Giant, the world's largest bicycle manufacturer, warned Thursday of delays in shipments to the United States after US customs announced a surprise import ban due to unspecified forced labor allegations.

On Wednesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a detention order for Giant bicycles, their parts, and accessories manufactured in Taiwan following an investigation into the bicycle manufacturing giant that revealed indicators of forced labor.

Giant told CNN that it would file a petition to request the rescission of the order, adding that it had been unaware of a U.S. investigation into its activities. It stated that it would cooperate with CBP.

The U.S. border agency stated that its investigation identified vulnerability abuse, abusive working and living conditions, debt bondage, wage withholding, and excessive overtime. It did not provide further details or evidence of Giant's alleged forced labor practice.

«Giant took advantage of the imposition of such abuses, which resulted in goods produced below market value and deprived American businesses of millions of dollars in unfairly earned profits, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Giant stated that it had not been approached for comment as part of the CBP investigation.

«As far as we know, there have been no investigations, interviews, site visits, or formal requests for information from US authorities,» Ken Li, a spokesperson for Giant Group, told CNN. «At this stage, we have not yet had any direct engagement with them.»

«The Giant Group is firmly committed to upholding human rights and labor protection,» it stated in a press release.

He added that he had put in place internal mechanisms and third-party audits to ensure compliance with international standards.

The order came as bilateral relations between Taiwan and the United States are being tested by President Donald Trump's global tariff offensive, with tariff negotiations underway.

When asked by CNN if Giant believed the CBP order was linked to ongoing tariff negotiations, the spokesperson stated that the company «has not made any assumptions.».

Giant operates manufacturing plants in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands, and Hungary. However, only shipments from Taiwan would be affected, Giant said.