Welcome to the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Forced Labor Video series.
In this brief video, we will provide an overview of forced labor,
the relevant U.S. laws, and CBP enforcement measures.
Forced labor is a terrible human rights abuse experienced
by more than 27 million people worldwide.
It is characterized by physical and sexual violence,
withholding of wages, and many other abuses.
Not only does it exploit individuals, but also enables unfair competition
by establishing artificially low prices.
This undermines the success of legitimate businesses,
compromises fair trade around the world, and harms U.S. manufacturing.
Forced labor also provides greater incentive
for environmental crimes like illegal logging, mining, and others,
which add significant strain on the environment.
The U.S. government is taking action
to fight forced labor through legislation and policy.
CBP is committed to combating these abuses by enforcing the laws
preventing the entry of products made with forced labor into the U.S. market.
U.S. law defines forced labor as all work or service
which is exacted from any person
under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance
and for which the worker does not offer themselves voluntarily.
Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, codified at 19 U.S.C. 1307,
prohibits goods made by forced labor from entering the U.S.
For decades, this prohibition was difficult
to enforce due to a certain exception in the law.
Fortunately, this exception was removed in 2016
with the passage of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act,
which enhanced CBP's forced labor enforcement authorities.
One of the more recent additions to U.S. legislation against forced labor
is the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA.
The act establishes a rebuttable presumption that any goods
produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China
or by entities on the UFLPA entity list are made with forced
labor and are prohibited from entry into the U.S.
The UFLPA was signed into law on December 23, 2021,
and went into effect on June 21, 2022.
This means that from June 21st onward, any goods mined, produced or manufactured
wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China
or by entities on the UFLPA entity list
are prohibited from entry into the U.S.
CBP has several enforcement mechanisms
against importation of goods produced by forced labor.
CBP, in enforcing Section 1307, issues
Withhold Release Orders, or WROs, when CBP has evidence that reasonably
but not conclusively indicates that goods produced wholly or in part
by forced labor are being or are likely to be imported into the United States.
CBP detains the merchandise subject to a WRO.
If the importer cannot demonstrate that goods subject to a WRO
are free of forced labor, CBP will deny entry to the merchandise.
When CBP has conclusive evidence that merchandise entering
the United States is produced wholly or in part by
forced labor, CBP publishes a finding.
Once a finding is published, CBP seizes
and forfeits the merchandise subject to such finding.
In addition, penalties may be assessed against an importer
who imports goods into the U.S.
that are prohibited due to being produced by forced labor.
Now that we've covered forced labor enforcement mechanisms
unrelated to the UFLPA, we will cover
how CBP enforces the UFLPA.
Shipments determined to be subject to the UFLPA will be presumed
to be in violation of the UFLPA and denied entry unless an importer qualifies
for an exception by fully responding to any CBP requests for information,
complying with all requirements in the UFLPA Strategy, and demonstrating,
by clear and convincing evidence, that its goods are not made with forced labor.
If an importer wishes to contend that its detained merchandise is not subject
to the UFLPA, it can provide information to that effect to CBP.
Importers must consult and comply with the UFLPA Strategy,
which can be found on CBP's website.
If you have questions on forced labor or need additional information,
please visit cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor.
We thank you for taking the time to watch this informational video
and hope you'll tune in for additional segments of our forced labor video series.