Anti-Forced Labor Group Opposes US Extension Request at CAFC in WRO Case
Anti-forced labor group International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reject the government's request for a two-month delay in filing a reply brief in the group's suit seeking CBP to respond to a withhold release order petition to ban cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire. IRAdvocates claimed that every "major delay in CBP doing its statutory duty to ban the importation of cocoa harvested by child slaves condemns thousands of children to a continuation of the horrible condition they must endure" (International Rights Advocates v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-2316).
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The government is seeking an extension until Feb. 20 to file its reply brief, telling the court that the time is needed to establish "full review within the concerned bureaucracies." In response, IRAdvocates said the lengthy delay isn't warranted in "light of the serious consequences of delaying resolution of this case," as well as the government's "prior extensive delays in briefing" and the advocacy group's offer of a two-week extension.
The U.S. "should be required to have a more compelling reason for a two-month delay than bureaucratic necessity," IRAdvocates said in its Dec. 4 opposition, claiming prejudice by the excessive delay request.
The Court of International Trade dismissed the group's suit in August for lack of standing, finding that IRAdvocates failed to show that CBP's inaction harmed a "core business or diminished any asset" (see 2408080049). The group appealed its question of standing before the Federal Circuit, though should that fail, counsel for IRAdvocates said the group could seek out child laborers in Cote d'Ivoire to bring a similar suit.