CBP’s New Forced Labor Enforcement Guidance, What Importers Must Know About Due Diligence, Detentions, and Supply Chain Traceability

1. Introduction

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a new consolidated publication titled CBP Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers, CBP Publication No. 5560-0526.

The new guidance is significant because it expands beyond the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and explains how CBP administers the principal forced labor enforcement authorities affecting imported merchandise. These authorities include Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Withhold Release Orders, and formal Findings.

The publication supersedes CBP’s June 13, 2022 UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers and provides a consolidated framework for understanding detentions, exclusions, seizures, admissibility reviews, applicability reviews, exception requests, protests, and redelivery demands.

The central compliance message is clear. Importers should not wait until merchandise is detained to begin tracing their supply chains. CBP expects importers to understand where goods and their components were mined, grown, produced, processed, and manufactured, potentially back to the raw material level.

For importers, forced labor compliance is therefore not limited to reviewing the identity of the direct foreign supplier. It requires a defensible system for evaluating upstream entities, production locations, raw material sources, labor conditions, transaction records, transportation records, and the movement of materials through the complete supply chain.

2. Regulatory and Policy Context

2.1 Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930

The primary statutory authority is 19 U.S.C. § 1307, which prohibits the importation of merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in a foreign country by convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions. The statute also covers forced or indentured child labor.

The phrase wholly or in part is particularly important. A finished product does not need to be manufactured entirely through forced labor to become subject to enforcement. A prohibited raw material, component, or production input may create admissibility concerns for the finished imported merchandise.

CBP administers Withhold Release Orders and Findings under the procedures contained in 19 C.F.R. §§ 12.42 through 12.44.

2.2 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List, are prohibited under 19 U.S.C. § 1307.

A rebuttable presumption means CBP begins with the legal presumption that the merchandise is prohibited. The importer must then provide the evidence necessary to overcome the applicable enforcement determination.

CBP may use a detention or exclusion process, depending upon whether the agency identifies a potential or direct connection to the XUAR or a listed entity. The UFLPA Entity List is maintained through the Department of Homeland Security and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force.

2.3 CAATSA and North Korean Labor

Under 22 U.S.C. § 9241a, significant goods mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, by North Korean nationals or citizens are presumed to be prohibited under 19 U.S.C. § 1307.

The presumption applies to the use of North Korean labor anywhere in the world, not only to goods produced in North Korea. An importer seeking an exception must provide clear and convincing evidence that the goods were not produced with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions.

2.4 Withhold Release Orders and Finding

CBP may issue a Withhold Release Order, commonly called a WRO, when it has reasonable suspicion that merchandise was produced with prohibited labor and is being, or is likely to be, imported into the United States.

A WRO generally results in detention.

A formal Finding may be issued when CBP has probable cause concerning the use of prohibited labor. Merchandise covered by a Finding may be seized and subjected to forfeiture proceedings.

CBP publishes forced labor enforcement information, including WRO and Finding resources, through its official forced labor website.hould not be vague. It should clearly explain what happened, what entries were affected, what information was wrong, what the corrected information is, and how the importer calculated any loss of revenue.

3. What CBP Expects Importers to Understand

3.1 Reasonable care now includes forced labor compliance

Importers are required under 19 U.S.C. § 1484 to exercise reasonable care when entering merchandise. In the new guidance, CBP connects reasonable care directly to forced labor compliance.

The importer should be able to support information provided to CBP with records demonstrating that the imported merchandise and its components comply with forced labor related import prohibitions.

This requires more than a general supplier certification. Importers should be able to identify:

1. The parties involved in the transaction.
2. The manufacturer and actual production facilities.
3. The upstream suppliers and subcontractors.
4. The source of raw materials.
5. The countries and regions where production occurred.
6. The movement of materials between facilities.
7. The relationship between quantities purchased, produced, transported, and exported.
8. The controls used to prevent substitution or commingling.

3.2 The entire supply chain may need to be documented

CBP’s guidance states that supply chain tracing may need to extend from the imported finished article to the raw material stage.

For apparel, for example, records may need to trace cotton or other fiber through ginning, spinning, fabric production, dyeing, finishing, cutting, sewing, warehousing, and export.

For metal products, the tracing process may include mining, concentration, smelting, refining, casting, rolling, finishing, transportation, and export.

The same principle applies to seafood, PVC, lithium, silica based products, steel, aluminum, copper, tomatoes, and other products identified as enforcement priorities. The sector guidance appears in Appendix A of the new publication.

3.3 Every material supplier may matter

One of the strongest warnings in the guidance is that an incomplete record for even one participant in the supply chain may prevent CBP from reaching a favorable admissibility determination.

Importers should therefore avoid assuming that documentation from the final manufacturer is sufficient. The manufacturer may have purchased yarn, resin, chemicals, metal, minerals, agricultural inputs, or components from other suppliers whose identities and production records must also be examined.

3.4 Documents must be organized and reviewable

CBP recommends that importer submissions include a comprehensive executive summary and an organized exhibit structure.

The guidance advises importers to:

1. Number exhibits consistently.
2. Include an exhibit list and document index.
3. Explain the relevance of each document.
4. Group records by component or production stage.
5. Provide English translations for foreign language documents.
6. Make scanned PDF records searchable.
7. Identify business confidential information using double brackets.
8. Avoid unnecessary, repetitive, or duplicative files.

A large volume of disorganized documents is not necessarily a strong submission. CBP must be able to follow the transaction and production trail efficiently.

4. Understanding CBP’s Enforcement Processes

The new publication distinguishes among several enforcement paths. Importers must identify the applicable process quickly because the response periods and available remedies are not identical.

4.1 UFLPA potential input process

A potential input exists when CBP has information indicating that merchandise may have been mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in the XUAR or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List.

Depending on the available information, CBP may detain or exclude the shipment.

When merchandise is detained, the importer generally has 30 days to respond, request a review, export the goods, or destroy the goods. The importer may request an extension, but approval is discretionary. CBP’s guidance provides for no more than two extensions, with a maximum response period of 90 calendar days from the detention notice.

4.2 UFLPA direct input process

A direct input exists when CBP has information indicating that the merchandise was produced, wholly or in part, in the XUAR or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List.

In this situation, CBP may issue an exclusion notice rather than first detaining the merchandise.

The importer may contest the exclusion through a protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 and request either an applicability review or an exception review, depending upon the facts.

4.3 Applicability review

An applicability review asserts that the UFLPA does not apply because the merchandise and its inputs were not mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in part, in the XUAR or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List.

The importer must ordinarily provide records tracing the supply chain from the raw material stage through the finished imported merchandise.

Useful records may include:

1. Purchase orders and contracts.
2. Commercial invoices from suppliers and sub suppliers.
3. Bills of materials.
4. Packing lists.
5. Certificates of origin.
6. Proofs of payment.
7. Production orders and manufacturing records.
8. Inventory and warehouse records.
9. Transportation documents and manifests.
10. Import and export documentation.
11. Production capacity records.
12. Factory site visit reports.
13. Records reconciling material input quantities to finished output quantities.

CBP’s UFLPA frequently asked questions confirm that documents produced in the ordinary course of business are important to applicability review submissions.

4.4 Exception review

An exception review applies when the importer does not dispute that the merchandise has a connection to the XUAR or an entity on the UFLPA Entity List, but seeks to prove that the statutory requirements for an exception have been satisfied.

The importer must generally demonstrate full compliance with the UFLPA Strategy, respond completely and substantively to CBP inquiries, and establish through clear and convincing evidence that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.

This is a demanding evidentiary standard. Affidavits, unsupported statements, redacted documents, or untranslated records may not be sufficient by themselves.

4.5 CAATSA exclusion

CBP may exclude merchandise when it determines that goods were produced, wholly or in part, by North Korean nationals or citizens.

The importer may export or destroy the goods, or file a protest requesting an exception review. The importer must provide clear and convincing evidence addressing the labor used to produce the merchandise.

4.6 WRO detention

Merchandise subject to a WRO is generally detained.

Under the guidance, the importer has three months from importation to provide the required evidence, export the goods, or destroy them. A WRO admissibility package generally includes the specific certificate of origin required under 19 C.F.R. § 12.43, a detailed importer statement, and supporting supply chain tracing documentation.

A standard commercial certificate of origin may not satisfy the regulatory requirements by itself.

4.7 Finding and seizure

Merchandise covered by a formal Finding may be seized.

The matter is referred to the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures officer. The importer or other interested party may receive a Notice of Seizure describing available petition and forfeiture procedures.

Importers generally cannot resolve a Finding in the same manner as an ordinary WRO detention. The property may be subject to administrative or judicial forfeiture unless the interested party successfully contests the enforcement action.shipments.

5. Common Compliance Gaps

5.1 Relying only on the direct supplier

An importer may know the exporter and final manufacturer but have little information about the sources of cotton, minerals, chemicals, metals, seafood, or other components.

This creates a traceability gap precisely where forced labor risk may exist.

5.2 Obtaining supplier affidavits without supporting records

A supplier declaration may be useful, but it should be supported by business records. CBP may expect purchase documents, production records, payment records, transportation documents, inventory records, and evidence linking inputs to outputs.

5.3 Failing to trace raw materials

Many companies can document the final assembly operation but cannot identify where the raw material originated.

For higher risk products, this may make the package insufficient.

5.4 Incomplete identification of subcontractors

The named factory may outsource dyeing, finishing, smelting, refining, processing, packaging, or component production.

Importers should identify outsourced production and obtain records from the entities performing those operations.

5.5 Inability to reconcile quantities

Documents should support a logical relationship between the quantity of raw materials purchased, the quantity placed into production, the quantity of finished merchandise produced, and the quantity exported.

Unexplained differences may create concerns regarding substitution, commingling, or undocumented sourcing.

5.6 Generic social compliance audits

CBP indicates that financial, environmental, or other audits that do not specifically examine the International Labour Organization’s forced labor indicators may not adequately address forced labor risk.

Where audits are used, CBP recommends independent or third party audits, preferably unannounced, that evaluate the relevant forced labor indicators.

5.7 Foreign language records without translations

Documents submitted to CBP should include English translations. Untranslated records may delay review or prevent CBP from understanding the evidentiary value of the documents.

5.8 Preparing only after detention

A 30 day response period can be extremely difficult when records must be collected from multiple foreign entities.

The importer may also incur storage, demurrage, detention, examination, legal, testing, export, or destruction expenses while the matter is pending.

6. Practical Steps for Importers

Step 1. Establish a written forced labor compliance procedure

The procedure should assign responsibility to compliance, purchasing, logistics, finance, legal, and executive management.

It should explain how the company evaluates new suppliers, reviews existing suppliers, approves high risk sourcing, maintains records, and responds to CBP enforcement notices.

Step 2. Map the supply chain

Create a visual map identifying:

1. Raw material sources.
2. Producers and processors.
3. Manufacturers and subcontractors.
4. Warehouses and consolidators.
5. Exporters and freight providers.
6. Countries and regions involved at each stage.
7. The movement of goods and materials between parties.

The map should reflect the actual production chain, not only the commercial invoicing chain.

Step 3. Screen relevant entities

Importers should review the current UFLPA Entity List, active WROs, Findings, Department of Labor resources, applicable DHS advisories, and other official government information.

The UFLPA Entity List and the broader UFLPA Strategy are updated over time, so supplier screening should be repeated periodically rather than completed only when the relationship begins.

Step 4. Strengthen supplier agreements

Supplier contracts should require:

1. Prohibition of forced labor.
2. Disclosure of upstream suppliers and production locations.
3. Maintenance of traceability records.
4. Cooperation with importer inquiries.
5. Timely production of documents for CBP.
6. Notification of sourcing or facility changes.
7. Audit and inspection rights.
8. Restrictions on unauthorized subcontracting.
9. Corrective action and termination rights.

Step 5. Build the documentary package before shipment

Importers should not merely request documents after CBP takes action.

The compliance file should be assembled before shipment and should include the records needed to trace the product from raw materials to export.

Step 6. Test the documentation trail

Select a sample shipment and determine whether the company can answer:

• Who produced every significant material or component?
• Where did each production step occur?
• How did the material move between facilities?
• Which documents establish each step?
• Do quantities reconcile?
• Are translations available?
• Could the complete file be submitted promptly to CBP?

Step 7. Review high priority sectors more closely

CBP’s new guidance includes specific tracing expectations for sectors such as:

• Aluminum
• Apparel
• Caustic soda
• Copper
• Cotton and cotton products
• Lithium
• PVC
• Red dates
• Seafood
• Silica based products, including polysilicon
• Steel
• Tomatoes and downstream products

Importers in these sectors should compare their current files against the commodity specific recommendations in Appendix A.

Step 8. Consider origin verification technology where appropriate

CBP discusses isotopic testing as a possible tool for verifying the geographic origin of certain naturally occurring materials.

Testing does not replace documentary traceability and is not suitable for every product. However, where scientifically viable, it may strengthen due diligence and help identify inconsistencies between a supplier’s claimed origin and the material’s geographic profile.

CBP does not endorse a particular laboratory or provider.

Step 9. Establish a detention response team

The response team should include the importer’s compliance personnel, customs broker, customs counsel when appropriate, foreign supplier representatives, and any technical or testing providers needed for the product.

The team should be prepared to:

1. Review the detention or exclusion notice.
2. Identify the applicable enforcement process.
3. Calendar every response deadline.
4. Notify CBP of the intended response.
5. Request an extension when justified and available.
6. Preserve all relevant evidence.
7. Prepare an indexed executive summary.
8. Coordinate submission through the Forced Labor Portal, ACE Protest Module, or applicable petition procedure.

CBP has established a Forced Labor Portal for certain forced labor review submissions and has published related importer resources.

7. Prior Disclosure and Redelivery Risks

7.1 Prior disclosure

The guidance addresses situations in which an importer discovers potential forced labor concerns after goods have already been imported.

A prior disclosure under 19 U.S.C. § 1592 may provide penalty mitigation when a person discloses the circumstances of a customs violation before CBP, ICE, or Homeland Security Investigations discovers the possible violation and informs the party.

A prior disclosure must satisfy legal and procedural requirements. Importers considering this option should evaluate the facts carefully with qualified customs counsel and their customs broker.

CBP advises importers with potential forced labor concerns to contact the appropriate Center or the CBP Forced Labor Division for guidance.

7.2 Redelivery

CBP may demand that released merchandise be returned to the port through CBP Form 4647, Notice of Redelivery.

The new guidance states that importers generally have 30 days to return the merchandise after a redelivery demand. Failure to redeliver may result in liquidated damages equal to three times the entered value of the merchandise, depending upon the applicable bond conditions and circumstances.

Additional penalty exposure may also arise under customs laws, including potential importer or broker related enforcement provisions.

This risk demonstrates why importers and brokers must monitor post release CBP communications closely. Release of the cargo does not necessarily mean that forced labor concerns have been permanently resolved.

8. CTPAT Trade Compliance Benefits

The guidance identifies certain forced labor related benefits for participants in the CTPAT Trade Compliance Program.

These may include:

1. Priority handling of admissibility packages.
2. The ability, in qualifying circumstances, to hold merchandise intact at the importer’s facility while CBP completes its review.
3. Preliminary notice of a possible enforcement hold.
4. Advance notification concerning newly issued WROs or Findings.

These benefits are associated with CTPAT Trade Compliance participation, not merely general participation in the CTPAT security program. The importer must meet the program’s applicable requirements and affirmatively request available priority treatment when submitting its documentation.

9. How S. J. Stile Associates Can Help

S. J. Stile Associates Ltd. can assist importers in organizing the customs and logistics aspects of a forced labor compliance program.

Our role may include:

1. Reviewing import data to identify products, manufacturers, countries, and HTS classifications that may require enhanced attention.
2. Helping importers understand CBP detention, exclusion, redelivery, and protest communications.
3. Coordinating entry records, commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, and other customs documentation.
4. Assisting with the organization of documentation for submission to CBP.
5. Monitoring CBP release and enforcement messages.
6. Coordinating communications with the applicable port and Center of Excellence and Expertise.
7. Working with the importer’s customs counsel, suppliers, testing providers, and compliance professionals.
8. Supporting written procedures and import compliance recordkeeping.

A customs broker cannot independently certify that every foreign supplier’s labor practices comply with U.S. law. The importer remains responsible for understanding its supply chain, obtaining upstream records, and exercising reasonable care.

However, early coordination with an experienced customs broker can help ensure that entry information, shipment records, CBP communications, and response procedures are managed consistently and promptly.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important change in CBP’s new guidance?

The publication consolidates CBP’s major forced labor enforcement processes into one operational guide. It covers UFLPA, CAATSA, WROs, Findings, seizures, prior disclosures, redelivery, supply chain tracing, and documentation practices.

Does the guidance replace the 2022 UFLPA importer guidance?

Yes. CBP states that the new publication supersedes its June 13, 2022 UFLPA Operational Guidance for Importers following publication.

Is a supplier affidavit enough to prove admissibility?

Usually not by itself. CBP may require ordinary course business records tracing purchasing, production, transportation, payment, inventory, and raw material origin.

How far back must an importer trace the supply chain?

The required scope depends on the merchandise and the enforcement concern. In many cases, CBP expects tracing back to the raw material stage.

What is the difference between an applicability review and an exception review?

An applicability review argues that the UFLPA does not apply because the goods and inputs have no prohibited XUAR or UFLPA Entity List connection.

An exception review acknowledges the relevant connection but seeks to demonstrate that the statutory exception requirements have been satisfied, including the clear and convincing evidence standard.

How much time does an importer have to respond to a UFLPA detention?

The guidance generally provides 30 days. Limited extensions may be requested, but approval is discretionary and the total response period may not exceed 90 calendar days from the detention notice.

How much time is available for a WRO detention?

The guidance provides three months from importation to provide the required documentation, export the goods, or destroy them.

Can an importer protest an exclusion?

Yes. An importer may generally file a protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 within 180 days of the exclusion decision, subject to the applicable facts and procedural requirements.

Can CBP require additional bond coverage?

The guidance states that CBP may require a single transaction bond for three times the value of detained goods when forced labor is suspected, depending upon the circumstances and applicable bond conditions.

Who pays storage and related costs while CBP conducts its review?

The importer is generally responsible for storage and related commercial costs during the review process.

Can merchandise covered by a Finding be exported?

The guidance states that goods subject to a Finding may be seized and cannot be exported through the same process available for detained merchandise.

Should small importers have a forced labor compliance program?

Yes. The scope of the program may be proportionate to the importer’s size, products, countries, and risk profile, but small size does not eliminate the legal prohibition or the importer’s reasonable care responsibilities.

11. Conclusion

CBP’s new Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance confirms that supply chain traceability is now a central component of U.S. import compliance.

Importers should be able to demonstrate not only who sold the merchandise, but also who produced each significant input, where production occurred, how materials moved through the supply chain, and which reliable records support those conclusions.

The strongest compliance strategy is preparation before shipment. Importers that map their supply chains, screen entities, strengthen supplier contracts, maintain ordinary course business records, reconcile production quantities, and organize response files are better positioned to address CBP inquiries.

Companies that wait until detention may face limited response periods, incomplete foreign records, rapidly increasing storage costs, and difficult decisions concerning exportation, destruction, protest, or litigation.

Forced labor compliance should therefore be integrated into supplier onboarding, purchasing, customs compliance, logistics, recordkeeping, and executive risk management. although payment of actual loss of duty remains a condition of mitigation.

12. Official References

1. CBP Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers, CBP Publication No. 5560-0526
2. CBP Forced Labor Resources
3. 19 U.S.C. § 1307, Prohibition on merchandise produced with forced labor
4. 19 C.F.R. § 12.42, CBP forced labor findings and WRO procedures
5. 19 C.F.R. § 12.44, disposition and seizure procedures
6. DHS UFLPA Strategy
7. 2025 Updates to the UFLPA Strategy
8. DHS UFLPA Entity List
9. 22 U.S.C. § 9241a, North Korean labor rebuttable presumption
10. CBP UFLPA Enforcement Frequently Asked Questions

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Contact S.J. Stile Associates today to learn how we can strengthen your compliance posture and streamline your supply chain.

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