New Compliance Tools: CBP Issues Comprehensive Forced Labor Guidance

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), on June 9, 2026, published its Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers (2026 Guidance), replacing its June 2022 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)-only guidance with a consolidated forced-labor enforcement reference.

The 2026 Guidance addresses the UFLPA, along with Section 321A of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and 19 U.S.C. § 1307 enforcement through Withhold Release Orders (WROs) and Findings. CBP has clarified the routes for detention, exclusion, seizure, review and protest. However, importers must be ready to prove admissibility quickly and with complete supply-chain evidence.

Major provisions are briefly outlined below.

Process Maps

The 2026 Guidance introduces process maps and a comparison table distinguishing UFLPA potential-input, UFLPA direct-input, CAATSA, WRO and Finding actions. These tools help importers identify the governing authority, response period, review forum and disposition options at the outset of a detention or exclusion.

UFLPA: Potential Input vs. Direct Input Pathways

The 2026 Guidance separates UFLPA matters into potential-input and direct-input pathways.

For potential inputs – where CBP suspects but has not confirmed a Xinjiang, China, or UFLPA Entity List connection – CBP may detain or exclude the goods. Importers may pursue an applicability review by showing the supply chain is outside the UFLPA or an exception review by rebutting the presumption under the UFLPA Strategy. Detention notices provide 30 days to respond, and submissions are made through the CBP Forced Labor Portal.

For direct inputs – where CBP determines that goods were mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in Xinjiang or a UFLPA Entity List entity – CBP excludes the goods. Importers may export, destroy, or protest and submit evidence within 180 days.

The distinction matters because importers must know whether they are contesting UFLPA applicability or conceding applicability and seeking to rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence.

CAATSA: Section 321A

Section 321A creates a rebuttable presumption that goods produced wholly or in part by North Korean nationals or citizens anywhere in the world are produced with forced labor and prohibited under 22 U.S.C. § 9241a.

CBP excludes goods that violate CAATSA. Importers may export, destroy or protest the exclusion within 180 days and submit an exception review through the Forced Labor Portal. The evidentiary standard is clear and convincing evidence under 22 U.S.C. § 9241a(b).

Although CBP has not issued CAATSA-specific rebuttal guidance, the 2026 Guidance points importers to the UFLPA Strategy and Appendix F as useful models.

WRO and Finding Sections

WROs are issued when CBP has reasonable suspicion that goods were produced wholly or in part with prohibited labor and are being, or are likely to be, imported. Importers have three months to export, destroy or request an admissibility review through the Forced Labor Portal by showing that the goods are outside the WRO or were not produced with forced labor.

Findings are issued when CBP has probable cause that forced labor was used and goods are being, or are likely to be, imported. Findings may result in seizure and forfeiture; importers generally must petition the CBP's Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Office within 30 days to contest seizure.

Proactive Compliance and CTPAT Benefits

The 2026 Guidance emphasizes pre-importation due diligence, not post-detention scrambling. Importers should expect CBP to scrutinize supplier relationships, origin records and traceability before releasing goods.

CBP also identifies Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Trade Compliance benefits for forced-labor reviews, including prioritized admissibility review, redelivery flexibility for certain shipments held at importer facilities, preliminary hold notifications, and 48-hour advance notice of new WROs or Findings.

Documentation, Appendices and Best Practices

The expanded appendices are operationally important. They include:

• recommended supply-chain tracing documents for all current UFLPA high-priority sectors
• practical UFLPA due diligence examples
• best practices for Forced Labor Portal submissions, including searchable, indexed, translated and nonduplicative materials
• sample UFLPA, WRO, and CAATSA detention and exclusion notices
• sample Notices of Redelivery and Certificates of Origin
• isotopic testing guidance, which CBP may use to assess origin claims and commingling risk

The appendices underscore that affidavits, redacted records, untranslated documents and incomplete sub-tier supplier information are unlikely to satisfy CBP. For UFLPA exception requests, a gap for even one supplier can undermine the entire submission.

Forced Labor Portal and Operational Infrastructure

The Forced Labor Portal is the primary submission mechanism for UFLPA applicability reviews, UFLPA exception reviews, CAATSA exception reviews and WRO admissibility reviews.

The 2026 Guidance also addresses redelivery and prior disclosure procedures. Importers that identify a forced-labor issue before CBP or Homeland Security Investigations discovers it should evaluate whether a prior disclosure under 19 U.S.C. § 1592 may reduce potential penalties.

Recent Enforcement Activity

Recent enforcement activity underscores why importers should operationalize the 2026 Guidance before a live detention or an exclusion. In the first half of 2026, CBP has so far issued four WROs, compared to five in 2025 and two in 2024. These WROs cover a broad range of industries – such as agricultural products, including coffee – and industrial materials, such as copper and copper products, while also modifying a palm oil WRO after determining that forced-labor concerns had been remediated.

CBP's UFLPA enforcement statistics indicate that enforcement in fiscal year (FY) 2026 is generally in line with FY 2025. From FY 2025 through April of FY 2026, CBP has detained a total of 17,651 shipments under the UFLPA alone and denied entry to 10,959. In total, the value of these detained shipments amounts to $294.76 million in cargo, consisting of:

• electronics ($179.67 million)
• automotive and aerospace ($53.98 million)
• machinery ($22.80 million)
• industrial and manufacturing materials ($14.73 million)
• apparel, footwear, textiles ($9.6 million)
• base metals ($5.84 million)
• pharmaceuticals, health and chemicals ($5.48 million)
• agriculture and prepared products ($4.55 million)
• consumer products and mass merchandising ($3.47 million)

CBP's recent guidance highlights continued scrutiny of high-risk sectors and inputs, including apparel, cotton and cotton products, polysilicon, tomatoes, aluminum, polyvinyl chloride, seafood, caustic soda, copper, lithium, red dates and steel. These actions and sector-specific updates show that forced-labor enforcement is not limited to UFLPA/Xinjiang matters or any single geography, product category or supply-chain tier.

Next Steps

Importers should use the 2026 Guidance to address potential forced labor risks – before CBP detains a shipment. Companies should consider the following measures:

• mapping products, raw materials and suppliers against UFLPA, CAATSA, WRO and Finding risks, with priority attention to high-priority sectors
• building authority-specific response playbooks that account for 30-day, three-month and 180-day response periods
• distinguishing UFLPA applicability arguments from exception requests requiring clear and convincing evidence
• prebuilding evidence packages with purchase orders, invoices, bills of materials, production records, transportation records, supplier attestations, translations and sub-tier supplier documentation
• using executive summaries and indexed, searchable portal submissions
• evaluating whether CTPAT Trade Compliance benefits justify enrollment or enhanced participation
• testing redelivery, storage-cost, bond and prior-disclosure procedures before a live detention
• strengthening supplier contracts to require traceability records, cooperation, audit rights, translation support and rapid escalation
• reviewing and updating forced-labor compliance programs at least annually and when CBP updates high-priority sectors, WROs, Findings or the UFLPA Entity List

For more information or questions, please contact the authors.

Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not designed to be, and should not be used as, the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a legal problem, and it should not be substituted for legal advice, which relies on a specific factual analysis. Moreover, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and are constantly changing. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, we urge you to consult the authors of this publication, your Holland & Knight representative or other competent legal counsel.