BICYCLE WRO Development Tracker

The Tracker monitors developments in Taiwan’s bicycle industry following the US import ban (WRO) on Taiwan-made products by Giant Manufacturing due to forced labor concerns. Please refer to my Le Monde diplomatique trilogy (June 2024 - October 2025) and Speed Up report (March 2025) for contextual information.

September 2025:

  • September 24: US bans import from Giant Manufacturing in Taiwan.

  • September 24: Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs issues a press release about the US import ban on Giant.

October 2025:

  • October 1: Merida Bicycles adopts a zero-fee recruitment policy and commits to reimburse migrant employees' recruitment costs.

  • October 3: Taiwan’s Control Yuan - a governmental watchdog or public ombudsman that investigates government failures and rights abuses - says it will launch an investigation. 

  • October 9: Taiwan’s Minister of Labor and members of the Legislative Yuan - Taiwan’s parliament - discuss migrant worker recruitment, including overseas recruitment centers, at a parliament committee meeting.

  • October 15: Giant commits to reimbursing migrant employees’ recruitment costs and transfers the first tranche. Migrant workers confirm receipt: Vietnamese receive 50,000 NTD ($1,625), and Thai receive 30,000 NTD ($975).

  • October 15: Giant says that relocation of 400 workers to new dorms is completed. Migrant workers confirm the move and share photos of their previous dormitories with up to 32 beds per room.

  • October 17: Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA) launches an industry-wide Supply Chain Due Diligence Initiative focused on human rights. TBA subsidizes the first batch of 50 member companies to undergo due diligence.

  • October 25: Merida completes its reimbursements process in one transfer. Currently employed migrant workers are reimbursed. Former migrant employees who have left the company since July 15 are reimbursed too. Migrant workers confirm receipt of reimbursements.

  • Late October: Giant meets with US CBP officials in Washington DC to discuss the import ban.

  • Late October: An estimated $2-2.25 million is compensated by Merida and Giant to migrant workers in October.

November 2025:

  • Early November: The WRO petition on Merida is no longer active at the US CBP.

  • Early November: Taiwan’s Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) launches human rights audits at selected members.

  • November 1: Maxxis (Cheng Shin Rubber), the world’s largest bicycle tire manufacturer, adopts a zero-fee recruitment policy and commits to reimbursing migrant employees' recruitment costs in three phases, to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.

  • November 6: Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA) signs a memorandum of understanding with WRAP, a certification standard, and convenes member companies for a briefing on due diligence, auditing procedures and TBA’s subsidy program.

  • November 25: First meeting between the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), the Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) and Peter Bengtsen to discuss supply chain due diligence. 

December 2025:

  • December 1: Giant completes its reimbursement process with a second and final transfer. Migrant employees confirm receipt.  

  • December 3: Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs conducts a seminar for companies across all sectors on US forced labor regulation.

  • December 17: Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs conducts a seminar for companies across all sectors on the upcoming EU forced labor regulation.

  • December 19: To remove the US import ban, Giant announces completion of Phase 2 of its Corrective Action Plan and submits its WRO Petition for Modification with supporting documents to CBP.

  • December 19: Fritz Jou, a major OEM bicycle manufacturer, commits to reimbursing migrant workers’ recruitment costs in several tranches by March 2028, and transfers first tranche. Workers confirm receipt. Fritz Jou also clarifies that as of October 1, 2025, monthly service fees paid by migrant workers are also covered under its no-fee recruiment policy, which took effect on January 1, 2025.

  • Late December: Giant, Merida and Maxxis have reimbursed an estimatedly $8-9 million to migrant workers. Maxxis says that its reimbursement process was completed ahead of time.

  • Late December: Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor says that Taiwan’s first cross-border recruitment center will open in the Philippines in Q1 2026, enabling employers to hire workers directly without labor brokers. The Ministry first announced the plan in October, 2025.

January 2026:

  • January 13: Second meeting between the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), the Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS), and Peter Bengtsen to discuss supply chain due diligence, including grievance mechanisms and transparency.

  • Late January: Bicycle manufacturer Fritz Jou commits to completing reimbursement of migrant workers’ recruitment costs by February 2026, rather than March 2028. 

February 2026:

  • Early February: Giant commits to reimburse recruitment fees to former workers, who left after September 2023; former workers confirm. Workers also report reimbursements of dorm fees previously deducted despite living in non-Giant dorms.

  • Early February: US-headquartered Fox Factory states that it will reimburse recruitment fees and related costs paid by migrant workers at its factory in Taiwan, with repayments to begin in February and to be completed within 12 months. Migrant workers will no longer pay monthly service fees to Taiwanese labor brokers.

  • February 13: Taiwan’s government commits to prohibit worker-borne recruitment fees and related costs under the new US-Taiwan trade agreement. The implementation time is 3 years. No legislation adopted yet.

  • February 24: Third meeting between the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), the Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS), and Peter Bengtsen to discuss supply chain due diligence.

  • February 24: Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor published guidelines for companies on preventing forced labor. The guidelines emphasize fair recruitment practices, including no-fee recruitment, as important preventive measures, because recruitment-related debt bondage is presented as a central forced labor risk factor in Taiwan.

March 2026:

  • March 26: The Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) ESG Global Initiative Forum was held during the Taipei Cycle Show to demonstrate BAS’s progress on due diligence.

  • March 26: Fourth meeting (and the first in-person) between the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), the Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS), and Peter Bengtsen.

  • March 26: Meetings and talks between Peter Bengtsen and bicycle manufacturers at the Taipei Cycle Show, including Giant, Merida, Darfon/Kenstone Metal and more.

April 2026:

  • April 15: Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), the Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) and DueSphere sign a Memorandum of Understanding as a first step toward developing a grievance mechanism to promote industrial sustainability, strengthen labor and human rights protections, and advance responsible supply chain governance.

  • April 23: Taiwan’s Control Yuan - a governmental watchdog or public ombudsman that investigates government failures and rights abuses - publishes a summary of its investigation into the US import ban on Giant. The Control Yuan has reviewed the Taiwan’s government’s actions following my first media piece on Giant and other bicycle brands in mid-2024 and concludes that there is scope for improvement within both the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Economic Affairs.

  • Late April: A survey on ethical recruitment and due diligence among more than 30 bicycle and component manufacturers in Taiwan is launched by Peter Bengtsen.

May 2026:

  • Early May: The Bicycling Alliance for Sustainability (BAS) in Taiwan is not responsive to questions about why its Human Rights Code of Conduct does not address responsible recruitment.

  • Early May: The German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV), with around 140 company members and one of Europe’s largest, launches a Code of Conduct that explicitly says companies should ensure no-fee recruitment. The Code does not say that companies should reimburse workers if fees have been paid.

  • Early May: The revised Code of Conduct by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) now explicitly says that companies should ensure no-fee recruitment and refund workers who paid fees to obtain their jobs. Giant, Trek, Scott, Specialized, Canyon, Pinarello and Cycleurope are members of WFSGI. In 2025, following the publication of The Bicycle Industry’s Dirty Secret, WFSGI committed to reviewing the recruitment-related language in its Code.

  • May 24: It has now been 100 days since Taiwan’s government committed, under the new US-Taiwan trade agreement, to prohibit recruitment fees and related costs paid by workers. The implementation period is 3 years. No legislation adopted yet.

  • Late May: Companies unresponsive to the survey on ethical recruitment and due diligence, or responsive but not considering adopting no-fee policies, include Pacific Bicycles, Sunrace Sturmey-Archer, IDEAL Bike, Wellgo Pedal, A-Pro Tech, SR Suntour, Taya Chain, Acecycles, Co-union Industry, and Winning Enterprise.

  • Late May: The report Speeding Up - addressing forced labor risks in Taiwan’s bicycle industry is published.