No Chinese Postal Code Required If Seller MID Used for Non-Textile Entries, CBP Official Says

Importers of non-textile goods that are of Chinese origin but sourced from a seller in another country may not have to transmit the Chinese postal code as will be required on March 18 (see 2212210041) under a new ACE Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “Region Alert,” according to a CBP official speaking during a webinar hosted by the agency Jan. 26.

Currently, though textile importers are always required to report the actual manufacturer in the manufacturer ID, importers of other types of merchandise can choose between the manufacturer or the seller, Katie Woodson of CBP’s Forced Labor Division said during the webinar. CBP won't change that policy as it moves forward with the Chinese postal code requirement, she said.

So even after the postal code requirement takes effect March 18, importers of, for example, a Chinese-origin good sourced from a Canadian company may transmit the manufacturer ID of the Canadian company, and in that case “the postal code requirements will not be active,” Woodson said. “In other words, there is no requirement to transmit that postal code for China if you're using a Canadian ID,” she said.

CBP will not release a list of Chinese postal codes nor a list of postal codes in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as it deploys the UFLPA Region Alert, Woodson said. “Everyone needs to do the due diligence to know” their supply chains, and “part of that due diligence” is the knowledge of where a shipment came from, including the manufacturer’s name and address, which includes the postal code, she said.