Dear Valued Customer,
On August 1, 2023, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), chaired by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced new enforcement actions to combat forced labor against minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The FLETF added two China based companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.
Additionally, DHS has also released the 2023 updates to the “Strategy to Prevent the Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People’s Republic of China” as required by Congress.
On August 4, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) #57200992 that to avoid storage fees at the port of entry forced labor detained cargo is permitted to move to a customs bonded warehouse for storage pending the resolution by CBP or the importer. To utilize this method to reduce costs, the importer or their customs broker will need to make the request to CBP for approval.
Upon approval, the importer or their customs broker can update the entry type from a formal entry (e.g., Entry Type 01) to a bonded warehouse entry (Entry Type 21). CBP did clarify that under no circumstances can detained cargo for forced labor be moved to a foreign trade zone (FTZ).
Resources
UFLPA Strategy | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)
CSMS # 57200992 - Movement of Forced Labor Detained Cargo for Storage (govdelivery.com)
Thank you for being a Valued Customer. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your C.H. Robinson commercial representative for further information.
Sincerely,
C. H. Robinson