On January 29, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) targeting coffee harvested by Finca Monte Grande, a coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico. This enforcement action, issued under 19 U.S.C. § 1307, reflects a continued focus by CBP on preventing the entry of foreign-made products associated with forced labor into U.S. commerce.
Under the WRO, CBP personnel at all U.S. ports of entry are instructed to detain shipments of coffee from Finca Monte Grande effective immediately, pending documentation that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor. The order stems from a CBP investigation in which the agency reviewed evidence – including worker interview transcripts, questionnaires, reports from international organizations and NGOs, and open-source news accounts – indicating that workers at the farm were subject to six International Labour Organization indicators of forced labor, such as retention of identity documents, debt bondage, excessive overtime, withholding of wages, and abusive working and living conditions.
CBP’s action underscores the agency’s broader enforcement of forced labor trade law, which empowers it to detain or exclude imported goods when there is reasonable indication that they were made wholly or in part with forced labor. Importers of detained coffee now face options including exporting or destroying the shipments, or providing evidence to demonstrate compliance with U.S. forced labor prohibitions.
This development highlights the growing regulatory scrutiny on supply chain labor practices and reinforces the importance for global businesses to implement robust due-diligence and compliance measures to mitigate forced labor risks.
Official media release issued by CBP:
CBP issues WRO against Finca Monte Grande | U.S. Customs and Border Protection