US to ban all imports of goods made or part-made in Xinjiang Uyghur region 27/05/22

From 21 June, the US is set to ban all imports of goods made or part-made in the Xinjiang Uyghur region of China. All imports mined, produced or manufactured in the Xingjian Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) will be subject to the import ban as part of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

The act effectively deems all goods from the XUAR region to be produced under forced labour.

The ruling extends to goods imported indirectly from the region, including those imported from countries other than China. Materials sourced from the XUAR and used in production fall under the latest legislation, which could lead to a large number of US importers having goods detained on entry into the country.

Certain exceptions will allow the movement of goods from the XUAR, provided that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determines certain criteria are met:

• The importer of record has fully complied with relevant guidance to be provided by CBP, in addition to any regulations issued to implement that guidance
• The importer has completely and substantively responded to all inquiries for information submitted by CBP to ascertain whether the goods were made wholly or in part with forced labour
• By clear and convincing evidence, the goods were not made wholly or in part by forced labour

Any goods from the XUAR that overcome the rebuttable presumption of being made by forced labour will be included in a public list to be issued by CBP 30 days after making such determination.

Our teams continue to monitor the situation closely. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.