The “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” (the UFLPA) went into effect this past Tuesday, June 21, 2022. The UFLPA creates a rebuttable presumption that “any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, manufactured wholly or in part” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Uyghur Region) of China are produced with forced labor and therefore are prohibited from being imported into the U.S.
The UFLPA impacts importers of not only goods from the Uyghur Region, but also goods made in or shipped through other regions in China, and other countries, that include component parts produced in the Uyghur Region.
On June 13, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued Operational Guidance outlining CBP expectations of importers under the UFLPA, including guidelines for those importers who seek an exception to the UFLPA by rebutting the presumption, with clear and convincing evidence, that those goods originated in the Uyghur Region or are otherwise covered by the UFPLA. Examples of evidence that CBP may require include:
- Documentation showing a due diligence system/process such as engagement and monitoring of suppliers, mapping of the supply chain, and training on forced labor risks.
- Documentation tracing the supply chain from raw materials to the imported good(s) such as evidence pertaining to the overall supply chain, merchandise or components thereof, and/or miner, producer, or manufacturer records.
- Documentation on supply chain management measures.
- Documentation that traces the supply chain for the goods to provide evidence the goods were not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Uyghur Region.
- Evidence Goods Originating in China Were Not Mined, Produced, or Manufactured Wholly or In Part by Forced Labor
The Operational Guidance complements the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force Strategy (FLETF Strategy), which provides the strategic framework for enforcement of the UFLPA.
For more information, support, and assistance complying or filing an exception to UFLPA, please contact OFW Law.
