In International Trade Today, Richard Mojica and Virginia Newman* discussed many important questions that remain unanswered three weeks before the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) goes into effect. "Importers are really clamoring for more guidance," Mojica said, noting that importers don't know what the standard to detain will be, what the clear and convincing evidence will be to release goods, whether withhold release orders (WROs) related to Xinjiang will be subsumed into this enforcement process or how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be able to manage far more admissibility reviews. Newman said that companies can choose to prioritize their due diligence in a number of ways – based on supplier location in China; whether they have a supplier who has been named in a nongovernmental report on Uyghur issues; if they have high-risk inputs such as rayon, calcium carbide or cotton; or whether a supplier's goods represent more than a certain amount of revenue for the compa. Since these nongovernmental (NGO) reports continue to come out, companies will need to constantly monitor for that, Newman added.

*Former Miller & Chevalier attorney