Implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Inbox

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Starting today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin to implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s provisions to prohibit imports made by forced labor into the United States of products made in Xinjiang.  President Biden signed the Act into law on December 23, 2021, after it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the United States Congress, underscoring our commitment to combating forced labor everywhere, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing.

The State Department is committed to working with Congress and our interagency partners to continue combating forced labor in Xinjiang and strengthen international coordination against this egregious violation of human rights.  Addressing forced labor and other human rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and around the world is a priority for President Biden and this Administration.  We have taken concrete measures to promote accountability in Xinjiang, including visa restrictions, financial sanctions under Global Magnitsky, export controls, Withhold Release Orders and import restrictions, as well as the release of a multi-agency business advisory on Xinjiang to help U.S. companies avoid commerce that facilitates or benefits from human rights abuses, including forced labor.  Together with our interagency partners, we will continue to engage companies to remind them of U.S. legal obligations which prohibit importing goods to the United States that are made with forced labor.

We are rallying our allies and partners to make global supply chains free from the use of forced labor, to speak out against atrocities in Xinjiang, and to join us in calling on the government of the PRC to immediately end atrocities and human rights abuses, including forced labor.

For more information on implementation of the Act, see: https://www.dhs.gov/uflpa.