The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade has banned all shipments of palm oil from Malaysian-owned Sime Darby Plantation.
The U.S. agency found evidence of forced labor and other abuses at the company's plantations.
The ban includes shipments from Sime Darby's local subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates. The U.S. trade agency said that its monthslong investigation into the company "reasonably indicates" that workers at Sime Darby were being abused.
The agency said workers were subjected to abuses such as sexual violence, physical abuse, movement restrictions, threats, debt bondage, excessive overtime and withholding of waves. Investigators also found out that the abuses were "systemic" and occurred at many plantations.
"Importers should know that there are reputational, financial, and legal risks associated with importing goods made by forced labor into the U.S.," agency executive director Ana Hinojosa said.
The U.S. federal government imposed a similar restriction on imports from Malaysia palm oil producer FGV Holdings.
Malaysia is one of the largest suppliers of palm oil to the U.S. Over the past year, the U.S. had imported roughly $410 million worth of crude palm oil from the country - a third of all imports.
Dozens of nonprofit organizations petitioned to boycott the country's palm oil following reports of serious labor abuses. A report from The Associated Press revealed that workers from Malaysian plans were victims of abuses such as child labor, rape and slavery.
Malaysia currently produces about 85% of the world's palm oil - the most consumed type of vegetable oil. Palm oil is used in everyday products including cosmetics, plywood, pesticides, animal feed, hand sanitizers and biofuels.
