Angelika Hellweger assesses the effect the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is having on supply chains

With the United States having passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Angelika Hellweger wrote a piece that explained its impact.

In her article, which was published by Solicitors Journal, Angelika details the scale of modern slavery and the moves in recent years to impose import bans on products made with forced labour.

She outlines how the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which came into effect in June 2022, does not allow companies to import goods to the US that were made with the forced labour of Uyghurs and other persons or groups in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The Act presumes that all goods mined or produced in the Xinjiang region are presumed to be made with forced labour and are, therefore, banned from entry into the US – unless there is clear and convincing evidence that this is not the case. This burden of proof applies to the whole supply chain, even if materials or resources from Xinjiang are sent elsewhere to be made into finished products. The UFLPA also applies to goods from entities implicated in forced labour outside of Xinjiang.

Angelika emphasises the importance of companies that import into the US checking they are not attempting to bring goods in that have links to such entities. Her article also lists the product types most likely to be subject to rigorous enforcement by US customs and the obligations on importers to show the goods they are importing were not created using forced labour.

Angelika also explains how companies can identify and minimise the risk of involvement with forced labour.

Angelika's article can be read in Solicitors Journal. (Subscription required)