U.S. blocks Jordan garment shipments over forced-labor risks

U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked garments from two Jordanian factories tied to Columbia and Under Armour, ordering ports of entry to detain shipments made by Needle Craft Ltd. and Casual Wear Apparel LLC. The move landed immediately and puts the brands’ sourcing choices under a hard new test: prove the goods were not made with forced labor, or lose the merchandise to destruction or export.

CBP said the June 23 orders were its fifth and sixth Withhold Release Orders of fiscal 2026, bringing its tally to 58 WROs and eight Findings under 19 U.S.C. § 1307. That law bars goods made with forced labor from entering the United States. In this case, CBP said the record showed seven International Labour Organization indicators, including retention of identity documents, excessive overtime, intimidation and threats, physical and sexual violence, withholding of wages, restriction of movement, and abusive living and working conditions.

The evidence package CBP cited was broad and ugly in the way these cases usually are when they reach enforcement: media reports, official Jordanian government documents, company statements, videos, photographs, victim statements, public reports and NGO submissions. For workers, the allegations reach into the daily mechanics of a factory floor and the life built around it, from passports held by management to pay held back at the end of the week, to housing and work conditions so harsh they become part of the abuse itself.

The brands have been in the frame for more than two years. In April 2024, Under Armour and Columbia were linked to forced-labor claims at Needle Craft after the death by suicide of Tureza Akter, a 21-year-old Bangladeshi worker who had been employed at the site in Jordan. The allegations attached to that case were severe: passport withholding, fines for missing impossible production targets, 16-hour shifts, seven days a week, sexual harassment, and misleading promises about pay. American Eagle also said it used the factory and would take remedial action.

The latest enforcement step raises the pressure on Columbia and Under Armour to say exactly which suppliers remain active, what corrective action has actually been taken, and how oversight is changing on the ground. In May 2026, both brands withdrew a brand-commissioned investigation into Needle Craft and Fine Apparel and moved ahead with an internal remediation plan. With the WRO in place, every detained carton now carries a practical consequence for sourcing: the shipment stops, the supply chain slows, and any attempt to resume trade will depend on evidence that the labor abuses have been addressed, not just acknowledged.