Last week, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued another withhold release order (WRO) on certain imported goods from China. CBP issued the WRO on December 2, 2020, based on “information that reasonably indicated the use of forced labor, including convict labor.” The WRO applies to all cotton and cotton products manufactured by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) or its affiliated entities, including products that are “made in whole or in part with or derived from that cotton, such as apparel, garments, and textiles.”

The latest WRO marks the sixth WRO enforcement action taken by CBP in the past three months, all of which apply to goods made by suspected forced labor from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The US is still considering a WRO applied regionally to the Xinjiang region.

CBP’s Withhold Release Orders and Findings page is an available resource to research goods subject to a WRO by country. If you have questions regarding your specific shipments, please contact Deringer’s Compliance Department.