Forced Labor and UFLPA Compliance: What Importers Need to Know Under CBP's 2026 Guidance

On June 9, 2026, CBP published new operational guidance for importers on forced labor enforcement — replacing its 2022 UFLPA guidance. If you import in any of the 12 high-priority sectors, a single untraceable supplier can get an entire shipment detained or excluded. Here is how Section 307, the UFLPA, and CAATSA actually work at the port, and what a defensible supply chain looks like.

Forced-labor enforcement is now one of the highest-stakes areas of U.S. import compliance. A shipment can be detained — and ultimately excluded — not because of anything the importer did wrong, but because of an undocumented supplier several tiers down the chain. On June 9, 2026, CBP published updated operational guidance for importers (Publication No. 5560-0526), replacing its June 13, 2022 UFLPA guidance. Here is how the law works at the port, and what a defensible supply chain looks like.

This article reflects CBP's operational guidance for importers published June 9, 2026 (Publication No. 5560-0526), which supersedes the June 13, 2022 UFLPA guidance. Enforcement priorities and the UFLPA Entity List change over time — confirm current requirements against CBP's official forced-labor resources, and consult legal counsel on specific shipments.

What "Forced Labor" Means Under U.S. Law

The foundation is Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1307), which bars importing any merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor — including convict, indentured, and forced child labor. "Wholly or in part" is the critical phrase: even a single tainted input can bar the entire finished good. CBP assesses three elements, using the ILO's 11 indicators of forced labor:

• Work or service is exacted from a person
• Under the menace of any penalty — which can be financial, documentary, or coercive, not just physical
• For which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily

Three Enforcement Regimes: UFLPA, CAATSA, and Section 307 WROs

Section 307 is the underlying prohibition, but CBP enforces it through several mechanisms. Which one applies determines your timeline, your options, and the standard of evidence you face.

1. The UFLPA Rebuttable Presumption

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act presumes that goods produced wholly or in part in China's Xinjiang region (XUAR), or by any company on the UFLPA Entity List, are made with forced labor and barred from entry. The presumption is rebuttable — but the burden is entirely on the importer to overcome it with clear and convincing evidence.

2. CAATSA and North Korean Labor

CAATSA (22 U.S.C. § 9241a) creates a parallel presumption: goods made wholly or in part by North Korean nationals or citizens — anywhere in the world, not just in North Korea — are presumed made with forced labor and prohibited. This matters for supply chains that use contract labor across multiple countries.

3. Withhold Release Orders and Findings

Outside those presumptions, CBP enforces Section 307 directly. A Withhold Release Order (WRO) is issued on reasonable suspicion, and cargo is detained. A Finding is a stronger action issued on probable cause; the goods can be seized and forfeited — and, unlike a WRO or UFLPA detention, goods subject to a Finding cannot be exported.

Not sure which regime applies to your products?

How CBP Enforcement Works at the Port

When cargo is flagged, your timeline and options depend on the mechanism — a "potential" input means a Xinjiang or Entity List nexus is possible, a "direct" input means it is established — and missing a deadline can cost you the shipment:

• UFLPA detention (potential input): detained, then excluded. You generally have 30 days to respond, with up to two 30-day extensions, to export, destroy, or demonstrate admissibility through the Forced Labor Portal.
• UFLPA exclusion (direct input) and CAATSA: the goods are excluded; the path forward is a protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514.
• Section 307 WRO: the goods are detained, with about three months to demonstrate admissibility.
• Section 307 Finding: the goods are seized — petition to the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer, and the goods cannot be exported.

Across all of these, the importer pays storage and demurrage while the shipment sits, and CBP may require a single-transaction bond for three times the value of the detained merchandise. The financial pressure builds fast — which is why preparation beats reaction.

The 12 UFLPA High-Priority Sectors

CBP focuses enforcement on high-priority sectors that receive heightened scrutiny. If you import any of these — including downstream products that incorporate them — treat forced-labor documentation as a standard part of your process:

• Aluminum
• Apparel
• Caustic soda
• Copper
• Cotton and cotton products
• Lithium
• PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
• Red dates (jujubes)
• Seafood
• Silica-based products, including polysilicon
• Steel
• Tomatoes and downstream products

Downstream exposure is the trap most importers miss. You may not import raw cotton or polysilicon directly — but if it is embedded in apparel, solar panels, or processed foods you bring in, the same scrutiny applies. CBP asks what your product is made of, not just what it is.

What CBP Expects: Supply-Chain Due Diligence

CBP's guidance is explicit that a credible, ongoing due-diligence program — not a one-time certificate — is the foundation of compliance. The core elements:

1. Map your supply chain from finished good back to raw material, identifying every supplier tier — not just your direct vendor.
2. Adopt a supplier code of conduct prohibiting forced labor, and flow it down contractually to every tier.
3. Monitor and verify continuously, including unannounced third-party social-compliance audits against the ILO indicators — not financial or environmental audits.
4. Remediate issues when found, and document the corrective action.
5. Use origin verification where appropriate, including isotopic testing to confirm where a raw material actually originated.
6. Screen continuously against the UFLPA Entity List, the DOL List of Goods, CBP's WROs and Findings dashboard, and the DHS Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory.

If Your Shipment Is Detained: The Admissibility Package

To demonstrate admissibility — whether rebutting the UFLPA presumption or responding to a WRO — you submit evidence through CBP's Forced Labor Portal (flportal.cbp.gov) tracing your supply chain to the raw-material stage. A defensible package generally includes:

• A certificate of origin signed by the foreign seller, covering the last manufacturing process
• A detailed importer statement describing the full supply chain
• Certificates of origin and manufacturer affidavits for each supplier tier
• Purchase orders, invoices, and proof of payment connecting each transaction
• Production records, process flow charts, and factory maps
• Bills of lading and transportation records tracing the movement of inputs
• Evidence tracing the raw material itself, such as isotopic testing or production-volume records

The single biggest reason submissions fail is a gap in the chain. If you can document seven of eight suppliers but cannot trace the eighth to the raw material, CBP can treat the whole submission as insufficient and exclude the goods. Completeness — not volume — determines the outcome.

CTPAT Trade Compliance and Forced Labor

CTPAT Trade Compliance membership does not exempt goods from the law, but it materially improves your visibility and response time:

• Front-of-line admissibility review when a shipment is flagged
• Additional flexibility on redelivery of goods
• Preliminary notification when a hold is being placed
• 48-hour advance notice when a new WRO or Finding will affect your goods

How a Customs Broker Helps

A licensed customs broker is not a law firm and does not perform social-compliance audits — but a broker sits where forced-labor risk becomes an entry decision, and plays a practical role:

• Assessing your exposure by HTS code and country of origin before goods ship
• Reviewing the classification and country-of-origin determinations that drive CBP targeting
• Helping organize supply-chain documentation so it is ready before a detention, not scrambled together after one
• Coordinating the response and Forced Labor Portal submission with you and your legal counsel, and advising on CTPAT, bond, and prior-disclosure considerations

For a deeper, importer-focused walkthrough — including a self-assessment and the documentation to assemble now — see our dedicated forced-labor and UFLPA compliance page.

This article is general information for importers, NVOCCs, and freight forwarders and is not legal advice. Forced-labor enforcement and the UFLPA Entity List change over time. Specific shipments, detentions, and rebuttal submissions should be handled with qualified legal counsel and a licensed customs broker, and confirmed against current CBP guidance.