The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law in December 2021, establishing a rebuttable presumption that goods produced wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List are made with forced labor and prohibited from importation into the U.S. under 19 U.S.C. §1307 (11).
In 2023, the United States government published an addendum to the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory, which encourages businesses and individuals to undertake appropriate human rights due diligence measures by identifying products with inputs from the XUAR, or potential supply chain links to entities operating in the XUAR or included on the UFLPA Entity List. This business advisory, the UFLPA Strategy, the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor and ILAB’s Comply Chain due diligence tool for businesses are practical guides for raising awareness and addressing this issue. With such severe and well-documented, widespread abuses, it is important that the world remain vigilant with respect to labor and goods linked to the XUAR and employ reasonable measures to guard against complicity in these violations.
Our Role
As an active and critical member of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, or ILAB, is committed to contributing and leveraging our expertise to support our partner U.S. government agencies to address labor rights abuses in global supply chains. ILAB has prioritized enforcing the UFLPA, which aligns with the U.S. government’s broader efforts to eradicate forced labor from U.S. supply chains.
With over 75 years of experience working at the intersection of labor rights, human rights, and the global economy, ILAB is uniquely positioned to guide the U.S. government’s efforts to address forced labor throughout global supply chains.
Our reporting and deep expertise bring attention to global labor abuses and provide a foundational knowledge that is used by our counterparts throughout the U.S. government.
Along with the Department of Homeland Security, ILAB serves as co-chair of the Task Force’s UFLPA Entity List Subcommittee. ILAB works closely with sister Task Force agencies, developing a methodology and process to consider in reviewing entities to place on the Entity List. ILAB is committed to expanding the list with speed and integrity, ensuring that the process is both robust and legally sound.
The UFLPA is a powerful tool in the fight against forced labor and human rights abuses. It is also profoundly impacting the promotion of human rights and ethical business practices.
As interest in global supply chains continues to grow, ILAB is in a unique position within the U.S. government to improve working conditions, protect workers’ rights, and end forced labor. ILAB will use all available trade enforcement tools, as well as labor diplomacy, multilateral engagement, and technical assistance, to identify and raise awareness of the risks of labor exploitation worldwide, and to support meaningful actions by both governments and the private sector to prevent violations of labor and human rights.