On July 9, 2024 , DHS and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), announced an expansion of the scope of targeted goods under its Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) strategy to prevent the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured, in whole or in part, with forced labor from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

If you are not familiar with UFLPA, visit CBP’s UFLPA page.

Aluminum products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, and seafood now join the list of targeted products, such as cotton and cotton products (including apparel), silica-based products including polysilicon, and tomatoes, or their downstream products, as high priority goods. Goods from these industries have been identified as being more likely produced using forced or state labor transfer of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

These goods that are imported into the United States from China and other third countries will be targeted for detention, and importers will be presented with the opportunity to provide evidence that the goods were not produced, in whole or in part, from materials mined, produced, or manufactured in the Uyghur region, or by a company that is named on the UFLPA Entity List. This is known as an “applicability review.” If the importer is unable to produce sufficient information to establish to the satisfaction of CBP that the goods were not produced, in whole or in part, from the Uyghur region, or by a company on the UFLPA Entity List (or owned or controlled by one), then the UFPLA presumption will apply, and the goods will be excluded from entry. If the goods are excluded, the importer has a choice either to export the goods or destroy them. 

CBP Also Updates the UFLPA Entity List

DHS also recently added three new entities to the UFLPA Entity List, bringing the total number of PRC-based companies whose goods are restricted from entering the United States to 68. The UFLPA Entity List provides importers with information on entities that engage in or support the use of forced or state labor transfer of Uyghurs to produce goods. Products made in whole or in part by these entities are precluded from entry. Importers need to regularly check their supply chain and their suppliers to ensure that no goods or materials are being provided by these prohibited entities.

Preparing for the Inevitable

If you import any of the targeted products, such as aluminum, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cotton and cotton apparel, silica-based products including polysilicon, and tomatoes, or end products that incorporate these materials, you could find yourself the subject of a detention and a forced labor review. CBP routinely targets shipments from third countries when it has reason to believe that the products incorporate materials from China or were produced in factories in third countries that have forced labor transfers in the workforce. Third party countries include: Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Mexico. (See CBP’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Statistics for further information.)

To rebut the presumption that the goods were produced using Chinese forced labor, importers must provide documentation detailing “the order, purchase, manufacture, and transportation of inputs throughout their supply chain.” Examples of records involved in the sourcing and manufacturing of goods include documentation of payments for and transportation of raw materials (including invoices, contracts, purchase orders, and other proofs of payment); and transactional and supply chain records (including packing lists, bills of lading, and manifests) following the production of the good and its component materials. For additional information on the type and nature of information that may be required by CBP, see its publication on UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers, pages 13 -17.

The exact documentation required will vary on a case-by-case basis. However, in short, businesses must now have full records of all their suppliers, from raw materials to finished goods, and they need to document and provide CBP with the full chain of custody of materials.

Importers should not wait to begin to prepare for this. Once CBP detains a shipment, importers have 30 days to produce the requested documents showing the chain of production and delivery. To mitigate the risk of exposure to forced labor, importers are advised to take steps to map their supply chains and assess forced labor risks.

For additional information on this subject or if you have questions about supply chain mapping, please contact George Tuttle, III at geo@tuttlelaw.com or at 415-986-8780.

The information in this article is general in nature and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship with respect to any event or occurrence and may not be considered as such.

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