Entries From Company Connected to Xinjiang in Fabric Supply Chain Barred, CBP Rules

Apparel imported through the port at Newark, New Jersey, held under suspicion of being manufactured using forced labor was found to be inadmissible by CBP, in an April 26 ruling. In a rare ruling focused on forced labor, CBP found that importer Muji U.S.A. failed to provide satisfactory evidence that the goods were not manufactured with forced labor or that their supply chain was not connected with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, finding the goods are subject to a withhold release order on Xinjiang cotton.

The ruling was in response to a request for further review after CBP denied Muji's protest over the detained items. The entry documentation included the commercial invoice, packing list, certificates of origin and bill of lading listing the seller and manufacturer of the merchandise as Unity Fashion Cambo of Cambodia, and Muji as the importer of record.

The imported pullovers were originally held under a 2021 CBP WRO that directed port personnel to detain all cotton and tomatoes along with their downstream products produced in whole or in part in the Xinjiang region of China.

In August 2022, Muji sent CBP a request for release of the merchandise and included supply chain tracing documentation. CBP determined that the information Muji provided failed to demonstrate that no forced labor was used in the manufacturing of the merchandise, and recommended the merchandise be excluded from entry.

Muji had provided supply chain tracing information, showing that no step of the manufacturing process occurred within the XUAR. Specifically, Muji provided certificates of origin, sales contracts, commercial invoices, proof of payment, supply certificates, transaction certificates, maps and graphs showing that the raw cotton was produced in India, processed into yarn and then fabric in China outside the XUAR, and converted to clothing in Cambodia.

However, CBP said that internal documents showed that one of the companies in Muji's supply chain was linked with the XUAR, though the specifics were redacted.

Based on that evidence, CBP determined that Muji did not provide sufficient evidence to establish that either the goods were not produced with forced labor or that their supply chain was not linked with the XUAR. Accordingly, CBP determined that the merchandise was subject to the WRO and that exclusion was appropriate.