By KHT Staff. Images via Wikimedia Commons.
KAOHSIUNG — Taiwan’s bicycle manufacturers are changing who pays to recruit migrant workers, following a U.S. customs order that stopped Giant’s Taiwan-made products at the border. The response has included refunds to workers already employed, compensation programs for former employees and wider industry reviews of labor practices.
One year after the order, the question extends beyond whether companies have adopted new policies. It is whether workers receive the money they are owed and can report problems without putting their jobs at risk.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued its withhold release order against Giant Manufacturing (巨大機械) on September 24, 2025. It covers bicycles, parts, and accessories manufactured by Giant in Taiwan. The agency cited five indicators of forced labor, including debt bondage, withheld wages, excessive overtime, and abusive working or living conditions. The restriction does not cover every Giant product manufactured worldwide.
Recruitment debt helps explain why the case matters. Workers who borrow heavily to obtain an overseas job can arrive under financial pressure that limits their ability to leave. The International Labour Organization’s recruitment guidance says workers should bear no recruitment fees or related costs, and should have access to remedies when recruitment abuses occur.
Giant says it introduced employer-paid recruitment for new migrant hires in January 2025, then extended the policy to existing workers after the customs order. In an investor presentation, the company reported reimbursing approximately NT$100 million in recruitment and related charges to 545 existing migrant employees. These figures describe the company’s reported actions; they do not establish that U.S. authorities have accepted its remediation.
The compensation effort now reaches beyond its current workforce. Giant’s former-worker reimbursement notice, titled “離職移工招聘費補償,” says eligible migrant workers who left after September 24, 2023, can apply. An August update extended the application deadline to February 1, 2028.
Independent reporting provides some evidence that payments have reached workers. Investigative journalist Peter Bengtsen’s industry development tracker records worker confirmation of Giant’s reimbursement payments and dormitory relocation. It also documents repayments by other manufacturers, including Merida (美利達).
However, a review published by NYU Stern’s Center for Business and Human Rights cautions that policy changes have moved faster than implementation, particularly among suppliers further down the chain. It also highlights a limitation of conventional audits: inspecting present factory conditions may reveal little about the debts workers incurred before arriving.
In its September 30 follow-up, CommonWealth reported that Giant’s restriction remained in place. The magazine also reported complaints from workers who said colleagues had received refunds while they had been excluded, underlining the importance of independent complaint channels.
Another deadline is approaching. The European Union’s Forced Labour Regulation becomes applicable on December 14, 2027, prohibiting products made with forced labor from being placed on the EU market or exported from it. It applies to products regardless of their origin.
For Taiwan’s exporters, recruitment practices are becoming part of maintaining market access. For migrant workers, the practical test is more immediate: whether obtaining a job still means taking on debt, and whether compensation reaches those who already paid.
