On Friday, June 12, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released new Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers, consolidating and updating its approach to forced labor enforcement under 19 U.S.C. § 1307, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. The operational guidance provides importers with a single Customs and Border Protection resource outlining its enforcement processes, documentation expectations, and practical steps importers can adopt to mitigate forced labor risks in supply chains.
Background on Forced Labor Enforcement
U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods produced, wholly or in part, with forced labor under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1307), which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforces at the border by detaining, excluding, or seizing non-compliant merchandise. Over time, Congress has expanded this framework through additional authorities, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are made with forced labor, and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which addresses the use of North Korean labor. CBP enforces these laws through Withhold Release Orders (WROs), formal findings, and statutory presumptions, placing the burden on importers to demonstrate that their goods are admissible and free of forced labor through robust due diligence and supply chain documentation.
Key Takeaways
- Unified Guidance: For the first time, CBP’s guidance brings together operational details for all three forced labor authorities – 19 U.S.C. § 1307 (WROs/Findings), UFLPA, and CAATSA – into a single document, superseding prior UFLPA guidance.
- Process Transparency: The guidance includes new process maps for UFLPA, WRO, Finding, and CAATSA enforcement, clarifying how CBP identifies shipments, issues detention or exclusion notices, and evaluates importer responses. The guidance also includes instructions for responding to detentions, exclusions, and redelivery demands.
- Shorter Timelines: UFLPA and CAATSA detentions require importers to respond within 30 days (with limited extension options), while WRO detentions allow three months to respond.
- Enhanced Documentation Expectations: The guidance emphasizes that importers must maintain comprehensive, end-to-end supply chain records, including purchase orders, invoices, bills of lading, production records, and certificates of origin tracing inputs from raw materials to finished goods. These materials are critical to demonstrating admissibility and rebutting forced labor presumptions.
- Sector-Specific Documentation: The guidance provides recommended supply chain documentation for high-priority sectors (e.g., cotton, tomatoes, polysilicon, apparel, aluminum, seafood), practical due diligence examples, and sample notices.
- Due Diligence Emphasis: Importers are expected to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate forced labor risks, maintain traceability to the raw material stage, and demonstrate compliance through well-documented internal controls and supplier engagement.
- Review and Protest Options: The guidance clarifies the distinction between exception and applicability reviews, outlines protest procedures, and details evidentiary expectations across enforcement scenarios.
- CBP Resources: The document highlights tools such as the Forced Labor Portal, the UFLPA Entity List, and the WROs and Findings Dashboard for ongoing compliance monitoring.
Why This Matters
CBP’s consolidated operational guidance signals a more coordinated and transparent enforcement approach, while reinforcing heightened expectations for importer diligence. Companies with supply chains in high-risk regions or sectors should review the guidance closely and assess whether existing compliance programs align with CBP’s updated documentation and response expectations, particularly given compressed timelines for responding to enforcement actions.
How We Can Help
Cassidy Levy Kent’s team of attorneys, licensed customs brokers, and compliance specialists can assist with supply chain mapping, documentation review, and responding to CBP detentions or exclusions. We help clients design and implement due diligence systems that align with CBP’s evolving expectations and support the admissibility of goods under U.S. forced labor laws.
The full guidance is available on CBP’s website here.