Logistically Speaking...what's an importer to do about forced labor?

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the US government have regulations which are designed to prevent the importation of goods made with forced labor. The original forced labor process involved placing a country, industry or individual manufacturer on a list and goods which intersected with those were subject to a "Withhold Release Order" - and importers were responsible for demonstrating to CBP through whatever means they had at their disposal that the goods should be permitted entry.

UFLPA, or the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, was first introduced to Congress in September, 2020, and passed the House 406-3. A reconciled version passed the House and Senate in December, 2021, and was signed very shortly thereafter by President Biden. 

The law came into effect in June, 2022, and importers have been grappling with something called the rebuttal provision - which essentially means you’re guilty until proven innocent. And how do you prove you’re innocent when you can’t go into the country, into the factory, review production records, or affirmatively determine the presence of forced labor in a product?

The easy part for CBP is to automatically stop anything that is coming from what is called the Xingang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or XUAR. What is more difficult is following the trace components through a complex web of transactions that are designed to obfuscate the origins of components that could immediate place a shipment on hold - and rightly so.

So, Logistically Speaking, what’s an importer to do?

Recorded during WESCCON in California on October 28th, hosts Scott Case and Cameron Roberts speak with special guest Vince Iacopella, EVP Growth & Strategy, of Alba Wheels Up about forced labor, UFLPA and what CBP is accepting from the trade - and Alba is doing in partnership with mesur.io - to try to meet the higher standards of the "rebuttable provision".

Show Notes / Links:

CBP Forced Labor: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor

CBP UFLPA: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

Federal Register Notice UFLPA: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/27/2023-21131/notice-regarding-the-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-entity-list

Alba / mesur.io forced labor solution: https://albawheelsup.com/alba-and-mesur-io/

Position : Global: http://www.positionglobal.com

Roberts & Kehagiaras LLP: http://www.tradeandcargo.com