Key Notes:
- Effective June 21, 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) establishes a rebuttable presumption that all goods produced, mined or manufactured in the Xinjiang region of China or by certain entities designated to the UFLPA Entity List are produced with forced labor and prohibited from entry into the United States.
- The prohibition on entry includes finished products that are manufactured in whole or in part using inputs sourced directly or indirectly from Xinjiang, even if imported from outside China.
- CBP has provided guidance on the enforcement process for the UFLPA to aid the trade community to comply with the UFLPA’s requirements and rebut the presumption.
- DHS has provided importer guidance on the UFLPA including due diligence and supply chain tracing and management.
- DHS has also established the UFLPA Entity List with several listed companies. Products sourced from companies on the UFLPA Entity List are subject to the rebuttable presumption regardless of where they are produced.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was passed into law on December 21, 2021, to ensure enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which prohibits the importation of all “ … goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions.” It creates a rebuttable presumption that all products produced in whole or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“XUAR” or “Xinjiang”) or by persons designated to the UFLPA Entity List were produced with forced labor and must be denied entry into the United States pursuant to Section 301 of the Tariff Act. The UFLPA’s provisions are effective as of June 21, 2022.