Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)

 

 

 

What is Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)?

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must presume that all articles sourced, wholly, or partially in Xinjiang region in China are affiliated with forced labor or child labor and are prohibited from entering the U.S under 19 USC 1307.
• This includes any raw materials sourced from this region that went into the making of a final product that was completed in a different region or country.
• Example: Leather that was sourced from Xinjiang to make shoes in Vietnam would be banned for import in the U.S.

How is UFLPA being enforced?

• March 18, 2023 CBP activated an alert system through ACE that requires identification of the postal code of the Chinese manufacturing party.
• This provides notification to importers and shippers that goods may have been produced partially or completely in Xinjiang region and may be subject screening and rejection for importation into the U.S.

What happens when a shipment is held?

• Shipments are held for up to 30 days are required to either be exported at the shipper’s or importer’s expense or provide clear evidence of the origins of the goods.
• Importers involved are able to protest their case in a court of law, however, it is very difficult for a case to be approved and often is ruled against.
• Importers who knowingly imported goods banned under the UFLPA or provide falsified supporting documents are subject to heavy fines by CBP.

Does UFLPA only involve China?

• While this act was designed specifically to target a strategic region in China, CBP actively monitors and screens shipments coming from other countries where forced labor is known to be regularly practiced. Below are the top five common offenders according to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB):
  • North Korea
  • Malaysia
  • China
  • Afghanistan
  • Vietnam

To this day, Canada, the U.S., and Mexico are the only countries that have systems in place that are actively engaged in the prevention of imports of goods produced with forced labor or child labor. China recently admitted to having slaves from North Korea working in a fish processing factory but supposedly they would only process fish for Chinese consumption, not for export to the U.S. Many other factories have begun to openly admit to forced labor practices and provide documents stating goods bound to the U.S. market are being segregated. There’s no real way to verify this other than a blanket ban of goods in regions or countries where forced labor is actively being practiced. Importers are highly advised to monitor where their goods are being sourced and manufactured. See a more detailed report and list of goods that are considered by the ILAB to have been produced by forced labor or child labor. The list provides 159 goods from 78 different countries and regions.

2022 TVPRA List of Goods

2022 List of Goods