US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Governmental Agency: US Senate / House of Representatives
Jurisdiction: USA
Ref no: Public Law No.: 117-78. Bill Number: H.R. 6256
Status: ADOPTED December 2021
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2021.
The policy dictates that goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, and/or manufactured in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China are not entitled to entry into the United States, and must show a preset of conditions to enter the country. Most specifically, the legislation calls out 13 key product categories of focus for the attention of customs agents:
Apparel, clothing, computer parts, cotton, processed cotton and cotton products, electronics, garments, hair products, polysilicon, rail transportation equipment, silica-based products, textiles, and touch screens for handheld devices and automotive vehicles.
Apparel & cotton are two of the 4 high-risk sectors that were identified and will face particular scrutiny, particularly if connections are found to businesses on the UFLPA Entity List.
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The Act impacts any businesses that are attempting to import goods from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China or use materials or components produced or sourced from the region.
The Act requires businesses to conduct human rights due diligence and supply chain tracing, with the goal of proving that goods were either not sourced from XUAR, or if they were, that they were not produced with forced labor or other forms of exploitation.
Guides have been created for importers by the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to support them with this process.
