CBP Issues WRO Against Mauritius Clothing Supplier Firemount

CBP said in Nov. 18 press release that it will immediately detain all garments, apparel and textiles coming from Firemount factories in Mauritius. Workers at these factories were subjected to four International Labor Organization indicators, including abuse of vulnerability, debt bondage, deception, and intimidation and threats, CBP said.

CBP said that it came to the conclusion Firemount was using forced labor after analyzing supporting evidence, which included interviews, open-source nongovernment organization reports, news media reporting, and academic research.

“Not only is forced labor inhumane, but it also creates unfair competition that harms American businesses and consumers,” said acting Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan Thomas, of CBP’s Office of Trade. “As America’s frontline for border and economic security, CBP stands ready to enforce our laws and ensure a level playing field.”

This is the fourth WRO that CBP has issued in 2025.

Labor rights group Transparentem released a 2023 report detailing abuses against workers at Firemount factories. It said that many workers were forced to pay recruitment fees in their home countries and then were paid substantially less than advertised when they arrived in Mauritius, trapping the workers in debt bondage.

Transparentem reported that workers complained of overcrowded and dirty living conditions and excessive heat in the factories themselves. Workers did report improvements in living and working conditions as the investigation concluded, the report said.

Firemount disputed much of Transparentem's report but said it had made improvements to working conditions by providing "additional fans" and to living conditions through "increased frequency of cleaning."

As for recruitment fees, Firemount disputed the number of employees subject to them and the amounts they had paid, but said, despite this, it had undertaken to reimburse "an amount" to workers relating to expenses "that meet the definition of recruitment fees." The company pointed to a notice it had sent to all workers that warned against recruitment fees, but the notice also contained a message that workers who had paid them would be fired, a message that Transparentem said "could intimidate workers from disclosing that they paid recruitment fees, and thus hinder remedy."

Transparentem released a follow-up report in 2024 that said that "no workers reported receiving any significant repayments for these recruitment fees." Workers continued to report abusive living conditions, the report said, highlighting "the continuation of problems such as overcrowding in worker dormitories, dirty and/or too few bathrooms, and bed bugs."

Tara Winter, executive director of Transparentem, told International Trade Today that, "despite our continuous efforts to engage and encourage those companies, Firemount and its buyers never ensured workers were reimbursed for recruitment fees." She said that the company had not taken sufficient action to alleviate working conditions and that "many abusive conditions continued." The company's response, she said, "stands in stark contrast to another Mauritian apparel manufacturer we investigated, where three buyers joined together to contribute to reimbursing significant recruitment fees to workers."

"Blocking goods from entering the United States should be a last resort when efforts to resolve risks of forced labor have proven inadequate," Winter said. "In this case, we commend CBP for taking action. All current and former buyers should work together with Firemount to reimburse workers for significant recruitment fees."

Firemount didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.