China Forced Labor Act - Avoid Shipments in Detention

Today we sit down with Adrienne Braumiller, founder of Braumiller Law Group PLLC and a dynamic force in the international trade law arena. With more than 30 years of experience, she is widely recognized as a leading authority in Customs, import, export, foreign-trade zones, free trade agreements, and ITAR compliance. She’s here to break down the hot topic of The Uyghur Forced Labor Act (UFLPA) which came into effect in June 2022. 

Compared to other U.S. actions on forced labor, for the UFLPA the burden of proof rests with the company, not the government.  Once shipments are detained, the government doesn’t need to prove forced labor, the company needs to prove that forced labor was not used. This is a huge shift in policy from other acts where the burden of proof rested with the government. Because of this feature, more companies are at risk of penalty and detention. 

In our discussion Adrienne shares information about the program. The UFLPA, it is a regulation specific to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, and is a reaction to the purported human rights violations coming from the area. 

Adrienne dives into how companies have been performing their own due diligence and challenges they may have complying. She shares her recommendations on how they can prepare to meet the guidelines set before them. It’s worth noting her insight as she mentions that complex supply chains make compliance even harder. 

Kim asks what the US is doing as far as enforcement and penalties of UFLPA go and Adrienne shares her experience. Adrienne, then outlines the standards companies might need to meet to free their goods from detention, and other options companies have if or when their goods are detained. With the presumption of guilt built into UFLPA, the act certainly has more teeth. But is there a Plan B if goods are held in detention? Tune in to find out.

Things you’ll learn

1. Since the Uyghur Forced Labor Act (UFLPA) came  into effect, companies of all sizes are at risk that their goods could be seized at import into the U.S.
2. UFLPA is not the same as other forced labor Withhold Release Orders in place.  Learn key differences and how they might catch your company’s goods in detention. 
3. With the presumption of guilt fundamental to UFLPA, it’s a much stronger deterrent and risk for companies. Listen to find out if there a Plan B when goods are detained. 

NOTE: This podcast is a discussion and does not constitute legal advice.

LINKS
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA
https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/uflpa-operational-guidance-importers
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/our-work/supply-chains

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