CBP to Launch New UFLPA Interactive Tool, Guidance, Official Says

CBP will soon launch new “interactive” tools on its website, along with additional guidance and frequently asked questions, to help industry comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said. Miller said the agency has been exploring ways to better aid U.S. importers as they navigate increasingly “complex global supply chains” and vet suppliers who may be using forced labor.

“We know that the vast majority of the companies are doing their best to comply with the new act, and we want to work with you,” Miller said during a Dec. 7 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting. “That’s why we’re providing even more information to companies working to comply and ensuring the public understands the effectiveness of UFLPA.”

Miller said CBP is “currently developing” an interactive tool that will provide a range of forced labor enforcement statistics, including the “total number and value of entries identified” as being made with forced labor. He said CBP will break down those statistics by industry and update the numbers quarterly, adding that the agency expects it to launch “early next year.”

CBP is also working on new FAQs to provide guidance for UFLPA regulations, Miller said, along with a new “user interface chatbot to guide users to relevant information.” The updates will add to CBP website’s current resources, he said, which “outline the agency’s process, provide guidance to importers and contain information on effective due diligence to ensure goods are not sourced from Xinjiang.”

The agency is also planning to hold a “forced labor technical expo” this spring, Miller said. The event will bring together industry officials “to share an overview of their technology platforms and technical capabilities to other members of industry” related to UFLPA compliance. “All stakeholders have important roles to play in ending forced labor,” Miller said, “and we look forward to continued input and partnership.”

Miller's remarks anticipated COAC recommendations adopted at the meeting that CBP issue a series of fact sheets on the agency's forced labor enforcement processes, and adopt a process to receive and publish additional FAQs from the public. The COAC also recommended CBP provide more detail in its quarterly forced labor statistics and revamp its webpage to clearly indicate when it updates its forced labor guidance.

Miller also spoke briefly about CBP’s customs broker modernization effort (see 2210170071), saying the agency has been “conducting extensive outreach” with industry to make sure the changes are clear. Thomas West, Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for tax policy, said the agencies are hoping those discussions result in “smooth implementation” of the rule, which takes effect later this month.

“I understand that there may be a few areas where brokers and other stakeholders have indicated that additional guidance could be useful,” West said. “I think that the COAC and the broker modernization working group continues to be well situated to provide feedback as implementation progresses there.”