Background

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2021 and was implemented on June 21, 2022. 

The UFLPA supports the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) forced labor enforcement authority and establishes a rebuttable presumption that all goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) region of the People’s Republic of China, or by entities identified by the United States government on a UFLPA entities list, are prohibited from entry in the United States in accordance with Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1307).

New Development

To provide an early notification for importers and their representatives to identify imported goods that may be produced in the XUAR region of China, the CBP deployed a UFLPA Region Alert enhancement to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on March 18, 2023. 

Due to this enhancement ACE will now perform a region alert validation when China is selected as the manufacturer’s country of origin for a U.S. import entry where the manufacturer’s name and address details are required. In addition, validations will also be performed when a Manufacturer’s Identification Number (MID) is created or updated in ACE.

Impact to Canadian exporters

On March 18, 2023, all goods (commercial and non-commercial) shipped to the U.S. that require the manufacturer’s name and address for customs clearance such as textiles, apparel, and goods that are subject to anti-dumping and countervailing duties, must include a valid postal code when the manufacturer has and address in China. This requirement is regardless of where the goods were shipped from (i.e., country of export) or the value of the goods.

To avoid clearance delays, for shipments containing products manufactured in China the following best practices are recommended: 

1. The Shipper/Sender address provided on the shipping documentation (e.g., Air waybill and Commercial Invoice) must include their postal code

2. The Manufacturer’s address should be provided on the commercial invoice and must include their postal code

3. New and existing MIDs in ACE should be created/updated with a valid postal code

If the postal code provided for the Chinese manufacturer is associated to the XUAR region, the CBP will issue a warning message through ACE. In this scenario, the imported goods would likely be detained and the CBP could require additional documentation from the U.S. importer. This could lead to the goods being prohibited from entry into the U.S. or seized by the CBP.

For all questions regarding the UFLPA Region Alert Enhancement and requirements, contact the CBP by emailing UFLPAINQUIRY@cbp.dhs.gov. 

Additional Information and References

World Postal Code Search

CBP UFLPA Website

Operational Guidance for Importers

CBP Cargo Systems Mess