After almost a year of enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) statistics make it clear the UFLPA’s reach extends beyond imports from China.

The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) or by entities on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and, therefore, prohibited from entry into the U.S. The presumption also applies to goods made in, or shipped through, China and other countries that include inputs made in Xinjiang. CBP has been enforcing the UFLPA by detaining, excluding, or seizing shipments subject to the rebuttable presumption.

For an importer to (1) demonstrate that a shipment is outside the UFLPA’s scope or (2) overcome the rebuttable presumption that the imports are made with forced labor, an importer must produce information about its: diligence systems, supply chain tracing, and supply chain management.

While importers should remain focused on mitigating UFLPA compliance risks for Chinese-origin goods, CBP’s enforcement statistics offer a broader perspective on the scope of UFLPA related detentions and seizures over the past year:

• To date, 4,269 shipments have been detained under the UFLPA.
• While, just over a third of those shipments were Chinese-origin, almost 62% were Malaysian- and Vietnamese-origin. Other reported countries of origin for detained items include Thailand and Sri Lanka.
• By value, Malaysian-origin shipments account for almost 60% of those detained. By value, Malaysian-origin shipments also account for two thirds of those released.
• Two-thirds of the shipments for which CBP ultimately denied entry are Chinese-origin. By value, Chinese-origin shipments account for approximately half of those denied entry, followed by Vietnamese-origin shipments at a rate of 33%.
• Approximately 46% of detained shipments are still pending final disposition by CBP. Of those, over 70% arrived in the U.S. over three months ago; over a third arrived in 2022.

These statistics make it clear that UFLPA enforcement goes beyond Chinese-origin shipments. Therefore, companies should:

1. Conduct supply chain due diligence on more than just Chinese suppliers. Otherwise, companies risk not having sufficient information to demonstrate the detained goods are outside the UFLPA’s scope or to rebut the presumption the goods were made with forward labor.
2. Factor potential supply chain delays and costs into their business plans. Even if a detained shipment is ultimately released, that process will likely take at least three months. While the goods are detained, the importer will also incur related storage expenses, which will need to be paid before CBP releases the goods.

ADDITIONAL AUTHORS

Paula Salamoun, Ozra Ajizadeh