Watchdog calls for US import ban as forced labor persists in Dominican sugarcane fields

A human rights group has called for the U.S. to reinstate a ban on imports of sugar and related products made by Central Romana Corporation, Ltd., the largest employer and landowner in the Dominican Republic. The nonprofit Corporate Accountability Lab found that forced labor persists on the company's massive sugarcane plantations, which export products to the U.S., its largest market.

The group estimates that up to 8,000 workers toil in the company's sugarcane fields, spanning over 173,700 acres. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously accused the company of isolating workers, withholding wages, fostering abusive working and living conditions, and pushing for excessive overtime. The ban was reversed under the Trump administration, but the nonprofit is urging the U.S. government to reinstate it, stating that as long as these well-positioned interests continue to enjoy market access while ignoring labor rights abuses, U.S. policy will remain complicit in the abuse.

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