CBP Releases New Guidance for Importers on UFLPA, Including Applicability Review Tips

CBP published a set of new guidance documents for importers on the agency’s enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act on Feb. 23, including new answers to frequently asked questions on its website, best practices for submitting documentation to prove detained goods aren’t subject to UFLPA, and guidance on how executive summaries and tables of contents should be put together for that documentation.

According to the FAQs, importers that want to submit documentation for an “applicability review” on whether their goods are subject to the UFLPA should submit transaction and supply chain records, documents demonstrating the parties participating in the transaction and documentation related to payment and transportation for the associated raw materials. The FAQs referred importers to CBP’s Operational Guidance for Importers on UFLPA for specific examples (see 2206140037).

The FAQs include information for importers of shipments identical to those CBP has already detained and released after review. CBP has said it may still detain future identical shipments after one has been released (see 2301270078), but importers should “clearly indicate” on their submission packages “that the supply chain is identical to a previously reviewed supply chain for which the goods were found admissible (either through an applicability review, a UFLPA exception request, or an advance ruling),” CBP said in the FAQs.

When applicability reviews are involved, “importers can significantly accelerate the applicability review process for shipments from a supply chain identical to one previously reviewed and cleared by CBP by providing a summary tracing report to the" assigned Center of Excellence, CBP said. The report should “include the suppliers/producers for all production stages and a business record -- such as an invoice number, contract number, or purchase order number -- involved in the production of the merchandise being imported,” the agency said.

“This information enables CBP to quickly verify that the new shipment is from the same supply chain,” CBP said of the summary tracing reports. “Using this approach, the detention period for detained shipments that employ a supply chain identical to one previously cleared has declined to an average of ten to 14 days.”

Likewise, importers of shipments from supply chains that rely on “inputs commingled during the production process with materials suspected of being manufactured using forced labor” should expect such shipments "to be detained pending CBP’s review of documents demonstrating that the imported merchandise complies with the UFLPA,” but “can accelerate the review process for future shipments relying on the same commingled supply chain by providing a summary tracing report with their submission package,” CBP said.

CBP’s new document on best practices for submitting documentation for admissibility reviews “identifies and summarizes best practices drawn from importer submissions,” CBP said. “These practices facilitated the release of goods and streamlined the CBP review process.”

Best practices include preparing a plan for responding to a detention under the UFLPA before any detention occurs, including confirming that suppliers are aware of UFLPA and maintaining supply chain documentation, and communicating “early” with the appropriate Center before it arrives at the port of entry. Importers should also submit a complete, well-organized package with English translations and provide a list of suppliers that identifies each supplier’s role in the production of the goods, among other things.

The best practices document includes two brief examples of “properly prepared applicability review packages,” one from a solar panel importer and the other from an apparel importer.

It says that, “As an importer gains experience with submitting applicability packages and CBP becomes familiarized with consistent supply chains, the processing time for the importer’s applicability reviews generally will decrease.”

Finally, CBP’s guidance on executive summaries and sample tables of contents for UFLPA applicability review submissions “identifies documents that typically facilitate CBP’s review and should be included in importer submissions,” it said. “Each package of documents should be well organized and include an Executive Summary explaining the documents contained in the package,” and should include an annotated document list, a summary of the supply chain and additional summary information.

The guidance includes both a general sample table of contents listing recommended documentation, as well as a sample table of contents for a solar panel importer that includes documentation importers should get from the module producers, solar cell suppliers, wafer suppliers, ingot suppliers, polysilicon suppliers, metallurgical grad silicon suppliers and quartzite suppliers.

In the FAQs, CBP said it still plans on adding UFLPA enforcement statistics to its website. “This information will include an interactive dashboard containing data on the total number and value of shipments detained pursuant to the UFLPA, with an anticipated release date of March 31, 2023,” CBP said.