around the world. One of these is the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act ‘list of goods’ that the…

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U.S. State Department Report: Misleading; Not Transparent; Error-Filled; Must Be Revised

The recently released Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) by the U.S. State Department failed at its most basic test: to take into account reforms made by the Malaysian government, specifically the Ministry for Plantation Industries and Commodities, in governing the sector in accordance with international best practices on labour rights. The State Department has not…

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Malaysian Palm Oil Response to U.S. State Department Labor Rights Assertions

This is the first blog in a four-part series that assess the claims made by three U.S. government agencies against Malaysian palm oil on labour issues. U.S. Department of Labor U.S. State Department U.S. Customs and Border Protection These blogs summarize a lengthy rebuttal to these claims published by MPOC. Background and Context The Malaysian…

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Malaysian Palm Oil Council Releases Analysis of U.S. Labour Claims

Today, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) is releasing the findings of an analysis that uncovers significant shortcomings in the data and sources cited, and used, by U.S. authorities in their criticism of the labour situation in Malaysia’s palm oil sector. The analysis finds that the data and evidence presented by U.S. authorities, and the…

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Malaysia’s MSPO Takes Big Steps on Labour Rights Compliance

The new and revised MSPO standard has been launched by the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council in Malaysia. The new revised standards – the MSPO 2021 series — are the most significant changes to the standard since it was introduced in 2013.  The revision process commenced in 2019 and went through a comprehensive process according…

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Malaysia’s Leaders Set the Course on Labour Rights with Biden Administration

On the sidelines of the U.S. – ASEAN Summit, the Malaysian Government held bilateral discussions with the Biden Administration on the need to address forced labour in Malaysia. The discussions between Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and Custom and Border…

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U.S. Dept of Labor Claims Against Malaysian Palm Oil: Separating Fact from Fiction

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) is kicking off a new $5 million project in Malaysia to Combat Forced Labor and Child Labor in the Production of Goods in Malaysia. The 4 ½ year project has been awarded to Social Accountability International (SAI) and Proforest – two NGOs with significant experience in this subject area.…

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