Your Role in Forced Labour Compliance

Forced labour compliance has become significantly more challenging in the last year as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) increased efforts to minimise forced labour through the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) of 2021.

On 21 June, 2023, CBP passed the one-year mark of the implementation of UFLPA, which “establishes a rebuttable presumption that any goods produced wholly or in part in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) or by certain entities, are prohibited from importation into the U.S. under 19 U.S.C. 1307.” This is a significant expansion of the forced labour laws and affects importers and commodities delivered to the United States.

Since implementation in 2022, CBP detained 5,059 deliveries valued at $1.746M (USD). Of these deliveries, 1,733 were denied and 2,070 were released. The top countries of origin for the deliveries detained were Malaysia, Vietnam and China with the top industries covering electronics, apparel, footwear, textiles, industrial, manufacturing materials, among others. CBP released a new interactive UFLPA statistics dashboard that provides additional details.

With forced labour issues being under such scrutiny, importers must understand their responsibilities when it comes to vetting suppliers for forced labour to avoid potential penalties and additional expenses for non-compliance.

What is forced labour and how are products flagged?

Forced labour is when a product is mined, produced or manufactured, in a municipality that has unlawful labour practices such as slave labour or child labour.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) identified common signs that could indicate forced labour:

Isolation
Deception
Debt bondage
Excessive overtime
Withholding of wages
Abuse of vulnerability
Intimidation and threats
Restriction of movement
Physical and sexual violence
Retention of identity documents
Abusive working and living conditions

Beyond, UFLPA, which is specific to China, if any part of your imported goods from any country of origin were subject to forced labour, anywhere throughout your supply chain, your goods could be detained or seized with a Withhold Release Order (WRO) or as a Finding. Following CBP FY2023, through June there were 3,455 deliveries stopped for enforcement actions or reviews related to WROs and Findings and 5 penalties issued.

Deliveries are identified by CBP based on a variety of indicators, including commodity type, origin of goods, manufacturer name and their post code. View the CBP’s active target list of products and countries they target on their website.

What are Withhold Release Orders (WROs)?

A WRO is issued against a foreign manufacturer by CBP when they have a reasonable suspicion of forced labour being used to produce the imported product. Currently, there are 52 WROs issued against foreign manufacturers across a variety of products. In 2023, there was 1 new WRO issued.

If the product imported has a WRO issued against the manufacturer, the importer has two options—re-export the freight or contest the findings. The importer has 90 days to do so before CBP seizes the cargo.

To contest the WRO, the importer must prove the cargo in question was not made with forced labour. Accordingly, sufficient evidence is needed to prove admissibility of the product from the manufacturer for a specific delivery. For admissibility, an importer has three months to demonstrate that detained merchandise was not produced with forced labour.

The importer must also demonstrate that the supplier is not included or related to the WRO. Supporting documentation should be submitted in a clear and concise manner so CBP can quickly and easily review it.

Understanding Finding actions

Additionally, a foreign manufacturer can have a Finding action issued against them. This occurs when CBP determines there is probable cause that forced labour was used in the manufacturing of the specific imported good.

Upon arrival into the United States, the cargo is subject to seizure by CBP and treated as an importation prohibited by 19 U.S.C. 1307. There is no opportunity to export the goods under a Finding. The importer has 30 days to establish satisfactory evidence that the merchandise is admissible to CBP.

How UFLPA affects your imports

With the implementation of UFLPA, CBP provided resources for the importing trade community to assist in monitoring risk of forced labour in supply chains. These resources included the UFLPA Entity List, UFLPA Region Alert and CBP Operational Guidance for Importers.

1. UFLPA Entity List

CBP provides the names of entities in Xingang that mine, produce or manufacture wholly or in part any goods, wares, articles and merchandise with forced labour on the UFLPA Entity List on their website with the effective date they were added to the list.

As required by Congress, the Forced Labour Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) recently updated their annual report with updates to the Entity List and resources. This resource also highlights high priority sectors and the UFLPA enforcement plan around those sectors. See the full updates in the 26 July 2023 Homeland Security Report to Congress.

2. UFPLA Region Alert

In December 2022 CBP increased enforcement of UFLPA by targeting manufacturers specific to the XUAR region by requiring their post code at the time of entry to the United States. The “UFPLA Region Alert” provides for “the notification to importers and their representative of goods that may have been produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang or XUAR) and may be excluded from importation into the United States.”

3. CBP Operational Guidance for Importers

This guidance document explains the importation process and enforcement of UFLPA, how to request an exception to the Rebuttable Presumption and the type and nature of information that may be required by CBP.

UFLPA detention process

CBP will issue a Notice of Detention, exclusion notice or seizure notice to the importer of record if cargo is being held for forced labour or UFLPA. Then, the importer has 30 days to request an exception to the UFLPA rebuttable presumption and provide clear and convincing evidence that the goods were not mined, produced or manufactured, wholly or in part by forced labour, produced in the Xinjiang region or by a supplier on the Entity list. There is an option for the importer to request an extension up to 90 days that must be approved by CBP. For an exclusion notice or seizure notice, the importer will have to follow the CBP administrative protest process or petition process as outlined in the regulations. For more specific guidance review the UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers.

Importers should carefully review CBP’s importer guidance, Sample Table of Contents and Best Practices for Applicability Reviews. CBP expects the importer to provide documentation in an orderly and easily understood fashion for CBP to review.

For the importer to avoid storage, demurrage and detention charges at the port of entry and by the carrier, a request must be made to CBP at the port of entry requesting approval for detained deliveries to be moved to a customs bonded facility at the port of entry until the admissibility review and determination is complete. The movement of goods to a foreign trade zone (FTZ) is not permitted by CBP.

The importer’s role in maintaining forced labour compliance

Forced labour compliance is not just an U.S. law. Other countries, including Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and the European Union, are increasingly changing laws to combat forced labour as well.

Remaining compliant helps avoid detained or seized cargo, penalties and fees. Start by understanding your role and responsibilities when it comes to forced labour laws. Use the steps below to better prepare your business:

1. Organise and educate your internal team

Secure expertise from various areas of your business, including customs and compliance, legal, procurement, security and logistics, among others. Review your code of ethics, purchase orders and contracts to ensure that they require suppliers to comply with forced labour laws. Use all available resources to educate your team and your suppliers. Depending on your commodities and the complexity of your supply chain, you may also want to consult trade counsel with experience in your field.

2. Audit your supply chain suppliers and manufacturers

Develop a questionnaire based on the ILO forced labour indicators and outline the process for how your product is produced. If you catch any red flags through this process, discuss with your supplier how they will rectify the situation. You can also utilise the U.S. Department of Labour’s Comply Chain website. Ensure that you have a full record of the manufacturers you are delivering from by reviewing your Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) data.

To identify companies operating in the Uyghur Region, Sheffield Hallam University offers a free database you can download. Compare your supplier and sub-supplier list against this reference to gauge your risk.

3. Conduct a supply chain tracing or mapping exercise

Better understand your supply chain risks for forced labour by conducting a supply chain tracing exercise. This requires tracing all the parties and inputs in your supply chain—from origin to distribution. Start by listing the entities involved in each step of the production of goods. The CBP Operational Guidance for Importers document includes examples of what this may look like for an importer supply chain.

To identify companies operating in the Uyghur Region, Sheffield Hallam University offers a free database you can download. Compare all entities identified in your supply chain against this reference to gauge your risk.

4. Utilise technology to assist in supply chain tracing

In March 2023, CBP hosted a forced labour technical day to assist the industry better understand how technology can boost supply chain transparency in the identification of goods produced using forced labour. Watch the training recordings and review speaker bios online.

5. Construct a process for implementing and monitoring compliance

Establish an ongoing routine to help maintain and monitor compliance. Review your imported commodities against the active WRO, Findings and UFLPA Entity List.

When a new manufacturer or product is established within your supply chain, ensure your implementation process and review includes forced labour compliance. Review the CBP UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers for more detailed information on how to get started.

If you do find that forced labour exists within your supply chain, you will want to take immediate, corrective actions to provide protections for the workers and eradicate the continued use of forced labour in your supply chain.

6. Review Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) requirements

If your organisation is CTPAT certified, ensure that you are up to date with documented procedures on forced labour compliance as dictated in the Minimum Security Criteria.

One benefit for CTPAT trade compliance participants is importers can request an expedited review of the documentation with the CBP Centre of Excellence assigned to the entry. For more information, review these resources:

7. Review helpful resources

The CBP website has useful resources and information on forced labour, including:

Now is the time to ensure forced labour compliance

Make changes as needed proactively to mitigate your potential risk and avoid penalties from forced labour.

As international trade topics continues to shift, stay up to date with timely Trade & Tariff Insights updates.

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A Guide to Forced Labour Compliance: Understanding Your Responsibilities