TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN) — Giant Group CEO Phoebe Liu and the company's Chief Legal Officer, Daniel Chen, met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on March 5 to discuss the Withhold Release Order that has banned U.S. imports from Giant's Taiwan factories since September.
CBP issued the WRO because of alleged labor violations at the factories. Since then, Giant — and other Taiwan manufacturers — have reformed some practices, including ending the withholding of recruitment fees from foreign workers' pay, and reimbursing workers and former workers for recruitment fees they've paid in the past. Giant also has opened new migrant worker dorms in Taiwan and has hired an independent auditor to assess its labor practices.
The company said the "the discussion was constructive and productive," and said the CBP told Giant the case was a priority and that additional personnel had been assigned to the case.
"At the outset of the meeting, Ms. Liu paid tribute to Giant’s founder, King Liu, reaffirming the company’s continued commitment to the core values he established, including integrity, trustworthiness, proactiveness, efficiency, and resilience," Giant said in a statement. King Liu passed away last month at 93.
According to Giant's statement, the company told CBP that a timely completion of the investigation and lifting the WRO was important for the business and also "for maintaining public confidence in the WRO process."
The company gave no indication of when the order might be lifted.
In Giant's most recent statement of operating revenue with the Taipei stock exchange, it reported that its January revenue was NT$3.67 billion ($115.3 million), which was down 22% from the same month last year. The revenue statement does not include profitability data and makes no mention of the WRO. The Giant board will review the company's fourth-quarter financials at a meeting on Friday.
