In the past year, China has exported a substantial amount of Argentinian shrimp to the United States, raising concerns from the Southern Shrimp Alliance about potential human rights abuses and forced labor in the supply chain.

The Trans-Pacific Journey

Chinese processing plants have played a crucial role in the Argentinian shrimp supply chain. The shrimp, caught by Argentinian fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean, are transported to China for processing. Once processed, they make their way back across the Pacific to the United States.

Recent revelations have raised concerns about the origin of some of these shrimp. Bills of lading indicate that a portion of the shrimp passed through China’s Shandong province, which has been linked to members of the Uyghur minority, who have been relocated from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) to Shandong.

Consumer Implications

American consumers have no means of identifying whether the product was packed in Shandong, due to current labeling laws.

To combat this, the Southern Shrimp Alliance has petitioned the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) to include eight Chinese seafood processing plants in Shandong on the Entity List, as stipulated by the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA). This move would presume that seafood exported by these entities is produced through forced labor, consequently prohibiting its importation into the United States. Importers would need to demonstrate that their Chinese suppliers do not utilize Uyghur labor to override this presumption.

Formal Recognition of Seafood as a Priority Sector

Furthermore, the Southern Shrimp Alliance has also petitioned the FLETF to formally recognize seafood as a priority sector for UFLPA enforcement. Such a designation would ensure that the safeguards provided by the UFLPA extend to all seafood processing plants in China, regardless of their location within the country.