Forced Labor

‍BITE is a tool suite that assists companies in multiple domains to reduce risk in their supply chain. Our AI technology assists companies to remain on the right side of compliance through cost-effective, easy-to-use tools.

This document covers information and processes to assist companies understand the risks involved with non-compliance with Forced Labor regulation.

What is Forced Labor:

The International Labor Organization defines forced labor as "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily." Also relevant to this enforcement domain are child labor and human trafficking violations. Several U.S. agencies have strong mandates and authorities to prevent products manufactured by forced labor from entering the commerce of the United States.

The U.S. Department of Labor, through the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) maintains a “public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards, including, to the extent practicable, goods that are produced with inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor.” [See Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA of 2005)]. As of September 2022, the ILAB’s TVPRA List contains 159 goods from 78 countries and areas.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plays an important role in preventing the entry of goods into the U.S. made by forced/child labor: Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) authorizes CBP to issue Withhold Release Orders (WRO) to prevent merchandise produced using forced labor from being imported into the United States. The WRO is a CBP order that prevents imports from entering the U.S. due to “reasonable but not conclusive” evidence that forced labor was used in the overseas production of the goods. CBP may detain and/or seize goods. The importer of record is required to provide proof that the goods they are importing are not manufactured using forced labor.

CBP has significantly increased forced labor enforcement actions through WROs since the The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was enacted on December 23, 2021. The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption covering the import of any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China.

Why is Forced Labor Compliance Important:

The U.S. government, European Union as well as other critical trade partners have increasingly recognized forced labor as a “pervasive and pernicious element of the global marketplace.” Consequently, several statutes and regulations have been implemented in the U.S. to address forced labor throughout the global supply chain. Companies that do not perform effective due diligence and know your customer (KYC) checks for their global trade transactions are at risk for violating these statutes and supporting forced labor. The following summarizes some of the reasons why forced labor risk compliance is important:

1. Forced labor is a form of modern slavery that stubbornly persists, particularly in the XUAR, contributing to Uyghur repression.
2. Forced labor unfairly lowers manufacturing costs which hurts U.S. domestic industries and American job security.
3. Forced labor civil and criminal penalties can be very severe for companies found to be in violation.
4. Companies associated with forced labor violations suffer severe reputational damage.
5. CBP and Homeland Security Investigations are proactively pursuing forced labor violations with strong Congressional budgetary support.

What Rules do you need to adhere to: There are multiple forced labor statutes and regulations that need to be complied with and failure to do so can lead to severe criminal penalties and civil fines, including sanctions-related statutes, 18 U.S. Code § 542, 19 U.S. Code § 1592, 19 U.S. Code § 1307, 18 U.S. Code § 1589, 18 USC Sections 1761-62, Export Control Reform Act 2018 - 50 USC 4801-4852 and more.

Get access to our app for an in-depth list of all relevant statutes and regulations.

How does BITE Help:

The BITE Playbook, available in the BITE app, helps you navigate these regulatory requirements and quickly understand which agencies enforce what regulations associated with your specific transaction  as well as a mapping for how each BITE module helps you remain compliant with specific regulations.

BITE Data: our BITE Playbook maps directly to watchlists, Harmonized Schedule codes and commodity screening lists, allowing you to quickly check a commodity or person against the extensive filters in our platform.

BITE includes extensive, in-depth training modules to help users get set up for success and walk you through how to stay compliant with

Sign up for the app here: https://app.bitedata.io/ or send us an email to set up a demo: bite@nuborders.com