Please contact Hannah Laming, Francesco Liberatore and Francesca Puttock with any questions. Forced labour and modern slavery have been the subject of renewed focus across the UK and EU in recent months. While not changing the fundamental reporting requirements under the UK Modern Slavery Act, new guidance from the UK Home Office in March 2025 offers practical … Continue Reading
Companies are preparing to comply with the European Union’s new deforestation regulation (EUDR). On June 29, 2023, the European Parliament and Council formally adopted the EUDR. The EUDR goes into effect on December 30, 2024 for large companies (operators and traders)[1] and June 30, 2025 for micro and small exporters.[2]… Continue Reading
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently indicated potential increased scrutiny of battery technology under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA,” or the “Act”). Although the Act covers essentially all trade touching China’s Xinjiang region, it specifically lists cotton, polysilicon, and tomatoes as high-priority sectors for enforcement. Recent CBP actions indicate battery technologies are also … Continue Reading
On June 12, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), published a Notice adding two entities and eight subsidiaries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, for allegedly working with the government of the People’s Republic of China’s Xinjiang Province to recruit, … Continue Reading
How IPEF Builds On Prior Trade Relationships Negotiated By The Biden Administration: In May 2023, the Biden Administration announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a commitment to improving supply chains between the U.S., and the Indo-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, … Continue Reading
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) remains a work in progress, as importers work to mitigate shipment detentions and respond to UFLPA reviews and enforcement actions. Emerging best practices may guide stakeholders as they navigate these uncertainties.… Continue Reading
As part of a continued effort to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and to provide early warning to importers and their representatives that goods may have been produced in the Xinjian Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will require businesses to provide a valid postal code for Chinese manufacturers … Continue Reading
This is a Cross-Post from The Trade Practitioner. Please contact Karen Harbaugh with any questions. The Biden Administration recently released the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Proposed Rule requiring contractors of the federal government to disclose climate-related risks. Read more on the proposed requirements here.… Continue Reading
On August 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), formally published the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. The Entity list is a consolidated register of the four lists required to be developed and maintained pursuant to Section 2(d)(2)(B) of … Continue Reading
On August 2, 2022, Senators Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) introduced the Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act, legislation that would expand the categories of persons that could be sanctioned under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (UHRPA). Rep. Jim Banks (R-Indiana) filed a companion in the House of Representatives.… Continue Reading
Christmas came early this year. Ok, not really, but the Department of Homeland Security, which chairs the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) released its strategy guidance on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act on June 17, 2022—four days ahead of schedule. Click here to view FLETF’s strategy guidance. SPB will be hosting a webinar … Continue Reading
Late Monday, June 13, 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its long-anticipated Operational Importer Guidance to guide importers before the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enters into effect on June 21. As a reminder, beginning on that date, CBP will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods coming from the Xinjiang region violate a … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2022, US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Trade Relations hosted a webinar on forthcoming implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Half of the webinar focused on the history, enactment, and text of the UFLPA (discussed in this blog’s previous posts here, here, and here), while the second … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a statement on its website that it would be issuing letters to importers identified as having previously imported merchandise from locations or entities potentially subject to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Well, CBP stuck to its word and just recently released two sample … Continue Reading
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act goes into effect on June 21, 2022. The Act creates a rebuttable presumption that “any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China” (or by an entity included on a list required … Continue Reading
Regulators worldwide are increasing their demands that manufacturers and retailers know and understand all aspects of their supply chains as they relate to Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) goals. Keeping the findings, communications, information, and reports generated in connection with supply chain ESG investigations is imperative to ensure full and candid fact-finding and to manage … Continue Reading
In one of the first dawn raids of the New Year, the German competition authority have raided the premises of several cable manufacturers. The investigation arose in response to alleged coordination of metal surcharge calculations.… Continue Reading
The palm oil industry has sometimes been associated with human rights abuses and adverse environmental impacts, including deforestation, soil pollution and erosion, water contamination, and threatening endangered species. However, meaningful efforts are being made to change that. On February 16, 2018, Unilever shared information about its suppliers and mills in order to provide greater transparency … Continue Reading
