U.S. bans Giant bicycles over forced labor claims

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an order on Wednesday to halt shipments of Giant's bicycles from Taiwan under a law prohibiting goods made with forced labour from entering the United States.

CBP said its investigation identified abuse of vulnerability, abusive working and living conditions, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and excessive overtime.

"Giant profited by imposing such abuse, resulting in goods produced below market value and undercutting American businesses by millions of dollars in unjustly earned profits," the agency said in a statement announcing the order. 

The CBP did not provide details on its investigation. However, interviews conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor with Vietnamese and Thai migrant workers at Giant's Taichung factory in 2024 revealed multiple cases of alleged forced labor practices. 

The report said the company was "communicative and partially committed" on addressing some of the issues, including no longer withholding wages and renovating workers' dormitories. However, the report concluded that it declined to reimburse workers whose salaries were withheld, meaning the risk of debt bondage was 'still real'.

Giant said on Thursday that it is 'actively clarifying the facts' and that the ban does not cover products made in the company's facilities in China, Vietnam, Hungary, and the Netherlands.

"Giant Group is firmly committed to upholding human rights and labor protections," the company said in a statement, adding that it has made internal reforms to ensure its operations meet international labor standards.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Wednesday that it will work with the Ministry of Labour to assist Giant and "quickly resolve any possible forced labor concerns".

"As a responsible member of global supply chains, Taiwan has long attached great importance to improving labor conditions, and will continue to work with the Ministry of Labor to create a worker-friendly environment," the ministry said in a statement.

Founded in Taichung in 1972, Giant is the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. It has nearly 4 million bikes worldwide with more than $2.3 billion sales last year.