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Welcome to the U.S.

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Customs and Border Protection
Forced Labor Video series.

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In this brief video, we will provide
an overview of forced labor,

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the relevant U.S. laws, and
CBP enforcement measures.

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Forced labor is a terrible human
rights abuse experienced

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by more than 27 million people worldwide.

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It is characterized by physical
and sexual violence,

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withholding of wages,
and many other abuses.

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Not only does it exploit individuals,
but also enables unfair competition

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by establishing artificially low prices.

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This undermines the success
of legitimate businesses,

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compromises fair trade around the world,
and harms U.S. manufacturing.

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Forced labor also provides
greater incentive

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for environmental crimes like
illegal logging, mining, and others,

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which add significant strain
on the environment.

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The U.S. government is taking action

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to fight forced labor through
legislation and policy.

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CBP is committed to combating these
abuses by enforcing the laws

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preventing the entry of products made
with forced labor into the U.S. market.

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U.S. law defines forced labor
as all work or service

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which is exacted from any person

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under the menace of any penalty
for its nonperformance

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and for which the worker does
not offer themselves voluntarily.

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Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930,
codified at 19 U.S.C. 1307,

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prohibits goods made by forced
labor from entering the U.S.

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For decades, this
prohibition was difficult

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to enforce due to a certain
exception in the law.

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Fortunately, this exception
was removed in 2016

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with the passage of the Trade Facilitation
and Trade Enforcement Act,

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which enhanced CBP's forced
labor enforcement authorities.

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One of the more recent additions to
U.S. legislation against forced labor

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is the Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act, or UFLPA.

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The act establishes a rebuttable
presumption that any goods

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produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of China

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or by entities on the UFLPA entity
list are made with forced

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labor and are prohibited
from entry into the U.S.

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The UFLPA was signed into
law on December 23, 2021,

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and went into effect on June 21, 2022.

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This means that from June 21st onward,
any goods mined, produced or manufactured

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wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of China

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or by entities on the UFLPA entity list

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are prohibited from entry into the U.S.

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CBP has several
enforcement mechanisms

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against importation of goods
produced by forced labor.

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CBP, in enforcing Section 1307, issues

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Withhold Release Orders, or WROs,
when CBP has evidence that reasonably

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but not conclusively indicates that
goods produced wholly or in part

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by forced labor are being or are likely
to be imported into the United States.

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CBP detains the merchandise
subject to a WRO.

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If the importer cannot demonstrate
that goods subject to a WRO

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are free of forced labor, CBP will
deny entry to the merchandise.

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When CBP has conclusive evidence
that merchandise entering

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the United States is produced
wholly or in part by

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forced labor, CBP
publishes a finding.

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Once a finding is published, CBP seizes

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and forfeits the merchandise
subject to such finding.

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In addition, penalties may be
assessed against an importer

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who imports goods into the U.S.

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that are prohibited due to being
produced by forced labor.

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Now that we've covered forced
labor enforcement mechanisms

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unrelated to the UFLPA, we will cover

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how CBP enforces the UFLPA.

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Shipments determined to be subject
to the UFLPA will be presumed

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to be in violation of the UFLPA and denied
entry unless an importer qualifies

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for an exception by fully responding
to any CBP requests for information,

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complying with all requirements in the
UFLPA Strategy, and demonstrating,

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by clear and convincing evidence, that its
goods are not made with forced labor.

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If an importer wishes to contend that
its detained merchandise is not subject

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to the UFLPA, it can provide
information to that effect to CBP.

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Importers must consult and comply
with the UFLPA Strategy,

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which can be found on CBP's website.

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If you have questions on forced labor
or need additional information,

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please visit cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor.

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We thank you for taking the time
to watch this informational video

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and hope you'll tune in for additional
segments of our forced labor video series.